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Lege Trend: Peachy Transportation Laws Impact Local Governments in 2 Ways. Ends Aviation Exemptions.

Georgia this year overhauled transportation funding by passing HB 107, that will:

  • phase out the State’s 4% sales and use tax on motor fuel
  • raises the excise tax to $0.26 cents per gallon on gasoline and $0.29 per gallon on diesel, dedicated to transportation funding
  • creates an up to $100 fee on heavy trucks
  • eliminates the $5,000 state income tax credit for buying an electric vehicle
  • total-electric car owners will now pay a $200 annual fee ($300 for commercial vehicles)
  • adds an…

Golden State in Special Session on Transportation Funding & Governance. 2 Governance Proposals.

Last week we talked about business & labor leaders in California proposing an increase in fees and taxes to generate $6 billion for road funding.  This week the California Economic Summit’s Infrastructure action team suggested transportation governance overhaul including:

 

  • “Creating additional regional financing authorities authorized to build and maintain transportation and goods movement projects—and to enter into public-private partnerships to fund these projects, conduct…

Regulatory Trend: Update to Ride Share Rules from the Silver Mine State

Nevada’s proposed rules for ride share regulations have now been published. The rules include:

  • $300,000 application fee + a levy of 1% of annual revenue
  • Drivers could face a $50 fee the first year and $10 annual renewals

Procedural hurdles for the rules:

  • public hearing
  • consideration by state lawmakers on the Legislative Commission.

AutoBlog

Trend: Private Rail Rising in the East

Boston Surface Railroad Co. is planning a commuter rail line that would shuttle passengers between Worcester, Massachusetts, and Providence, Rhode Island. It’s about 45 miles.

Significant private investment in passenger rail is rare. The goal is to be up and running by 2017.

Not be outdone, All Aboard Florida is working on a $2.25 billion project to build a passenger rail from Miami to Orlando. It  also wants to being operating a limited route by 2017.

ABC News

Hacking Cars. Manufactures Proactively Fix Systems to Protect Vehicles From hackers.

Onstar–the savior for people who lock their keys in the car.  Onstar–the way for hackers to take over your car.

Until this week, hackers were able to take control of opening cars, turning on the ignition, and locating the vehicle. The hack took $100 of equipment but was an otherwise easy path to taking over Onstar.

Findlaw

Researchers testing the Tesla system also identified a potential vulnerability and sent out a wireless update to Tesla systems.

TechCrunch

What Collin County Dwellers Think of High Speed Rail

  • “I would vote for the free enterprise model”  but, “you are stuck upon arriving at the train station to proceed on foot, bus or by taxi to your final destination.”
  • “it will bring new business and new tourists to both cities and to College Station.”
  • “high-speed rail is a necessity”
  • “This is another example of some folks deciding they want their money-making project at the expense of landowners who are forced off their land with no benefit to themselves or to their communities. The court…

TX Prop. 7: Dedicating Funds for State Highway Fund

Proposition 7

“The constitutional amendment dedicating certain sales and use tax revenue and motor vehicle sales, use, and rental tax revenue to the state highway fund to provide funding for nontolled roads and the reduction of certain transportation-related debt.”

Governor Abbott Proclamation

Senator Nichols, “If passed by the voters, the proposition would be the largest single increase in transportation funding in Texas history.”   GoSanAngelo