This week, President Obama sent Congress his proposed four-year, $302 billion transportation bill, known as the GROW America Act, to invest in highway, bridge, and transit infrastructure. The move is largely regarded as an effort to place the Administration at the negotiation table for the next surface transportation bill, and to position them as a key player in restoring solvency to the declining Highway Trust Fund (HTF), the nation’s primary source of revenue for transportation infrastructure.
The GROW America Act is an ambitious plan that aims to increase overall transportation investments by 37 percent, and would restore the massive shortfall in the HTF. As we have previously reported, Anthony Foxx, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, has stated that the HTF will no longer be able to fulfill funding commitments by the end of July 2014. At that time, all federally-supported transportation and transit projects could come to an immediate halt. HTF investments in the local transportation system not only provide for the movement of goods and services across the state and as a connector to population centers, but also support thousands of critical jobs in the manufacturing, construction, design and engineering fields. The loss of HTF funding would have a tremendous impact on California’s counties as a whole.
It is important to note that HTF investments make up slightly more than 48 percent of California’s state capital transportation budget. Congress will begin hearings on the Administration’s proposal next week, and will quickly begin drafting its own version of the transportation bill. The Senate is scheduled to hold a hearing on transportation revenue options next week.
The GROW America Act includes the following key provisions:
· Increases transit appropriations by 70 percent;
· Provides $10 billion for freight rail infrastructure to improve freight transportation;
· Streamlines environmental and other permitting processes for infrastructure projects;
· Invests over $92 billion to repair and reduce congestion on the federal highway system, and nearly $13.5 billion to improve structurally deficient bridges;
· Eliminates the prohibition on tolling existing interstate highways; and,
· Expands the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act.
RCRC staff, in conjunction with our rural county transportation stakeholders, has identified two key priorities for the next surface transportation bill: 1) provide dedicated funding for locally owned on-system bridges, which was eliminated under MAP-21; and 2) restore dedicated funding for high-risk rural roads. As the Senate and House begin to consider the Administration’s transportation proposal and ramp up efforts to draft legislation, RCRC’s federal advocates will be meeting with key Congressional members, staff, and stakeholder groups to secure dedicated funding for these critical programs.
For additional information, please contact RCRC Legislative Analyst Randall Echevarria at (916) 447-4806 orrechevarria@rcrcnet.org.