Introduction
In 1956, the U.S. Congress increased the federal gas tax
in order to fund the development of a national interstate
highway system. For decades, state Departments of Transportation
focused nearly exclusively on highway construction. Now
that the interstate highway system is complete, and the
dangers of ill-planned roads – including costly sprawl,
wildlife habitat fragmentation and loss, increased air pollution,
and lower quality of life for local communities – have become
more apparent, states are rethinking transportation planning
and policy.
Two themes are common among innovative state transportation
programs. First, various modes of transportation – including
mass transit, bicycling, walking, and carpooling – should
be supported and interconnected as much as possible. This
intermodal approach reduces traffic congestion and facilitates
commuter transfers between buses and trains. Second, greater
authority and resources should be granted to local transportation
planning agencies. The shift toward greater local control
of transportation programs has been shown to correlate with
greater spending on mass transit and other “green” alternatives
to low-occupancy automobile traffic. In addition, localized
control of transportation programs often allows greater
citizen involvement in the decision-making process.
Below we highlight state statutes, legislation, session
laws, and voter initiatives incorporating these themes into
three different policies: regional transportation planning,
suballocation of federal transportation funds, and diversification
of state transportation trust fund programs. The sample
bills / options for each are in SERC’s Bill
Text section for this package.
Regional Transportation Planning
Florida
SB
686 (F.S. Chapter 2003-159), which was signed into law
by Governor Jeb Bush on June 20, 2003, created the South
Florida Regional Transportation Authority (SFRTA) to replace
the Tri-County Commuter Rail Authority and govern transportation
planning in the three participating counties of Miami-Dade,
Broward, and Palm Beach. Initiated by leaders in the business
community, the SFRTA was created to provide a coordinated
transportation system between the three counties in order
to relieve traffic congestion and move residents and tourists
more efficiently throughout the area. In order to fund the
envisioned integrated, multi-modal transit system, supporters
of the SFRTA realized that the counties stood a greater
chance of gaining significant federal transportation dollars
by working together, rather than competing for the funds
separately.
Status: Enacted 2003
Georgia
SB
57 (1999) established the Georgia Regional Transportation
Authority, or GRTA, to manage “land transportation and air
quality within certain areas of this state.” GRTA’s jurisdiction
includes every county either wholly or in part “a nonattainment
area under the Clean Air Act,” meaning that these areas
contain “excess levels of ozone, carbon monoxide, or particulate
matter.” GRTA has broad authority to plan, operate, maintain,
fund, or otherwise provide support for land transportation
and air quality control programs, give technical and other
forms of assistance to the state and local governments,
and work with metropolitan planning organizations on transportation
and air quality issues. Currently, thirteen counties in
the metropolitan Atlanta area are under GRTA’s jurisdiction.
GRTA programs are directed by a fifteen-member board whose
members are appointed by the governor and who are to be
chosen to “reasonably reflect the characteristics of the
general public within the jurisdiction or potential jurisdiction
of the authority.”
Status: Enacted 1999
Minnesota
Session
Laws 1967, Section 1 (amended 1974, 1976, and 1994)
established the Metropolitan Council “to coordinate the
planning and development of the [seven county Minneapolis-St.
Paul] metropolitan area.” Revisions reorganized the council,
consolidated other agencies within it, and gave it greater
authority over transit and land planning decisions. The
council operates transit services in the region and serves
as the local Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). To
fulfill federally-mandated MPO duties, the council develops
long- and short-range transportation plans with community
input. The council also develops long-range transit plans,
works with the state Department of Transportation on highway
planning, and administers federal funds for congestion mitigation,
air quality, and other local programs.
Status: Established 1967
Oregon
Opposition to a new suburban freeway proposed for the Portland
area in 1988 led environmental and citizen groups, including
1000 Friends of Oregon and Sensible Transportation Options
for People, to form a coalition and develop a comprehensive
alternative land use and transportation plan for Washington
County. The effort, known as LUTRAQ
for Land Use, Transportation, and Air Quality Project, succeeded
in stopping the freeway and saw its plan essentially adopted
by the Portland-area Metro Council in 1994. While LUTRAQ
was a grassroots effort, the Metro Council is a regional
form of government initially approved by the state legislature
in 1977 as the Metropolitan Service District (MSD). Later
voter initiatives merged the MSD with the Columbia Region
Association of Governments, approved a constitutional amendment
allowing the creation of a home-rule regional government
in the Portland region, approved the charter for the renamed
Metro
Council, and passed numerous initiatives funding Metro
projects. Metro develops the Regional
Transportation Plan, is responsible for a range of transportation
activities and programs as the local Metropolitan Planning
Organization, manages the urban growth boundary, and oversees
park maintenance, garbage disposal, and recycling, and other
region-wide activities. Metro currently has jurisdiction
over 1.3 million residents in three counties and 24 cities
in the greater Portland area.
Suballocation of Transportation Funds
California
SB
45 (1997) drastically increased the role of regional
transportation planning agencies (RTPAs) and metropolitan
planning organizations (MPOs) by allocating the majority
of California’s transportation funds directly to local entities.
Since, historically, transportation funds have been controlled
by state Departments of Transportation, directing them to
local entities is considered a suballocation. Under SB 45,
three-quarters of State Transportation Improvement Program
funds (including all State Highway Account, Public Transportation
Account, and federal transportation funds, minus state administrative
and other costs) are committed to regional improvement programs.
The remaining 25 percent of funds are for interregional
improvement programs which are administered by the state.
Regional improvement programs are developed by RTPAs and
MPOs, in accordance with the regional transportation plan,
to improve “state highways, local roads, public transit,
intercity rail, pedestrian, and bicycle facilities, and
grade separation, transportation system management, transportation
demand management, sound wall projects, intermodal facilities,
and safety.” Several studies have noted that transit programs
increased dramatically after SB 45; in the first four years
after the bill’s passage, California alone accounted for
more than half of all federal funds spent on transit.
Status: Enacted 1997
Diversifying State Transportation Trust Fund Programs
New York
New York does not have a single transportation trust fund,
but instead has varied sources of transportation income
that are directed to many transportation-related trust funds
and accounts. These accounts, including the transportation
infrastructure renewal fund, mass transportation operating
assistance fund, dedicated highway and bridge trust fund,
dedicated mass transportation trust fund, and the transportation
safety account, are established under Article
VI of the State Finance laws of the New York State Consolidated
Laws. Although these accounts fund certain types of transportation
programs, there is a good amount of latitude as to how the
money is spent. New York has a Transportation Dedicated
Funds Pool, which “includes portions of the Petroleum
Business Tax, the Motor Fuel Tax, and motor vehicle fees.”
According to New York’s Division of the Budget, money
from the Transportation Dedicated Funds Pool goes toward
the dedicated mass transportation trust fund, dedicated
highway and bridge trust fund, and mass transportation operating
assistance fund. In addition, there is a supplemental petroleum
business and aviation fuel business tax (Section 301-j of
Article 13-A of state law), which is allocated as follows:
Sixty-three percent to the state highway and bridge trust
fund, 34 percent to the state mass transportation trust
fund (with most of these funds earmarked for New York City’s
transit authority), and 3 percent for other mass transportation
projects.
Rhode Island
State of Rhoad Island General Laws §
31-36-20 specifies that all income from motor fuel taxes
be deposited into the Intermodal Surface Transportation
Fund (ISTF). The ISTF is the state transportation trust
fund; the same statute directs the allocation of these funds.
However, only part of the ISTF funds are specifically allocated
– $0.0625 per gallon of taxes imposed to public transit,
$0.01 per gallon to an elderly and disabled transportation
program, and approximately $0.02 per gallon (the exact amount
varies by fiscal year) for general revenue. This formula
accounts for less than ten cents per gallon of the fuel
tax; any revenue above this amount is directed to the Department
of Administration, subject to annual appropriation by the
General Assembly. At the start of fiscal year 2003, Rhode
Island’s gasoline tax increased by two cents to $0.30
per gallon. The state’s 2003 gas tax income was allocated
as follows: Twenty-one percent to the state public transit
authority, 3 percent to the Elderly Disabled Transportation
Program, 7.5 percent to the state’s general fund,
and the remaining 68.5 percent to the state Department of
Transportation.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin Statutes §
25.40 establishes a “separate nonlapsible trust
fund designated as the transportation fund.” The state
fuel tax, created by Wisconsin Statutes §
78.01, requires that all Department of Transportation
collections, a range of transportation-related fees and
taxes, federal transportation funds, and any money in the
state general fund appropriated for transportation uses,
are all placed in the transportation fund. Transportation
fund money is allocated under Wisconsin Statutes §
20.395 for a range of transportation-related state and
local programs, including general transportation aid to
counties and municipalities, studies of and grants for urban
rail transit systems, employment-related transportation
programs, elderly and disabled transportation programs,
highways, bridges, and policing.
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