Better Roads Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/85919
RoadWorks Wish Lists Inside the highway and bridge industries What our governors and others want in a reauthorization bill ny surface transportation re- authorization bill will give state, regional and local agen- cies a bigger say — to what degree and with what caveats/catches is still uncertain — in using transportation infrastructure dollars from Washing- ton. Even an underfunded, too-short bill with a pipeline attached will do that much. A But the legislation will also come from Washington. So just what is it that states themselves want in any new legislation? A letter from the National Governors' Association to the House/ Senate conference committee trying to work out a bill, gives us key clues. Flexibility: Governors sup- SayWhat "This is America. We've always had the best infrastructure." – President Barack Obama port maximum program and funding flexibility given the diversity of geog- raphy, population, and priorities in the states. They want a bill that preserves states' authority to transfer funds be- tween core federal-aid programs. "We urge conferees to preserve transferabil- ity at not less than 50 percent under current law, and oppose provisions that would limit transferability to less than this percentage," they write. Certainty: The governors are worried about the Highway Trust Fund (HTF). States, they point out, need federal funding stability and certainty to pursue long-term planning and project deliv- ery. But while recent authorizations have kept the "funding firewalls" for HTF revenues and re-affirmed the user- pays principle, the Senate version of the bill does not preserve the HTF firewall. The governors want it in. "We also support preserving the historical 80-20 split between highway and public trans- portation spending." Financing: "Governors are concerned that proposals governing public-private partnerships would limit state flexibil- ity to use this tool by chilling investor interest," they write. They oppose the possible extension of the depreciation period to 45 years from 15 years for applicable highway property and re- lated intangibles, "such as the cost of the grant to collect tolls, subject to a long-term lease held by a private entity, and the proposed prohibition against using private activity bonds to finance applicable leased highway property." The governors also frown on the pos- sibility that certain privatized toll lanes might be excluded from the calculation of a state's National Highway System apportionment, but concede the need to avoid federal subsidization of private operators. The governors also write that they support: provements to the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation (TIFIA) program. "We support ex- tending through July 2013 the tem- porary increase in the 'small issuer' exception (from $10 million to $30 million in annual issuance) to inter- est-expense allocation rules for banks that purchase tax-exempt bonds." bonds issued before January 1, 2013, from the Alternative Minimum Tax. the option to issue Transporta- tion Regional Infrastructure Project (TRIPs) tax credit bonds. 2017 for sewage and water supply facilities from the cap on private ac- tivity bonds. Reforming and restructuring federal transportation programs gets guberna- torial support, provided core federal programs are untouched and reforms avoid any requirements that could pre- empt state flexibility. "We support pro- visions to streamline project delivery that reduce approval and completion times and improve efficiencies, but also achieve the intent underlying critical To see the wish list sent to the conference committee by the National Association of City Transportation Offi cials go to our digital edition, page 7a Better Roads June 2012 5 by John Latta