Update from Washington, D.C.
House Democrats Release Multi-Year Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill
June 4, 2020
Earlier this week, the Democratic leaders of the House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee released their long-awaited highway and transit reauthorization bill. The legislation – entitled the Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation (INVEST) in America Act – is scheduled to be considered by the committee on June 17. A summary of the legislation can be found here.
All told, the bill would authorize nearly $500 billion over five years for surface transportation programs, including $319 billion for highways, $105 billion for transit, $5 billion for highway safety, $5 billion for motor carrier safety, and $60 billion for rail – a roughly 46 percent increase over current investment levels. Despite the ambitious funding targets included in the legislation, House Democrats have yet to release a proposal for how to pay for the new spending. In the House, the job of producing a revenue title for the transportation measure falls to the Ways and Means Committee.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the INVEST in America Act would provide $83.1 billion in FY 2021 funding for states, local governments, tribes, and transit agencies to administer programs, advance projects, and preserve jobs due to impacts from the health crisis. Highway, transit, and safety funds for the first year of the reauthorization period would be made available at a 100 percent Federal share, thus eliminating the usual state and local match.
As widely anticipated, the House legislation includes new investments and policies aimed at addressing climate change and resiliency. Among other things, the bill would require the U.S. Department of Transportation to establish new greenhouse gas emissions performance standards. To help states meet climate change goals, the bill would allocate funds to support carbon pollution reduction measures.
In the area of resiliency, the legislation would create a new program to fund emergency evacuation needs. Under the bill, states and metropolitan planning organizations would be required to develop an infrastructure vulnerability assessment to help guide investments under the program. The measure also would make resilience a core part of the Federal-aid highway program and would allow states to spend dollars from other apportioned programs in order to enhance resiliency.
Of additional interest to California’s counties, the House legislation places an emphasis on bridge investment. Specifically, the INVEST in America Act would require states to spend 20 percent of their National Highway Performance Program (NHPP) and Surface Transportation Program (STP) dollars on bridge repair and rehabilitation projects. In addition, the bill would increase the local off-system bridge set-aside to over $1 billion annually, up from the roughly $770 million under current law.
In addition, the legislation would establish a number of discretionary grant initiatives, including a program for “Projects of National and Regional Significance.” Under the bill, $9 billion would be available for large highway, transit, and freight projects that reduce congestion on roadways and that cannot be funded through annual apportionments or other discretionary sources. Furthermore, a new “Community Transportation Investment Grants” program would provide $600 million annually to local government applicants covering a wide variety of highway and transit projects. 25 percent of the program’s funds would be set aside for rural areas.
Outlook
T&I Committee Democrats are expected to have the votes to advance the INVEST in America Act to the floor despite criticisms from panel Republicans that the bill shortchanges their priorities. Among other things, GOP members have charged that the legislation would limit state flexibility while creating new regulatory burdens for both states and localities.
Assuming the T&I Committee clears the bill as planned, Democratic leaders have indicated their intent to bring the measure to the floor in early July. With the current surface transportation law (the FAST Act) slated to expire on October 1, lawmakers will have little time to develop a revenue package. Accordingly, many observers are predicting that Congress will need to approve a short-term extension of the FAST Act to avoid a lapse in federal highway dollars to states.