2011 Spring Forum and Transportation Committee Meeting Presentations

capitol in spring April 14 – 15, 2011
Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel
Washington, DC

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Thursday, April 14

NCSL PPP Working Group Meeting

New federal surface transportation reauthorization legislation could redefine federal policy concerning public-private partnerships. This session featured an update on federal PPP policy developments, a presentation on California's PPP activity, and a business meeting of the working group to discuss progress on current group initiatives.

Meeting Summary

Presiding
Jennifer Jones, Texas Sunset Advisory Commission

Speakers

Jennifer Ahlin, P3 Program Manager, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Innovative Program Delivery
Fawn Johnson, Correspondent, National Journal Group
Jessica Digiambattista, Fiscal and Policy Analyst, California Legislative Analyst's Office View Presentation

Hill Meetings

U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) Staff
U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) Staff
U.S. Congressman Nick Rahall (D-WV) Staff

Meeting with the U.S. Department of Transportation

Joanna Liberman Turner, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs
Beth Osborne, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy

Friday, April 15

Rethinking Federal Highway Funding

Does the current federal model for funding highways offer states a fair deal? In this session, speakers considered the existing approach to distributing highway funds among the states and explore proposed alternatives, including reform efforts in Congress, in light of federal surface transportation reauthorization developments.

Presiding
Jennifer Jones, Texas Sunset Advisory Commission, Staff Vice Chair

Speakers

Steve Cohen, Assistant Director, Physical Infrastructure Issues, GAO View Presentation
Shirley Ybarra, Senior Transportation Policy Analyst, Reason Foundation
Jack Basso, Director of Program Finance and Management, AASHTO View Presentation
Chandler Morse, Office of U.S. Congressman Jeff Flake (R-AZ)

MPOs in the States

Metropolitan Planning Organizations are federally-mandated and federally-funded transportation planning organizations for urban areas of 50,000 or more people. This session explored the role of MPOs in the states, the oversight of entities outside state agencies, and the role of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Presiding
Eric Bugaile, Pennsylvania House Transportation Committee, Immediate Past Staff Chair

Speakers

Phillip Herr, Director, Physical Infrastructure Issues, GAO View Presentation
DeLania Hardy, Executive Director, Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (AMPO) View Presentation
David Robertson, Executive Director, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
Ron Kirby, Director of Transportation Planning, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments View Presentation

Federal Update and Business Meeting

Federal efforts on surface transportation reauthorization, NCSL policy discussion and other topics were addressed.

Presiding
Senator D. Scott Dibble, Minnesota, Immediate Past Chair

A New Look at State Transportation Governance and Finance

For the last year, NCSL has partnered with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) to produce a groundbreaking, 50-state review of the roles and relationships of state legislatures and DOTs. In this session, the project and its findings were presented by NCSL and AASHTO staff, followed by reflections from legislative and DOT leaders on current issues and trends in state transportation governance and finance.

Presiding
Representative Linda Harper-Brown, Texas, Committee Chair

Speakers

Joung Lee, Deputy Director, AASHTO Center for Excellence in Project Finance
Jaime Rall, Transportation Policy Specialist, NCSL View Presentation
Jennifer Jones, Assistant Director, Texas Sunset Advisory Commission and Co-Chair, NCSL-AASHTO Task Force
Joe Erskine, Deputy Secretary for Finance and Administration, Kansas Department of Transportation and Co-Chair, NCSL-AASHTO Task Force