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

Ball Rolling on Reauthorization

U.S. Senate Environment and Public

Works Committee chair Barbara Boxer (D-

Calif.) said during a Feb. 12 hearing that

the committee is aiming to approve a long-

term federal surface transportation

reauthorization bill in April. The bill will not

include funding provisions, however, as

funding falls under the Senate Finance

Committee.

According to the Congressional Budget

Office (CBO), a new five- or six-year bill

will likely require an additional $100 billion

on top of existing revenues to maintain

current spending levels. To raise those

revenues, Senator Boxer has said she

favors moving from the per-gallon federal

gas tax to a tax levied “upstream” at the

wholesale level—similar to the approach

some state legislatures took in 2013.

Meanwhile, U.S. House Transportation

and Infrastructure Committee chair Bill

Shuster (R-Pa.) came out this month

against raising the federal gas tax, saying,

“economically, it is not the time... We've

got to figure out a different way at this

point in time.”

Federal News and Trends . 12

MAP-21 Working Group ....... 2

Tribute to Rep. Wallis ............ 3

2014 Funding Proposals ......... 3

Natural Gas Infrastructure .... 4

Southwest Chief Rail Line ..... 4

Rep. Austin at PPP Panel ....... 5

Upcoming Free PPP Events ... 5

NCSL Traffic Safety Webinar 5

New NCSL Resources ............ 5

Other New Reports ................ 6

IN THIS ISSUE:

TRANSPORT REPORT

February 2014 Volume 5: Issue 2

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

FEDERAL TRANSPORTATION

NEWS AND TRENDS

Negative HTF Balance in 2014?

The U.S. Department of Transportation

(U.S. DOT) has forecast that the Highway

Account of the federal Highway Trust

Fund may have a negative balance as

soon as this August, leading U.S.

Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx

to warn that the fund will “bounce checks”

to states if Congress fails to find a funding

solution. The Mass Transit Account

appears to be able to stay solvent through

the end of FY 2014.

The U.S. DOT Highway Trust Fund Ticker anticipates a shortfall for the

Highway Account of the HTF before Sept. 2014.

The U.S. DOT’s report was followed

closely by CBO projections that highway

and transit spending levels may exceed

revenues collected by $13 billion in FY

2015, adding up to a cumulative deficit of

$172 billion through FY 2024.

Ben Husch

State-Federal Relations

NCSL-D.C.

202-624-7779

ben.husch@ncsl.org

Jaime Rall

Transportation Program

NCSL-Denver

303-856-1417

jaime.rall@ncsl.org

NCSL CONTACTS:

2

President Talks Transportation

In his Jan. 28 State of the Union address,

President Obama spoke of his proposal to

reform corporate taxes and use the savings

for “rebuilding our roads, upgrading our

ports, unclogging our commutes—because

in today’s global economy, first-class jobs

gravitate to first-class infrastructure.”

The 2014 State of the Union address. Photo: Whitehouse.gov.

The president also promised to

streamline the permitting process, urged

Congress to complete waterways and

surface transportation bills this summer,

supported natural gas fueling stations, and

said he’d set new fuel efficiency standards

for trucks “so we can keep driving down oil

imports and what we pay at the pump.”

New Bike and Ped Infrastructure Bill

On Jan. 29, U.S. Representative Albio

Sires (D-N.J.) introduced the New

Opportunities for Bicycle and Pedestrian

Infrastructure Financing Act of 2014 (H.R.

3978). The bill would set up a pilot credit

assistance program, similar to the

Transportation Infrastructure Finance and

Innovation Act (TIFIA) program, to help

communities advance bicycle and

pedestrian projects.

Connected Vehicles Get Go-Ahead

The National Highway Traffic and Safety

Administration (NHTSA) has announced it

will take steps to enable vehicle-to-vehicle

(V2V) wireless communications for light

vehicles. V2V would allow vehicles to “talk”

to each other to exchange basic safety

data, such as speed and position, to help

reduce accidents. A 3,000-vehicle road test

of V2V technologies ended in Aug. 2013.

Breakthrough on Waterways Bill

The House and Senate are reportedly

“back on track” on Water Resources

Development Act (WRDA) talks. Both

chambers approved versions in 2013 and

began negotiations over a final version last

fall. If approved, WRDA will provide billions

in funding for water infrastructure projects.

DOT Issues Bakken Fines

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials

Safety Administration (PHMSA) found on

Feb. 4 that oil being transported from the

Bakken Shale was not, in some cases,

properly classified. PHMSA has issued a

total of $93,000 in Notices of Proposed

Violations to oil companies. As NCSL

reported last month, Bakken oil has been

involved in several recent rail accidents.

Keystone XL Study Released

The U.S. Department of State has issued

its final environmental impact study on the

proposed 875-mile Keystone XL pipeline.

The study notes that emissions will be 28 to

42 percent higher if the pipeline is not built

and the oil is instead transported by rail.

Join NCSL’s New MAP-21 Working Group!

Reauthorization of the federal Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), due to expire on Sept. 30, 2014, is a top priority for Congress this year. MAP-21 and its successor are critical to states, providing billions in federal funding each year for transportation infrastructure. To keep NCSL members informed and involved, NCSL’s Natural Resources and Infrastructure (NRI) Committee has put together a MAP-21 Working Group. It’s not too late to join! If you are a state legislator or legislative staff member interested in joining the working group, please contact NCSL’s Ben Husch.

Federal News and Trends (cont. from p. 1)

3

Representative Wallis will

be truly missed at NCSL.

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

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

Representative Sue Wallis (R-Wyo.), a

four-term state lawmaker, passed away

unexpectedly on Jan. 28. She was 56.

Representative

Wallis, known to be a

hardworking and well-

liked legislator, was

“tenacious in her

beliefs, and…

unconventional in her

beliefs,” according to

a recent article.

Representative Wallis was a vice-chair of

NCSL’s Natural Resources and

Infrastructure Committee and co-chair of

NCSL’s Agriculture Task Force, and had

previously served on NCSL committees

that focused on agriculture and energy

issues. She was also a noted cowboy

poet. Her passing recalls to us these lines

from one of her poems titled “The True

Infrastructure of the Legislature”:

We are an institution, true,

But a human one.

As 2014 legislative sessions

get underway, it looks like it

will be another big year for

transportation funding

measures. So far, at least

Idaho, Iowa, New

Hampshire, New Mexico,

South Carolina and Utah

have introduced bills to

raise overall state gas taxes

or index them to inflation.

At the same time, some states may see

a reversal of actions from 2013. On Feb.

26, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe

signed a bill to repeal a hybrid vehicle fee

that was part of last year’s transportation

funding overhaul. In Massachusetts, a

petition has been filed to place an initiative

on this year’s ballot that will challenge the

legislature’s 2013 action to index gas taxes.

Last year, legislatures in Maryland,

Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Vermont,

Virginia, Wyoming and the District of

Columbia acted to increase overall state

gas taxes. All but Wyoming moved toward

a 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.

2014: ANOTHER BIG YEAR FOR FUNDING?

A TRIBUTE TO REPRESENTATIVE SUE WALLIS

Did You Know?

NCSL offers no-

cost, online, publicly

accessible,

searchable bill-

tracking databases

on more than 30

topics, from

agriculture to youth.

Find up-to-date and

comprehensive

information about

transportation-

related bills from

across the states in

our databases of

traffic safety,

transportation

access and

mobility, and

transportation

funding and finance

legislation.

(And, if you know

of a bill in your state

that we haven't

seen yet, please let

us know!)

4

U.S. Representatives Sam Graves (R-Mo.)

and Lee Terry (R-Neb.) introduced three

bills on Jan. 28 to expand natural gas use

UPS already has an extensive natural gas fleet. Photo: Cartalk.

in the long-haul trucking industry and help

meet the transportation sector’s growing

demand for alternative fuels. The bills

would establish natural gas fueling

corridors (H.R. 3938), create a task force to

evaluate the challenges of transitioning

from diesel fuel to natural gas (H.R. 3937)

and provide an interstate weight limit

exemption for natural gas vehicles to

account for the heavier weight of natural

gas tanks (H.R. 3940).

Several states have already passed

weight limit exemptions to allow natural gas

vehicles to carry more freight without being

penalized. In 2013, Indiana and Ohio

passed bills (HB 1324 and HB 51,

respectively) that allow a natural gas

vehicle to exceed the state’s gross vehicle

limit by 2,000 pounds. In addition, Colorado

allows alternative fuel vehicles, including

natural gas vehicles, to exceed the gross

vehicle weight rating limits by 1,000

pounds, but this exception does not apply

to alternative fuel vehicles using the

interstate system.

The Southwest Chief Amtrak rail line may

soon take a different route from Chicago to

Los Angeles. Amtrak is considering moving

to a more southerly route through

Oklahoma and Texas, bypassing towns in

Kansas, Colorado and northern New

Mexico if those states do not commit to

additional funding for track upgrades and

maintenance. Each state would have to

provide $40 million over 20 years.

The Colorado legislature is debating HB

1161, which would create a commission to

explore the issue, coordinate with the other

two states, and study the possibility of

adding service to Pueblo, southern

Colorado’s largest population hub. In New

The Southwest Chief pauses at a station. Photo: New York Times.

Mexico, lawmakers considered leveraging

oil and gas severance revenue for bonds to

pay their share, but instead are studying

the issue this summer.

"SOUTHWEST CHIEF" TO GO FARTHER SOUTH?

PUMPING UP NATURAL GAS INFRASTRUCTURE

Did You Know?

NCSL offers many

ways to get the

latest policy news,

from our website

and blog to

Facebook, Twitter

and YouTube.

Stay connected:

5

Representative Austin at the Feb. 11 Congressional roundtable on PPPs.

It was standing room only on Feb.11 when

Representative Terri Austin (D-Ind.)

participated in a roundtable discussion with

the U.S. House Transportation and

Infrastructure Committee Special Panel on

Public-Private Partnerships. The panel was

recently created in response to interest

from the public in finding innovative ways to

finance infrastructure projects.

Representative Austin, a former co-chair

of NCSL’s Partners Project on Public-

Private Partnerships and vice-chair of

NCSL’s former Transportation Committee,

was asked to talk about her experience

with PPPs. She also shared with the bi-

partisan panel her experience in crafting

NCSL’s Public-Private Partnerships for

Transportation Toolkit, which was just

updated on Feb. 10.

A limited number of complimentary places

are available to state legislators and

legislative staff at the Marketmaker Group

US P3 Infrastructure Finance Forum on

March 20, 2014, in New York City, and the

26th Annual ARTBA Public-Private

Partnerships in Transportation Conference

on July 16 – 18, 2014, in Washington, D.C.

Contact NCSL’s Jim Reed for more details.

Autonomous Vehicles: On the Road to New Technologies

Self-driving cars are designed to remove human error by

recognizing other cars and hazards and choosing the best route

to a destination. Many see the production of these vehicles as a

possible economic boom for their state, but many legal and policy

questions remain. Read this new NCSL LegisBrief to learn more.

NEW NCSL RESOURCES

PAST NCSL PROJECT CHAIR TALKS PPPS IN D.C.

UPCOMING PPP EVENTS FREE TO NCSL MEMBERS

FREE NCSL WEBINAR!

Technology to Combat Drunk Driving: Ignition Interlocks

Tuesday, March 4, 2014, at 2 pm ET/ 1 pm CT/ Noon MT/ 11 am PT

All 50 states have some sort of ignition interlock law that is used as a tool to stop those convicted from driving after drinking.

This webinar will discuss how ignition interlocks work, the new NHTSA Model Guideline for State Ignition Interlock Programs, challenges states face in strengthening their programs and new technology being developed to combat drunken driving.

This webinar is free for all participants.

The Future of Transportation Infrastructure Investments

This AED report and summary offer a menu of state funding and financing

mechanisms to facilitate transportation infrastructure investment.

Ignition Interlocks: What You Need to Know

This is the second edition of NHTSA’s ignition interlock toolkit for

policymakers, highway safety professionals and advocates.

2013 Traffic Safety Culture Index

This AAA Foundation annual report sums up survey results about behavior

and perceptions related to crashes, impaired driving and cell phone use.

Critical Issues in Transportation: 2013

TRB’s Executive Committee has identified a set of critical transportation

issues and their likely impact on the nation’s economy and quality of life.

The Road Ahead: County Transportation Funding and Financing

This NACo study analyzes county revenue sources for roads and bridges,

as well as funding challenges and solutions, across 48 states.

Use of Motorcycle Helmets: Universal Helmet Laws

The Community Preventive Services Task Force has released a

systematic review of motorcycle helmet laws and their real-life effects.

Ten Reasons Why Per-Mile Tolling Is a Better Highway User Fee…

This Reason Foundation brief argues that a per-mile charge with all-electronic

tolling is a better highway user fee than per-gallon fuel taxes.

A Very Brief History of Why Americans Hate Their Commutes

As part of its “The Future of Transportation” series, Atlantic Cities has

published a Web brief on the history of America’s commuting habits.

Did You Know?

Every month, we

scour press

releases, e-mails,

websites and

newsletters to find

new transportation

publications that will

be of interest to

state legislators and

legislative staff.

But there is so

much new research

each month that we

can only hit the

highlights.

If you're looking for

more materials than

we can list, try

subscribing to one

of our go-to

resources, the

TRB Transportation

Research

E-newsletter. This

weekly e-mail offers

a wealth of federal,

state, academic and

International

transportation

research activities.

NEW TRANSPORTATION REPORTS

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 jaime.rall@ncsl.org with your contact details.

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