TRANSPORTATION
CUTS LOOM IN CONGRESS; TRANSIT FUNDING AT RISK AT STATE
LEVEL
A combination of the slowing economy and a
dampening of the national thirst for driving is taking its toll on the
availability of federal transportation funds. The stark difference
between overly optimistic projections for the growth in federal gas tax
revenues and the reality of stagnant national numbers for vehicle miles
traveled (VMT) has resulted in a $9 billion hole in the federal
transportation budget. California faces a shortfall in federal highway
funds as high as $700 million for the current federal fiscal year.
Federal transportation funds account for roughly 25 percent of
California’s transportation funding.
While federal funding for mass transit in California
isn’t subject to the same accounting methods agreed to under the last
federal transportation bill and is thus somewhat protected from the
latest round of possible Congressional cuts, public transit agencies
across the state are nevertheless facing a serious funding threat of
their own. Last year's assembly bill 426 allowed exemptions for farm
interests from paying the state sales tax on diesel fuel, revenues from
which are used for operating public transit systems throughout the
state. While the bill was originally written to allow a smaller annual
exemption worth about $7 million, a subsequent ruling by a committee of
the State Board of Equalization expanded the exemption to include a
much broader definition of uses, thus expanding the annual loss of
transit funding to as much as $50 million a year. That could slice
by more than half any gains mass transit might enjoy from the passage of
Proposition 42.
The State Board of Equalization is set to hear
the matter at its March 27th full board meeting. Visit http://www.boe.ca.gov/ for more
information.
VOTERS TO
DECIDE FATE OF PROP 42; OPPOSITION MOUNTS FROM
TEACHERS
One of the largest funding measures
for transportation in the history of the state will appear before voters
on March 5th. Proposition 42 would permanently dedicate the state’s
share of the sales tax on gasoline to transportation projects, a measure
worth about $1.4 billion a year. The funds would be distributed based on
a formula agreed to under the Governor’s transportation plan in 2000
(known as the ‘TCRP’): 40 percent for highway projects, 40 percent for
local road repairs and 20 percent for mass transit.
While only needing a simple majority
vote statewide, the measure has struggled as of late due to anticipated
low voter turnout and strong last minute opposition from teachers and
unions. The measure would redirect existing revenues rather than raise
new funds -– revenues that would otherwise be sent to the state’s
general fund after 2008. Yet transportation interests, and public
transit agencies in particular, are campaigning hard in support of
Proposition 42. Transit agencies point to the flexibility of the sales
tax revenues as crucial for providing funds for operations, something
that many other funding sources for mass transit are prohibited from
covering.
The
Planning and Conservation League (PCL) is also eyeing the March 5th
result as a test of whether or not to move forward on their own
transportation funding measure. Similar to Proposition 42, the possible
PCL initiative would earmark a
portion of the existing sales tax on new car and truck sales for a
variety of transit, bicycle, pedestrian and environmental protection
programs related to transportation (visit http://www.pcl.org/ for more info).
Click
here to view a more
detailed analysis of Proposition 42 by STPP. Pro and con arguments are
available at http://www.yesprop42.com/ and http://www.noprop42.com/.
DOZENS OF
TRANSPORTATION BILLS INTRODUCED AS BILL DEADLINE
PASSES
Despite the bleak outlook for the
state budget, a myriad of new transportation bills were introduced prior
to the February 22nd deadline in the state capitol. Among the mix are
three sponsored by STPP: Senate Bill 1262 (Torlakson) directs a portion
of state transportation funds to new incentive programs to help promote
infill housing and transit-oriented development; SB1636 (Figueroa)
provides local governments with more flexibility around so-called
traffic "Level of Service" (LOS) standards in urban areas that are
attempting to build infill development; AB2369 (Salinas) is a bond
measure (dollar amount yet to be determined) to help local governments
and public transit agencies meet the federal requirements of the
American with Disabilities Act (ADA).
A fourth STPP-sponsored legislative
measure is also expected in the form of a constitutional amendment that
would lower voting thresholds for county sales taxes that fund a
combination of (a) transportation projects; (b) open space preservation;
(c) affordable housing; and (d) neighborhood capital improvements such
as safe routes to schools (constitutional amendments were not subject to
the same February 22 introduction deadline). Another bill from Senator
Torlakson (SB1555), sponsored by the California Bicycle Coalition, would
increase traffic violation fines by $4 and direct the more than $10
million in resulting annual revenues towards programs to promote
physical activity and improve bicycle and pedestrian
safety.
Click here for a
more detail analysis of SB1262. More information on other bills is
available at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/.
Additional analysis on other bills will be soon available from STPP,
visit www.transact.org/ca/state_leg.htm.
STPP HELPS LAUNCH NEW
NATIONAL COALITION FOR TEA-21 REAUTHORIZATION
With Congress poised to reauthorize
the nation's federal transportation law in 2003, STPP and several
hundred other groups across the country have launched an ambitious new
initiative to help win additional transportation reforms and funding at
the federal level. Dubbed the "Alliance for a New Transportation
Charter", the groups released their initial platform at an event in
Washington DC celebrating the tenth anniversary of the signing of the
ISTEA bill, the original legislation lauded for "leveling the playing
field" in federal transportation policy and ushering in a new
post-interstate era in transportation nationwide.
The Charter, endorsed so far by over
350 organizations, calls for building on the reforms started under ISTEA
and specifically strengthening the linkages between transportation
policies and social justice, public health, sustainable economic
development and environmental protection. The Charter was initially
unveiled at a celebratory dinner in Washington DC in mid-December, an
event sponsored by STPP and featuring Senate Environment and Public
Works Committee Chair James Jeffords (I-VT), former EPW Committee Chair
and author of the 1991 ISTEA bill, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan,
Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Senator Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) and US DOT
Secretary Norman Mineta. Alliance efforts through the remainder of 2002
will include outreach and education of Congressional members as well as
assistance in state and local transportation reform
efforts.
To read or endorse the New
Transportation Charter, or to order a copy of the new "Ten Years of
Progress" report documenting innovative projects and success stories
throughout the nation funded by ISTEA and TEA-21, visit http://www.transact.org/ or call
STPP's national office in Washington, DC: 202.466.2636. To track ongoing
developments in the reauthorization of the federal transportation bill,
including the latest schedule for Congressional hearings, visit http://www.tea3.org/.
