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Campaign TREND. 5 trending transportation funding methods.

The Colorado U.S. Senate race features candidates touting new transportation funding mechanisms like:

  • Cut agency costs to spend more money on road construction
  • the federal government should not fund construction on state roads
  • the feds should fund road maintenance of federal roads and return the remainder of gas tax revenues to the states
  • switch to a vehicle miles traveled taxing system
  • expand energy production to public lands and use the tax revenue for transportation

Denver Business…

New Kid on the Block. Fortune 500 Aviation Engineers Leave California for Texas.

What: Jacobs Engineering, a Fortune 500 company

What does Jacobs Engineering do? “monumental transportation and energy projects across the globe”

Where is it moving from? Pasadena, CA

Where is it moving to?  Dallas, TX

The economic Incentives?  $277,500 grant from Dallas’ economic development committee

Community Impact Newspaper | CA: Jacobs Engineering Plans to Move Jobs From Pasadena to Texas

INTERIM. Ride Share Bill Debate Gets Mean Fast in the West. 3 Pieces of Informed Intel.

California Assembly debate over a ride share bill that would allow companies to check criminal backgrounds of drivers in state criminal background check systems turned nasty.

The 5 reasons why debate took a mean turn:

  • Legislators say the author promised to provide liability immunity for companies that did not use the state criminal background check
  • The author said he never made a promise to limit liability for companies
  • The nasty debate, resulting in admonishments from leadership, caused…

Self Driving Cars. Honking. 3 Pieces of Intel about Self-Honking Cars.

Google is programming self driving cars with the ability to honk. Here’s what you need to know when Texas considers self-driving car bills again in 2017:

  • Google is pre-programming 2 honks:
    • a friendly “quiet two pips” to alert other drivers
    • af ull-on “loud sustained honk” for emergent situations
  • the human driver offers feedback to allow the honk or not
  • the honking system identifies false positives like cars making 3 point turns

Trusted Reviews | Google has taught its…

5 Business Groups Support Texas Central Rail.

  • Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce
  • Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce
  • Transportation Advocacy Group-Houston Region
  • Bay Area Houston Transportation Partnership
  • Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership

The businesses support high speed rail in Texas because:

  • high speed rail is “a catalyst for economic development “
  • represents “an innovative alternative for Texans’ growing transportation demands”

Cypress Creek Mirror | Houston-area business groups support for Texas’ high-speed train

Regulatory TREND. TxDMV Fee Increase. County Tax Assessors Opposed.

What fee does Texas DMV want to increase? DMV proposes a $5 processing and handling fee, with a $1.25 discount for online renewals

Why are county tax assessors/collectors opposed to the $5 processing fee? The move to encourage online renewals, would cause counties to lose fees. 

Houston Chronicle | Texas auto registration fees would jump $5 in DMV plan; tax collectors opposed

Republican State Chooses Road Bonds. Gives Governor More Power.

HOW: South Carolina legislature chose bond funding for transportation by:

  • Allocating $216 million in recurring funding for $2.3 billion in bonds over 10 years
  • Freeing up state funds to repair roads, interstates, and bridges

WHY did South Carolina opt for bonding?

  • 399 deficient bridges
  • The Governor is granted more power to appoint trasnportation commissioners, removing power from the joint legislative panel that selects commissioners
  • The legislature had the backing of the state’s…