Friends,
Our Friends from the Arizona Transit Association (AzTA) asked that we share with you this letter to the Governor asking her to consider a line-item veto of the LTAF II related provisions in HB 2770.
You will see a copy of the letter pasted below which does an excellent job explaining why the Local Transportation Assistance Fund II (LTAF II) program is so important to transit entities across the state.
As part of our continuing mission to educate the community about the benefits of mass transit as part of a balanced regional transportation plan, we thought you might find this letter informative.
David Schwartz
Executive Director
* * *
May 12, 2005
The Honorable Janet Napolitano
Office of the Governor
State of Arizona
1700 West Washington
Phoenix, Arizona 85007
RE: HB 2770 -- general revenues; budget
Dear Governor Napolitano:
On behalf of the 250 member organizations that comprise the Arizona Transit Association (AzTA), I would like to take this opportunity to express our opposition to HB 2770, which relates to general revenues.
While the legislation addresses several different revenue components, the provisions relating to the reduced distribution of the Local Transportation Assistance Fund II (LTAF II) program are of particular concern to AzTA.
As you are aware, many communities, especially in rural Arizona, rely on LTAF II distributions to support their developing public transportation programs. Frequently, LTAF II distributions are used for one-time capital expenditures that otherwise would not be funded with the limited resources available from other transportation funding sources.
More specifically, in addition to the legislation increasing the threshold for when lottery funds can be made available for LTAF II distributions (the current threshold is $31 million and the bill increases that to $37 million), the bill also reduces the cap of available funds, limiting total LTAF II distributions to $12 million from the existing statutory limitation of $18 million.
As a practical matter, the simultaneous combination of increasing the LTAF II distribution threshold and reducing the amount of available funding will have a significant adverse impact on public transportation systems throughout the state. As expressed above, the local governments expected to be the most significantly impacted will be smaller communities that rely on these funds to provide public transportation services. Such services typically include individuals seeking medical assistance in neighboring or regional communities.
On a broader note, AzTA recognizes that the availability of funding under the LTAF II program is largely based on the success of the multi-state lottery game. In accordance, the public transportation community accepts that this arrangement will provide varying amounts over the history of the program.
However, HB 2770 creates an artificial reduction above and beyond the cyclical nature of the multi-state lottery game. Moreover, allowing such random reductions, without the benefit of meaningful public debate, will further erode the confidence of smaller communities to remain committed to providing public transportation services for those residents that require alternative transportation in order to obtain important and often vital services.
Finally, we recognize that both executive and legislative budget analysts have predicted that anticipated revenues from the multi-state lottery game will likely not trigger the normal LTAF II distribution threshold. However, AzTA remains concerned about the legislative precedent being set by arbitrarily adjusting such thresholds and, simultaneously, reducing the amount of the available allocation.
From our perspective, the precedent established in the legislation will serve to create even greater uncertainty and unpredictability in meeting the public transportation requirements of local communities.
Accordingly, we respectfully encourage you to consider a line-item veto of the LTAF II related provisions in HB 2770.
Thank you in advance for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Richard J. Simonetta
President
To unsubscribe,
Click Here