NCSL tracks a wide range of issues and at any one time some topics are of particular interest to legislators and legislative staff. On this page you will find recent NCSL resources about issues of key concern in the area of transportation.

NCSL Presentations

• Top 12 Issues of 2012 Webinar: Transportation Funding, Natural Gas and Environmental Regulations (Feb. 2012). This archived recording is part of the Top 12 Issues of 2012 webinar series which explores some of the most pressing issues facing state legislatures.  This webinar addresses the imminent transportation funding crisis, the wave of new EPA regulations states are expected to enforce, and the pros and cons of developing natural gas resources.

NCSL Publications

• Transport Report (monthly).  The Transport Report is a monthly newsletter produced by NCSL’s Transportation Programs. The newsletter focuses on state and federal transportation news, trends and analysis. To be added to the mailing list, please e-mail Jaime Rall.
• Transportation Coordination Quarterly Newsletter (quarterly).  This NCSL newsletter highlights current important policy actions states are taking in regard to human service transportation coordination and looks at new reports on the subject and other pertinent news. Please e-mail Jaime Rall with story ideas or comments.
• Traffic Safety and Public Health: State Legislative Action, 2011 (February 2012). See the most recent state legislative action on traffic safety issues.
• Transportation Governance and Finance: A 50-State Review of State Legislatures and Departments of Transportation (June 2011). This authoritative analysis produced in collaboration with AASHTO offers an overview of key transportation governance, funding and finance issues and detailed information for the states, D.C. and Puerto Rico. 
• Major State Transportation Legislation 2010 (March 2011).  State lawmakers got creative in 2010 to maintain infrastructure and services in the midst of budget shortfalls and declining transportation revenues. This report discusses these funding hurdles and other trends in 2010 legislation. (See also the 2009 version.)
• Running Out of Gas (March 2011). Dropping revenue from the fuel tax poses a dilemma for how to pay for maintaining and improving roads and bridges, as discussed in this March 2011 State Legislatures article.
• Motorcycle Safety LegisBrief (Feb. 2011). Although motorcycle fatalities decreased in 2009 for the first time in more than a decade, stricter requirements for helmet use and rider training and licensing may be necessary.
• Public-Private Partnerships for Transportation: A Toolkit for Legislators (Dec. 2010).  Deteriorating infrastructure, growing travel demand and declining public revenue are creating a crisis for America’s transportation system. Leveraging limited transportation revenues through the use of public-private partnerships (PPPs or P3s) has become increasingly attractive to states, as discussed in this Dec. 2010 report.  (See also this March 2011 LegisBrief on transportation PPPs.)
• Transportation articles in State Legislatures (March 2010). Last year's March issue of the NCSL magazine took a closer look at transportation infrastructure issues, including the future of U.S. high-speed rail travel and the federal transportation authorization bill stalled in Congress.

NCSL Online Legislation Tracking Databases

• NCSL and NHTSA Traffic Safety Legislative Tracking Database. The National Conference of State Legislatures works in cooperation with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to bring you up-to-date, real time information about traffic safety bills that have been introduced in the fifty states and the District of Columbia.
• NCSL REAL ID Legislation Database.  The REAL ID State Legislation Database tracks state legislative response to the federal REAL ID Act of 2005.
• NCSL Transportation Funding Legislation Database. This database tracks 17 different transportation funding issues under consideration in the states.
• NCSL State Transportation Coordination Database. This database covers six topic areas including comprehensive coordination; coordination studies; and special transportation funding.
• NCSL and FHWA Operations, Management and ITS Legislation Database. A database of 2009, 2010 and 2011 state legislation relating to the operation and management of the highway system—including advanced transportation-related technologies.

Recent Meetings

• 2011 NCSL Fall Forum Presentations.  View presentations from transportation-related sessions at the 2011 NCSl Fall Forum in Tampa, Fla., including sessions on public-private partnerships, federal highway funding, the state of America's infrastructure, and trucking.
• 2011 NCSL Legislative Summit Presentations.  View presentations from transportation-related sessions at the 2011 NCSL Legislative Summit in San Antonio, Texas, including sessions on fuel prices, public-private partnerships, livability and older adults, non-emergency medical transportation, child passenger safety, transportation governance and finance, and more.
• 2011 NCSL Spring Forum Presentations. View presentations from transportation-related sessions at the 2011 NCSL Spring Forum in Washington, D.C., including sessions on federal highway funding, metropolitan planning organizations, and transportation governance and finance.
• 2010 NCSL Fall Forum and Transportation Leaders Meeting Presentations. View presentations from transportation-related sessions at the 2010 NCSL Fall Forum in Phoenix, including from the Transportation Leaders Meeting.
• 2010 NCSL Legislative Summit Transportation Committee Presentations. The NCSL Transportation Committee featured many excellent sessions, including the Livability Pre-Conference, at the 2010 Legislative Summit in Louisville, Ky. You can view and hear many of these sessions.
• 2010 NCSL Spring Forum Transportation Sessions. See presentations on key transportation issues from the 2010 NCSL Spring Forum in Washington, D.C., including sessions on public-private partnerships, transportation funding and finance, hazmat transportation, high-speed rail and complete streets.
• 2009 NCSL Fall Forum Transportation Committee Presentations. Here are presentations from Transportation Committee sessions at the 2009 NCSL Fall Forum in San Diego, including a link to a meeting of the NCSL Foundation Partners Project on Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).
• 2009 NCSL Legislative Summit Transportation Committee Presentations. Here are presentations from Transportation Committee sessions at the 2009  NCSL Legislative Summit in Philadelphia, including information from a meeting of the NCSL Foundation Partners Project on Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).
• 2009 NCSL Spring Forum Pre-Conference Meeting on PPPs. The NCSL Foundation Partners Project on Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) hosted a special seminar in D.C. on April 22, 2009.  Here are meeting minutes and presentations.
• 2009 NCSL Spring Forum Transportation Committee Presentations. Here are the presentations given from Transportation Committee sessions at the 2009 NCSL Spring Forum in Washington, D.C.
  

Other NCSL Online Resources

• High-Speed Rail Resources Page. Recent boosts in federal funding for high-speed, intercity passenger rail suddenly have made high-speed rail a high-profile issue. Learn more about federal and state activities and the NCSL Working Group on High-Speed Rail. Includes a recent NCSL hearing and April/May LegisBrief.
• Distracted Driving Resources. Lawmakers at the state, federal and local level are examining a wide variety of issues related to driver focus, including potential distraction caused by cell phones and other technology in the car.
• Drunk/Impaired Driving Laws. NCSL has been tracking this issue for many years and has compiled the latest information on ignition interlock laws, increased penalties, and driver’s license revocations.
• Livable and Sustainable Communities. The Federal Transit Administration recently launched the Livable and Sustainable Communities website to help advance the Department of Transportation’s Livability Initiative and the Interagency Sustainable Communities Partnership.
• Countdown to Real ID. Following the deadline of May 11, 2008, state driver's licenses and identification cards were not to be accepted for federal purposes unless the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) determined that a state was compliant with the REAL ID or a state had been approved for an extension by the Secretary of DHS. All 56 U.S. jurisdictions have received an initial extension from the Secretary of the DHS. The initial extension is valid until December 31, 2009.
• Cash Flow: State Procedures for Spending ARRA Highway Infrastructure Investment Funds.  These findings of an NCSL 50-state survey, updated in February 2010, detail how legislatures and state DOTs allocated and spent ARRA highway investment funds.
• State Implementation of ARRA Transportation Provisions: Web Resources. A list of web resources from NCSL, federal agencies, state DOTs, and more, about state implementation of transportation provisions from the federal recovery act (ARRA).