From: "Friends of Transit" To: Subject: Transfer - STPP's Electronic Newsletter Date: Tuesday, November 11, 2003 10:43 AM From our friends at STPP... > ********************************************************** > TRANSFER > a publication of the Surface Transportation Policy Project > Volume IX, Issue 22; November 10, 2003 > ********************************************************** > > > ________________________________ > IN THIS ISSUE: > -Senate Environment Committee Braces for Debate on TEA-21 Renewal Plan > -House Proposal Expected Before Congress Adjourns > -Conferees Expected to Finalize FY'04 Transportation Appropriations Bill > -Nation's Mayors Stand with Chairman Young and House Panel Leaders > -Houston Voters Approve Light Rail Plan, Other Measures Considered Around > the Nation > -Orlando Voters Reject Sales Tax for 20-Year Mobility Plan > ________________________________ > > To view the on-line version of this newsletter, visit > http://www.transact.org/transfer/trans03/11_10.asp > > > Senate Environment Committee Braces for Debate on TEA-21 Renewal Plan > > Leaders of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee have scheduled > November 12 for action on their renewal plan for key portions - highways and > research titles - of the nation's surface transportation law, known as > TEA-21. > > Late last month, the top leaders of the Committee - Senators Jim Inhofe > (R-OK), Jim Jeffords (I-VT), Kit Bond (R-MO) and Harry Reid (D-NV) - > unveiled their bipartisan agreement, breaking an impasse that has dominated > the Committee's efforts for some time. The Committee leaders now hope to > jumpstart the TEA-21 renewal process by approving the panel's legislative > package before Congress adjourns November 21. > > The 477-page legislative proposal largely follows many of the key elements > of the Administration's renewal proposal, known as SAFETEA, which was > unveiled earlier this year. In fact, the Senate bill uses the SAFETEA title > for its proposal. While drawing extensively from the Administration's > renewal plan such as its legislative emphasis on project delivery and clean > air conformity changes, it does depart on program funding levels, proposing > substantially higher spending levels than the President's plan. The Senate > panel leaders have not provided details on how their plan's higher funding > levels will be supported, although it appears that new taxes have been ruled > out and it is widely speculated that general funds are being targeted. > > In addition to the lengthy proposal, Committee leaders November 10 released > details of their own amendments, known as the "managers' amendment", which > outlines 66 pages of amendments to their bipartisan agreement. The bill and > the managers' amendment will be brought before the 19-member Senate > Environment and Public Works Committee for their consideration and approval > on November 12. Already, scores of additional amendments are being prepared > by Committee members to offer during the Committee markup. > > The Committee leadership plan generally sets forth how the lion share of > TEA-21's program resources are to be allocated among states and within the > states, including key policies and rules governing how federally-assisted > projects at the state and local level move forward. Transit funding is > handled by the Senate Banking Committee, which plans no action until next > year. > > STPP coalition partners are now focusing on a number of specific amendments > to the legislation, while evaluating what the overall bill and its lengthy > managers' amendment propose for existing policies and practices. Among the > coalition partners concerns are adequate funding for the CMAQ program > anticipating additional areas coming into the program, higher funding for > the newly-created Safe Routes to School program and increased investment > (i.e. PL funds) in the capacity of metropolitan planning organizations so > they can shoulder new responsibilities. > > The Committee's aggressive schedule to bring the bill up for action before > Congress adjourns was driven by public criticism by highway industry > leaders, state transportation departments and others that key Congressional > panels had failed to move forward with legislative proposals providing for a > multi-year renewal of TEA-21. The nation's surface transportation law > expired September 30; last month current law programs and policies were > extended for five months, expiring again on February 29. > > ------------------------------------------ > > House Proposal Expected Before Congress Adjourns > > Leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee are > continuing their work on their renewal plan and have pledged to release > details of their TEA-21 renewal plan next week before Congress adjourns. > > Unlike the Senate package, the House panel bill is not expected to deal with > all of the key issues before the Committee, focusing largely on the program > structure and funding issues, including distribution of funds to the states. > > ------------------------------------------ > > > Conferees Expected to Finalize FY'04 Transportation Appropriations Bill > > House and Senate appropriators are expected to meet this week to reach an > agreement on the Fiscal Year 2004 Transportation, Treasury and Independent > Agencies bill. > > STPP and several partner organizations recently wrote to Senators Richard > Shelby and Patty Murray (D-WA), leaders of the Senate Appropriations > Subcommittee on Transportation, to convey the coalition's priorities during > upcoming conference committee negotiations. The key issues raised in the > STPP partners' letter were Amtrak, the Jobs Access and Reverse Commute > Program (JARC), New Starts, Scenic Byways and funding for the Federal > Transit Administration. > > To view a copy of the letter, go to: > http://www.transact.org/PDFs/Senate_Appropriations_letter.pdf > ------------------------------------------ > > Nation's Mayors Stand with Chairman Young and House Panel Leaders > > Citing growing maintenance costs and demand for new transportation > priorities and job creation, leaders of The U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) > November 6 pledged to support a $375 billion funding level for highway and > transit programs at an event with Chairman Don Young (R-AK), Ranking Member > James Oberstar (D-MN), Subcommittee Chair Tom Petri (R-WI) and Subcommittee > Ranking Member William Lipinski (D-IL), the four key leaders of the House > Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. > > USCM President and Hempstead James Garner, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and > other Conference leaders indicated the nation's mayors support a higher > funding level because of the transportation needs at the local and level. > Local governments own 75% of 4 million miles of highway and roads; over 50% > of all bridges; and manage about 90% of the nation's transit systems. Also > speaking were Akron Mayor Donald L. Plusquellic, who discussed the need for > more local empowerment over regional transportation decisions, and Long > Beach Mayor Beverly O'Neill, who recommended greater federal support for > intermodal facilities like the Alameda Corridor project in order to handle > growing freight traffic. > > "The support of the Mayors is vital to our effort to provide the federal > funding needed to address America's growing congestion and highway safety > problems," noted Chairman Don Young (R-AK). > > Although the House leaders noted mayors and other local elected officials > are key to engaging Members of Congress to successfully pass a $375 billion, > six-year transportation bill, they have not announced their intentions on > how they will address the mayors' call for increased local decision-making > authority. > > > For more information on The U.S. Conference of Mayor's transportation event, > visit www.usmayors. > > ------------------------------------------ > > > Houston Voters Approve Light Rail Plan, Other Measures Considered Around the > Nation > > The nation's 4th largest metropolitan area reached a turning point last week > when Houston voters approved a $640 million bond measure to accelerate > construction of light rail. The November vote specifically provides > funding to build and operate 22 miles of new light rail and expand bus > service over the next ten years, linking residents to major destinations and > employers such as the central business district, the University of Houston > downtown campus, Rice University, Texas Medical Center, and several shopping > malls. Passed by 52 percent of voters, the proposition will fill the local > funding gap for the next phase of the $7.5 billion, "Metro Solutions" > regional transit plan. > > "It's a victory for our city, it's a victory for the next generation and > generation's to come," expressed Houston Mayor Lee Brown at a celebration > event on 11/4/03. > > The overarching "Metro Solutions" plan includes a total of 72 miles of light > rail, 8 miles of commuter rail, and a 50 percent increase in bus service. > METRO developed the plan for "options, accountability, and affordability" > with the input of citizens at more than 175 public meetings over a year and > a half period. Supporters included elected officials from all levels of > government, developer and business-based interest groups such as Houston > Association of Realtors, Greater Houston Partnership, and Central Houston, > Inc. and a spectrum of transit allies including the Houston Chronicle, > NAACP - Houston Branch, Harris County AFL-CIO, the Sierra Club, and Mothers > for Clean Air. > > House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) and Representative John Culberson > (R-TX) have stated they will uphold their promise to secure federal funding > for the METRO Solutions plan despite prior efforts to block funding. The > 7.5 mile downtown line scheduled to open in Houston on January 1, 2004 is > being built entirely with local funds. METRO may go back to voters to move > forward with third phase of the plan in 2009. > > For more information on the Houston "METRO Solutions" plan, visit > http://www.hou-metro.harris.tx.us/. > > Grand Rapids Voters Boost Transit Funding > > In action on other ballot issues, voters in Grand Rapids and Tucson also > made decisions on transit investment. A proposal to increase funding for > public transit in Grand Rapids, MI won handily in last week's elections, by > a margin of 2 to 1. The six cities served by the Grand Rapids transit agency > passed a smaller property tax increase in 2000, which this vote continued > and increased. This year's proposal had an improved margin over the original > 2000 vote, something supporters say is due to the improved transit service > that has been visible since 2000. The current proposal is expected to > generate over $9 million next year. > > The coalition in support of the proposal included churches, city leaders, > riders, ordinary citizens, and several prominent businesses in the area, > including the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce, and Mayor John Logie of > Grand Rapids. For more on the transit services funded with the proposal, see > http://www.grata.org/. > > Tucson Voters Reject Light Rail Initiative > > In Tucson, a proposal to fund improved and expanded transit services through > a sales tax increase was rejected by 63 percent of voters. In voting > precincts close to the city's core, support for the transit plan was > overwhelming - in some precincts 70 percent and higher voted for the > measure. The proposal was defeated mainly by voters in outlying areas, where > opposition correlated roughly with distance to downtown. Because of the high > support in areas that would be served by the proposed light rail corridor, > supporters are now considering creating a special tax district for the > measure. > > Tucson has voted down several transportation sales tax measures in the past: > in 1986, 1990, and 2002. Last year's proposal, a well-funded, city-sponsored > transportation sales tax initiative failed in every precinct of the city. > Supporters of this year's initiative say that they have tapped into a > transportation formula that can garner support at least in some areas, and > that any future transportation plans will have to include alternative > transportation components to win over the voters. For more on the > initiative, see http://www.savetucson.org/. > > For more details on 2003 transit referenda, visit the Center for > Transportation Excellence at www.cfte.org > > ------------------------------------------ > > > Orlando Voters Reject Sales Tax for 20-Year Mobility Plan > > In action last month, Orlando voters rejected a half-cent sales tax increase > that would have raised $2.6 billion over 20 years on a broad package of > transportation projects. The "Mobility 20/20 Plan" plan called just over > half of the tax revenues to be spent on road and highway expansions, > including widening Interstate 4 by adding four toll lanes to the existing > eight free lanes. Other projects included $300 million for improving rail > traffic flow and grade separations, $45 million for building sidewalks, $15 > million for 20-30 miles of trails, $20 million for transit capital > improvements such as new buses and shelters, and $60 million for installing > "smart systems" for timing lights to manage traffic flow. About $400 > million was to be dedicated to the development of two new light-rail lines > and one commuter rail line. > > The measure's defeat surprised business and political leaders, who had > predicted an easy win based on polls showing high public support. Boosters > spent $1.5 million promoting the measure. But 23% of voters turned out to > reject the plan by a margin of 54% to 46%. Critics of the plan included > anti-tax groups who said they were able to tap into a general mistrust of > government along with an anti-tax sentiment among the public in down > economic times. The plan was also criticized by faith-based and social > equity advocates for dedicating a greater share of tax revenues to road > expansions than transportation alternatives, and for having little to offer > low-income residents. Many opponents were also critical of the plans for > light-rail, saying it was a potential boondoggle. > > ------------------------------------------ > > ANOUNCEMENT: > > On December 7-9, the Center for Transportation Excellence hosting the > conference, Transit Initiatives and Communities: Lessons Learned > http://www.cfte.org/events.asp, in Tempe, AZ, to equip local groups with the > tools they need to be successful with tranist initiatives. For more details, > visit www.cfte.org . > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >