TRANSPORT REPORT - National Conference of State Legislatures · Governor Tom Corbett signed a comprehensive transportation funding package into law. Among other provisions, House

Offices: NCSL Headquarters, 7700 East First Place, Denver, CO 80230 State-Federal Relations, 444 N. Capitol Street, NW, Suite 515, Washington, DC 20001

The Future of Federal

Transportation Funding?

On Nov. 21, U.S. Senate Environment and

Public Works (EPW) Committee chair

Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said she favors

moving from the per-gallon federal gas tax

to a tax that would be levied “upstream” at

the wholesale level—similar to the

approach some state legislatures took this

year (see p. 3)—as a model to raise more

revenue and stabilize the federal Highway

Trust Fund. Meanwhile, U.S.

Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.)

has introduced two bills focusing on the

future of transportation revenues. The

Update, Promote and Develop America’s

Transportation Essentials (UPDATE) Act

(H.R. 3636) would phase in a 15-cent

federal gas tax increase over three years

and tie the rate to inflation, which could

raise about $170 billion over 10 years.

Blumenauer’s other bill, the Road Usage

Fee Pilot Program Act of 2013 (H.R.

3638), would create a $30 million grant

program to fund pilot studies of privacy,

implementation, equity and other issues

related to mileage-based fees.

Federal News and Trends . 12

2014 Sessions ........................... 3

Pa. Funding Bill ...................... 3

Tenn. Multimodal Funds ....... 3

Bikes and Horses .................... 4

New NCSL Resources ............ 4

Other New Reports ................ 5

IN THIS ISSUE:

TRANSPORT REPORT

December 2013 Volume 4: Issue 9

News, Trends and Analysis Provided by NCSL’s Transportation Programs

FEDERAL TRANSPORTATION

NEWS AND TRENDS

Transit Benefits Due to Drop

Come Jan. 1, transit commuters will likely

see a decrease in their pre-tax

transportation benefits, while drivers may

get a slight increase. Commuters can now

set aside up to $245 a month to cover

either transit or parking costs through

plans managed by their employers, under

limits set by the American Recovery and

Reinvestment Act of 2009. Unless

Congress acts, the transit benefit will fall

to $130 a month, while the parking benefit

will rise to $250. Both the House and

Senate have bills to avoid the significant

decrease in 2014, but the House has

already recessed for the year, making

immediate congressional action unlikely.

Familiar DOT Faces to Step Down

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration (NHTSA) administrator

David Strickland has announced he will

step down after nearly four years in that

role. David Friedman, now deputy

administrator, will step in as acting

administrator. U.S. Deputy Secretary of

Transportation John Porcari also reported

Ben Husch

State-Federal Relations

NCSL-D.C.

202-624-7779

[email protected]

Jaime Rall

Transportation Program

NCSL-Denver

303-856-1417

[email protected]

NCSL CONTACTS:

2

that he will resign at the end of the month.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony

Foxx has asked Federal Highway

administrator Victor Mendez to take over as

acting deputy on Jan. 1. President Obama

would have to nominate a permanent

replacement, who would also need to be

approved by the Senate.

Airplane Mode Debate Continues

On Dec. 12, the Federal Communications

Commission voted to consider lifting the

longtime ban on in-flight cell phone calls,

based on technical feasibility and safety. In

response, Secretary Foxx announced that

the U.S. Department of Transportation

(U.S. DOT) will now consider whether

allowing such calls is fair to consumers.

U.S. House Transportation and

Infrastructure Committee chair Bill Shuster

(R-Penn.) and ranking member Peter

DeFazio (D-Ore.) issued a joint statement

commending Secretary Foxx for reviewing

the issue. Bills also have been introduced

in the House and Senate to keep the ban.

Install that Seat Belt!

NHTSA has issued a final rule requiring

new motor coaches to be equipped with

seat belts for all passengers beginning in

late 2016. The rule was mandated by

Congress as part of the Moving Ahead for

Progress in the 21st Century Act (or MAP-

21). The rule will only apply to motor

coaches typically used for charter or

intercity service, not to those used for

public transit or school buses.

Getting Better Gas Mileage

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

announced on Dec. 12 that the average

fuel economy for model year 2012 vehicles

was at an all-time high of 23.6 mpg,

compared to 22.4 mpg in 2011.

Two More TIFIA Loans Awarded

The U.S. DOT awarded two Transportation

Infrastructure Finance Innovation Act

(TIFIA) loans in late November. On Nov.

20, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear

announced that the Downtown Crossing

portion of the Louisville-Southern Indiana

Ohio River Bridges project had been

approved for a $452 million TIFIA loan. The

Downtown Crossing has a total cost of

about $1.3 billion and is half of the larger,

$2.6 billion Ohio River Bridges project. On

Nov. 21, Secretary Foxx announced a $275

million loan to build new reversible lanes

along I-75 and I-575 in Atlanta, Ga., that

will relieve traffic congestion during

morning and evening rush hours. The loan

will go toward the $833.7 million total cost

of the project.

Draft Freight Network Designated

On Nov. 19, the U.S. DOT published the

initial designation of the 27,000 mile

highway Primary Freight Network, as

required under section 1115 of MAP-21.

The draft proposal makes clear that the

DOT is eager to receive comments that

propose changes to the initial network.

Comments are due by Jan. 17.

Happy

Holidays and

a Joyous 2014

to You and

Your Families

from the NCSL

Transportation

Programs!

Warm wishes, Melanie Condon, Ben Husch, Jaime Rall, Jim Reed, Doug Shinkle and Anne Teigen

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In 2013 sessions, six states enacted bills likely to increase overall gas taxes. Virginia’s gas tax rate

will depend on whether Congress authorizes states to collect sales taxes from out-of-state retailers.

On Nov. 25, Pennsylvania

Governor Tom Corbett

signed a comprehensive

transportation funding

package into law. Among

other provisions, House Bill

1060 repeals the state’s 12

cents-per-gallon gas tax

altogether and phases in an

increase to the state’s

percentage-based Oil

Company Franchise Tax.

The multi-billion-dollar

legislation makes Pennsylvania the sixth

state this year—after Maryland,

Massachusetts, Vermont, Virginia and

Wyoming—where the legislature enacted a

bill to increase overall state gas taxes.

Notably, except for Wyoming, all of these

states moved toward a gas tax that tracks

with the economy to some degree, either

by tying the rate to inflation or basing it on

the price of fuel. In contrast, no state

enacted a gas tax increase of any kind in

2010, 2011 or 2012. For details, see

NCSL’s Transportation Funding and

Finance Legislation Database.

People parking over ditches in

overwhelmed park-and-ride lots so they

can ride the bus to work? Folks in

motorized wheelchairs riding in the road

due to a lack of accessible sidewalks?

Traffic jams because there are no bus

turnouts for picking up passengers? These

were all real-life examples in Tennessee

communities that spurred the Tennessee

Department of Transportation to recently

create a new multimodal access fund to

improve conditions for transit users,

bicyclists and pedestrians. Administered

by the department’s Multimodal Division,

projects require only a 5 percent local

match with the rest coming from the state,

up to a total project cost of $1 million.

Eligible projects include sidewalks, park-

and-ride facilities, pedestrian crossing

improvements bus turnouts and shelters,

and bike facilities on state routes. The

legislature approved $30 million over three

years for the fund, with the first round of

applications due in late December.

TENN. SADDLES UP FOR MULTIMODAL FUNDS

PA. INCREASES OVERALL GAS TAXES;

SIXTH STATE TO DO SO IN 2013 SESSIONS

Did You Know?

Only four states—

Montana, Nevada,

North Dakota and

Texas—won't hold

legislative sessions

in 2014. So, while

only six state

legislatures are in

session as of late

December 2013,

legislatures in 46

states will be

convened at some

point in early 2014.

To give a sense of

how much activity

this is, State Net

estimates that more

than 87,000 bills will

be considered

across the states in

2014 alone! To gear

up for 2014

sessions, check out

NCSL's resources

for legislators and

legislative staff.

4

Requiring registration for bicyclists and

horse-drawn vehicles is yet another

transportation funding option legislatures

have been considering. In 2013, four

states considered charging some sort of

fee for bicycles. Within a larger funding

package, Washington proposed a fee of

$25 on any purchase of a new bicycle

over $500, but the provision was removed

in part due to push-back from owners of

small bicycle shops that would have been

Horse-drawn vehicle (and bikes) on Michigan’s Mackinac Island,

where automobiles have been banned since 1898. Photo: pkride.

disproportionately affected. Georgia,

Oregon and Vermont each also

considered bicycle fees and would have

required bicycle decals or license plates to

show registration. Revenue from Oregon

and Washington’s proposed fees was

slated to be dedicated to non-motorized

infrastructure. Hawaii is the only state that

now requires statewide bicycle

registration; although the original intent of

the registration was mainly to prevent

theft, the revenue from the $15 one-time

fee has helped pay for bicycle safety

courses at elementary schools and bike

infrastructure such as lanes and racks on

buses. As for horses, while a few states

allow municipalities to charge a

registration fee for horse-drawn vehicles,

Michigan debated a bill that would have

allowed a county to do so, at a rate of $50.

NCSL 2013 Fall Forum Resources

Check out presentations and other resources from sessions at the

NCSL Fall Forum, held from Dec. 4 – 6, 2013, in Washington, D.C.

State Legislatures Magazine

Read about red-light cameras, bicycle legislation and which state

really was “first in flight” in the December issue of NCSL’s magazine.

Cleared for Takeoff

Get behind-the-scenes with this NCSL blog post detailing our recent

exclusive tour of Reagan National Airport during NCSL’s Fall Forum.

NEW NCSL RESOURCES

LOOKING A GIFT HORSE (OR BIKE) IN THE MOUTH?

Did You Know?

NCSL holds two big

meetings each year

where state

legislators and staff

tackle pressing

policy issues and

develop the states'

agenda for NCSL's

state-federal

advocacy. At

NCSL's recent Fall

Forum in

Washington, D.C.,

hundreds of

policymakers from

across the states

attended policy

sessions and met

with their

congressional

delegations to

discuss priority

state-federal issues.

NCSL's next

meeting will be its

Legislative

Summit—the largest

bipartisan policy

conference of its

kind—from Aug. 19

to 22, 2014, in

Minneapolis.

5

2014 Annual Fuel Economy Guide

This U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of

Energy guide helps consumers identify and choose fuel-efficient vehicles.

National Survey Of Speeding Attitudes And Behaviors

A just-released National Highway Traffic Safety Administration survey

estimates of driver behavior and attitudes toward speeding across the U.S.

Making First/Last Mile Connections to Transit

The National Center for Mobility Management looks at how car-sharing

and bike-sharing programs help transit users get to their final destinations.

Bumpy Roads Ahead

This TRIP report examines the condition of the nation’s major urban roads,

how to make them last, and how much addressing this issue would cost.

Distracted Driving and Perceptions of Hands-Free Technologies

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety considers the public’s current

perceptions of cognitive distraction and the hands-free debate.

A New Partnership: Rail Transit and Convention Growth A U.S. Travel Association and American Public Transportation Association

study finds that cities with airport-to-hotel rail transit attract more travelers.

Vehicle Sharing Among Human Service Providers in Minnesota

This University of Minnesota report identifies barriers to vehicle sharing

among human services providers in Minnesota and possible solutions.

Worst Drivers By State

CarInsuranceComparison.com assesses each state’s drivers based on

fatality rates, traffic safety violations, and drunk and careless driving.

How to Get the NCSL Transport Report: More than 2,000 federal, state, local and

private sector transportation stakeholders receive this newsletter each month.

If you'd like to get NCSL’s Transport Report in your inbox,

e-mail [email protected] with your contact details.

All our past issues are online at http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=21636.

NEW TRANSPORTATION REPORTS

Did You Know?

Every month,

there's so much

federal

transportation

news, we can't fit it

all in this

newsletter! For

more details on the

latest congressional

activities, federal

administration

updates and

announcements

from the U.S.

Department of

Transportation that

affect the states,

check out the new

monthly Federal

Transportation

Update from

NCSL's D.C. team.