• Mission & Governance
• Services Overview
• How to Get Involved
• Standing Committees
• NCSL Foundation

• Issue Areas: A-Z
• State-Federal Relations
• NCSL Standing Committees
• News from D.C. and the States

• About State Legislatures
• Elections, Campaigns & Redistricting
• NCSL's StateConnect Directory
• Web Sites

• Online Guide to NCSL Services
• Staff Sections and Networks
• Meetings & Professional Development
• Staff Directories

• Meetings Calendar
• Online Registration
• Meetings Home Page
• Legislative Summit

• Bookstore
• State Legislatures Magazine
• NCSL's StateConnect Directory

Energy & Transportation Update

An Information Service of the AFI Energy and Transportation Committee
May 17, 2000

Transportation

NCSL Comments on House Bill that Threatens TEA 21 and AIR 21
Recent Action: On May 12, 2000, NCSL sent a letter to Congressional leadership regarding H.R. 853, "The Comprehensive Budget Process Reform Act of 2000". H.R. 853 would change the way Congress assembles the federal budget. Supporters claim the legislation would simplify the budget process and force the President and Congress to work out budget disputes earlier in the year. NCSL voiced concern that budgetary changes proposed in H.R. 853 would undercut the funding progress made through TEA 21 and AIR 21. The bill would change agreed-to formulas for federal revenue investment to the states and thereby eliminate the certainty and predictability of funding provided by TEA 21 and AIR 21 and thwart long-term transportation planning at the state level. The bill does not include essential budget reforms contained in TEA 21 and AIR 21, most importantly dedication of transportation trust fund revenues for transportation programs, which could potentially be lost to non-transportation programs. NCSL is also concerned with the treatment of budget surpluses proposed in H.R. 853. Transportation surpluses would be regarded as general surplus and could be used for non-transportation programs, negating the ability of TEA 21 and AIR 21 to ensure that all transportation revenue be used explicitly for transportation purposes.

NCSL comments on H.R. 853 can be found at http://www.ncsl.org/statefed/hr853.htm

Transportation Plan to Boost Discretionary Spending
Recent Action: House Appropriations Committee considered the fiscal 2001 transportation spending bill on May 16, 2000. The Committee worked from the draft the House Appropriations Transportation Subcommittee approved May 8. The bill proposes almost $15 billion in discretionary spending, an increase of $1.4 billion from last year. Highway spending will increase by $1.9 billion reaching to almost $30.7 billion, keeping consistent with formulas set by TEA 21. The Federal Aviation Administration would receive about $12 billion through the bill.

Senate Committee Intends to Construct an Electric Industry Restructuring Bill
Recent Action: The Senate Energy and Transportation Committee will compare the provisions included in 5 bills (S.1047, S.2098, S. 1273, S. 516, S. 1284) in an attempt to propose comprehensive legislation on May 17, 2000. However, electric restructuring bills have had difficulties making significant progress in Congress in the past and many are skeptical that the Committee will be successful at drafting a proposal that will pass this year. If the Committee is unable to agree on comprehensive legislation, then the group may attempt to pass stand-alone legislation focusing on a few aspects of the deregulation. The most important issues are providing competition, reliability standards and clarifying state/federal jurisdiction over transmission.

NCSL testified on the bills listed above on April 13, 2000. The full text of the testimony can be found at http://www.ncsl.org/statefed/ertestimony.htm

Questions should be directed to Eileen Doherty, Committee Director, (202) 624-8687.