Texas Still Heading Toward Highway Funding Cliff

Despite hopes that "the climate has changed," it appears that the Texas Legislature will not address the impending highway funding cliff during the legislative session that ends later this month. The last hope for passage was a vehicle registration fee bill that was withdrawn after some floor debate in the Texas House on May 9. The Transportation Advocates of Texas supported the bill along with several other pieces of legislation that would have addressed the coming plunge in highway funding. That included strong support for CSHB 479 and a companion that would have ended non-construction related diversions from the Highway Fund and harnessed the growth in vehicles tax revenues to build roads in future years.
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Highway Funding Bills Get Hearing in House

A total of eight important bills aimed at filling the $4 billion funding gap for highway funding got a hearing before the Texas House Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Budget Transparency and Reform on April 10. Bills were presented proposing increases in vehicle registration fees, curbing or eliminating diversions from the State Highway Fund, shifting a portion of the sales tax on motor vehicles to the Highway Fund, raising vehicle inspection fees to help fund the Department of Public Safety (and reduce diversions), raising the gasoline tax and modifying the State Infrastructure Bank. All these bills and resolutions are generally consistent with the goals of the Transportation Advocates of Texas and the need to take real action to address the impending Texas Highway Funding Cliff.
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Highway Funding: "The Climate Has Changed"

More than 200 transportation professionals participating in a Transportation Advocates of Texas event heard that there has been a very noticeable change in the conversation about transportation funding during the current session of the Texas Legislature. TxDOT Executive Director Phil Wilson said the conservation has come to the point that parties are discussion how to fund projects and how much is needed. He praised the transportation advocates for working with state legislators and leaders in a very effective way during the past few year, particularly in the run-up to the session. [Read More]

 

Transportation Funding 101 Draws High Interest

More than 100 representatives of legislative offices and several House members attended the Feb. 7th TRANSPORTATION FUNDING 101 event presented by the Transportation Advocates of Texas. The dramatic funding shortfall facing the state was reviewed, options for creating sustainable funding were reviewed and thoughtful questions made it clear that transportation funding is widely misunderstood. Just 5% of the TxDOT appropriations request for 2014-2015 would go to new capacity construction projects. You can download presentation materials from the event and learn more here. [Read More/Download Materials].

 

TRIP Lists 100 Most Deficient Highways & Bridges

A national research group has published its list of 100 most deficient highways and bridges in Texas and the results show things are getting worse. TRIP, a nonprofit group, compiled the list that includes metropolitan portions of Interstate 30, Interstate 45, Interstate 35, US 75, US 290, Loop 410 and more including replacement of the Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge, considered to be a mega project. The report warns that Texas needs to spend more on highways to keep pace with population and economic growth. Release of the TRIP report resulted in dozens of media stories throughout the state directing attention to the need for additional sustained highway funding. [Read More/Download the Report].

 

Texas Must Explore Other Funding Sources

The Texas House Transportation Committee says that the current gas tax won’t meet future transportation needs and that we must explore other sources of funding. In a Final Interim Report to the new 83rd Texas Legislature, the committee concludes that the highway funding shortfall is huge and growing.  They lay out funding options and implore colleagues to work toward establishing long-term solutions to deal with declining revenues from the gas tax and with diversions from the State Highway Fund. [Read More]

 

DMN Editorial: Lawmakers Must Get Serious

The Dallas Morning News weighed in with a straight-talk Sunday editorial pointing out that members of the Texas Legislature have not been serious for years about paying the true cost of our highway system. "Austin has got to get serious about a long-term, sustainable transportation plan," the editors said as they endorsed "all of the above" to help address the state's real highway funding crisis. [Read the Editorial]

 

Legislative Program: Adequate, Sustainable Funding

The Transportation Advocates of Texas board of directors have adopted a legislative program for the upcoming session of the Texas Legislature that calls for passage of long-term, sustainable, growing sources of revenues to fund transportation. Part of the message to legislators is that the viability of stop-gap measures to fund transportation has come to an end; incurring more debt is imprudent. The time has come to re-establish pay-as-you-go funding for transportation and to rely on the tried and true ‘user pays’ principle of funding transportation. [Read More]

 

The GOOD News and The BAD News

TAoT is again stressing that while there is some Good News about transportation, that news is being overshadowed by the Bad News of decaying pavement, congestion and declines in dedicated highway funding. The facts have been distilled into a simple summary sheet that makes the case for wisely addressing sustainable highway funding. It makes the point that the state's highway infrastructure is failing to keep pace with population and economic growth. The awarding of new highway project contacts will drop drastically in 2014 if there is no change. [Read More]

 

Highway Funding Options Being Aired

Two highway project funding policy changes are being widely discussed as we near the upcoming session of the Texas Legislature. One proposal calls for raising the state's annual vehicle registration fees and earmarking the revenue for new highway projects. Another proposal would require voter approval and would direct sales taxes collected on new and used vehicles to transportation projects rather than the General Fund. The Texas Tribune talked to advocates of these approaches. [Read More]

 

Crumbling Roads Cost You -- Big Time

Texas' crumbling roads are costing drivers plenty and roads will continue to deteriorate, new safety and capacity improvements won't keep up with growth unless new funding sources are found. A new report shows just how much the cost for each Texas driver is -- as much as $2,000 per year in some area. That burden results from extra vehicle operating costs, excess vehicle depreciation, traffic crashes related to road conditions, increased fuel costs and congestion delays. You can download the entire report here. [Read More]

 

WSJ: What Should Replace Gasoline Tax?

The Wall Street Journal has discovered that the gasoline tax is running on fumes and reports that there is broad agreement that it is broken and needs to be replaced, or at least overhauled. The Journal takes a closer look at some of the options available to policymakers including vehicle miles traveled, toll roads, gas tax indexing, taxing crude oil and a federal vehicle registration fee. The piece leads an "Investing in Energy" section in the Sept. 17, 2012 edition. [Read More]

 

Perryman Says New Highway Funding Crucial

Dr. Ray Perryman, Texas' economic impact guru for the past 25 years, says it is crucial that the state identify a mechanism for funding needed highway projects and maintenance. He also says that the potential costs of deteriorating roadways are substantial and could lead to Texas losing ground to other states. [Read More]

 

Cost of Doing Nothing Higher Than You Think

Underfunding highways costs Texans more, not less. Texans are paying with their time, safety and pocketbooks. There are large, real hidden costs that don't get talked about enough. They are absorbed by everyone. They are the cost of doing nothing about transportation funding. A&M's Texas Transportation Institute says motorists in urban Texas are spending on average 37 hours extra in traffic delays every year. The Cost of Doing Nothing is high. Texas community leaders and businesses are uniting to send a message to members of the Legislature that it is time to invest in highways again. [Read More]

 

Getting Ready for Bigger Panama Canal & Trade

Bigger ships mean greater shipping efficiency and will bring increased traffic to Texas seaports, highways and railroads. The Panama Canal expansion to accommodate much bigger ships will be complete in 2014. TxDOT has created a Panama Canal Stakeholder Working Group that is looking at ways TxDOT can help ensure that Texas is well-positioned to capitalize on canal expansion-related economic opportunities. [Read More]

 

 

Texas Transportation Debt Piling Up

There was important testimony at the Texas Capitol on July 9. Texas has "maxed out" the transportation credit card. The state has been issuing bond debt to pay for highway projects to the tune of $17.3 million. It will take about $31 million to repay that debt over the next three decades. In the meantime that money will not be available to build and maintain highways. Lawmakers are looking at the problem but are less than optimistic about a breakthrough solution. [Read More]

 

 

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