Draft Surface Transportation Reauthorization Policy Released for Public Comment

In preparation for its final release at the New Orleans annual meeting, NCSL’s Surface Transportation Reauthorization Working Group (see http://www.ncsl.org/standcomm/sctran/reauthgroup.htm) has released a draft version of a new surface transportation for NCSL review.  The text addresses numerous topics of great interest to state legislators, including the importance of state flexibility in exploring new financing options, the need to address the proliferation of earmarks in transportation funding, and a vision of the future state-federal relationship.  The draft policy is available in pdf format at the following link: http://www.ncsl.org/print/standcomm/sctran/ST08Draft.pdf.

DOT Offers to Help Michigan Tap Private Funds for Road Building

Transportation Secretary Mary Peters is encouraging cash-strapped Michigan to consider public-private partnerships as a source for transportation funding, saying her department can help the state leverage the more than $400 billion in private money available worldwide to improve roads.  A task force appointed by the governor is considering such partnerships as it studies ways to fund much-needed road repairs in the state, said Bill Shreck, a spokesman for the Michigan DOT.  Peters, visiting the state on May 5 to view a project involving the widening of a portion of Interstate 94, said her department's "innovative finance team" would be available to help officials take advantage of financing alternatives for that and other projects, and would provide "expedited review" for any I-94 proposal resulting from collaboration with the DOT team.

Public-private partnerships, said Shreck, can be an important tool in transportation funding. “However, they must be accepted by motorists, and they may face challenges as a result of financial and political volatility in what is currently a contracting world credit market." In addition, he said, legislative changes would be needed, since Michigan currently prohibits the use of such partnerships on public projects. (Source: Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.)

Firm Bids $12.8 Billion to Lease Pennsylvania Turnpike for 75 Years

A consortium of companies that includes a Spanish toll road operator won the competitive bidding for a 75-year lease of the Pennsylvania Turnpike with its $12.8 billion offer, Gov. Edward G. Rendell (D) said May 19, but legislative approval of the plan is uncertain. Rendell touted the lease proposal as a better means for the state to generate critical funding than making I-80 a toll road, a plan proposed in 2007 that is still being evaluated by the U.S. DOT.  The deal requires more than $5.5 billion in capital investments.

State lawmakers question the financial assumptions behind the governor's comparison of the two transportation funding plans, according to Erik Arneson, a spokesman for Pennsylvania Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R). Arneson said the General Assembly is unlikely to take any action on the lease proposal until it has a ruling from federal regulators on the I-80 tolling plan, which is subject to no specific timeline. (Source: Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.)

NCSL Reacts to PHMSA Interim Final Rule on Hazmat Transport

In a letter to U.S. DOT officials dated May 16^th, NCSL expressed several concerns with the interim final rule issued by the DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) on April 16^th (PHMSA–RSPA–2004–18730).  In order to fulfill the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007, the rule adds new data collection and analysis requirements on which rail shippers should base their routing decisions.  The effective date of the final rule is June 1, 2008.

NCSL’s concerns are that no sort of legal immunity be granted to rail carriers for negligence in hazmat transport; that consultation with states in the consideration of alternative routes be mandatory rather than “as appropriate”; and that states, local officials, and emergency personnel have access to the same information required by the rule as are given to the U.S. Department of Transportation.  The letter can be accessed at: http://www.ncsl.org/print/standcomm/sctran/PHMSA_letterMay08.pdf.