SAFETEA-LU: Funding
I will start out my first article by briefing you on the funding aspects of the new 1,700-page federal surface transportation bill - Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users; or SAFETEA-LU for short. SAFETEA-LU authorizes the Federal surface transportation programs for highways, highway safety, and transit for the 6-year period 2004-2009, and has been signed into legislation by President George Bush on August 10, 2005. At $286.4 billion, SAFETEA-LU represents the largest surface transportation investment in U.S. history, and builds on the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) and the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) in shaping the highway program to meet the Nation's changing transportation needs. SAFETEA-LU amounts to an inflation-adjusted increase of about 5 percent for highways and 16 percent for transit over TEA-21— the previous six year transportation act which expired nearly two years ago. Detailed federal information on programs, provisions, and funding of SAFETY-LU can be obtained from http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/safetealu/index.htm.
Guaranteed Funding Totals by Agency: TEA-21 & SAFETEA-LU (in millions)
Agency | TEA-21 | SAFETEA-LU | Increase |
Federal Highway Administration | $163,000 | $227,560 | 39.6% |
Federal Transit Administration | $36,000 | $52,579 | 31.5% |
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration | $1,300 | $2,888 | 122.2% |
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | $1,700 | $3,430 | 101.8% |
Total | $202,000 | $286,457 | 41.8% |
The SAFETEA-LU revenue allocations to California can be broken down into two categories: earmarks and formula allocations. California will receive $21.6 billion in guaranteed formula funding for California highways and transit, an increase of $4.4 billion over the TEA-21 funding. Congressional earmarks for California in SAFETEA-LU total to $2.65 billion dollars for 546 projects, which represents 11% of the total national investment. Of which, a total of 116 projects worth $734.4 million are earmarked for Bay Area. California’s earmark allocation is $73 per capita or 15 percent under the average for the nation. The new bill will ensure that states receive a minimum of 92 cents for every dollar that they contribute to the Highway Trust Fund by 2008. The rate of return will start at 90.5 cents per dollar in 2005 and grow to 92 cents over the next four years. The Highway Trust Fund is made up on the 18.4 cents per gallon in federal gasoline taxes paid at the pump. An analysis of SAFETEA-LU legislation for Bay Area is conducted by Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and is available at http://www.mtc.ca.gov/legislation/SAFETEA.htm.
Sources:
posted by Vijay Kovvali at 3:12 PM
|
0 comments
