Category Archives: funding

Campaign Trend: Hit on Transportation Funding. 2 Key Points.

Americans for Prosperity, a group associated with the Koch borthers, is hitting Christie on transportation funding.

What you need to know now to be informed:

  • Americans for Prosperity are Opposed to gas taxes
  • Calling on a leader for transportation fudning

NJ voters will vote on dedicating the remained of the gas tax, about $40M, to transportation funding.

NJ.com | Koch Bros. group hits Christie on lack of N.J. transportation fix

INTERIM New Transportation Reinvestment Zone on the Horizon. 4 Points to be Informed.

Which local governmental entity is pursuing a transportation reinvestment zone? Weatherford

What’s the name of the TRZ?  Weatherford Transportation Investment Partnership

What’s Weatherford’s goals with the TRZ?

  • allocate taxes for new roadway projects
  • spur business development along Interstate 20
  • specificallt to “promote development in specific areas near the Interstate 20 corridor that lack roadway access”

What’s the revenue breakdown in the TRZ?

  • 75% of “additional property taxes…

INTERIM Self Driving Cars Get $4 billion in Testing Funds. 3 Points to Be Informed.

  • Transportation Secretary  Anthony Foxx made the announcement with Google and auto manufacturers General Motors, Ford Motor Co., Volvo, Fiat Chrysler and Honda
  • $4 billion pledged by the federal government to fund research and testing projects
  • The supportive goals relied on by the Secretary:
    • improve the U.S .transportation system
    • improve vehicle-to-vehicle communications technology
    • safety via obstacle and accident avoidance
    • 75% of the country lives in 11 mega regions, that means…

Trend: Eastern State Leader. No Votes on New Tolls.

I thought east coast states ran on tollways, where is there a vote moratorium? Connecticut

Who is pushing for no new toll votes? The Senate leader

What’s the rational? First, the public needs to vote to ensure dedicated transportation funding before the Legisalture votes on tolls.

What’s the transportation fudning situation in Connecticut? The Governor is proposing a 30 year, $100 billion transportation funding plan that will:

  • raise state sales tax by 1/2 a penny to 6.85%
  • increase…

INTERIM. 3 Bills that Require Interim Studies due in 2016.

Texas Legislative Council reminds us that the 2015 Legislature passed a bunch of bills with a bunch of interim study requirements. 

The transportation related interim studies from 2015 bills:

Plains State Proposal: Transportation Infrastructure Bank. 3 Points to Get You Ahead of the Game.

Governor Ricketts of Nebraska has a new transportation funding plan. It’s all centered around a new transportation infrastructure bank that will:

  • Be solely funded with cash reserves
  • Only fund pay as you go projects
  • Will have the power to:
    • accelerate road construction projects
    • help counties with funding for expedited bridge repair
    • fund transportation projects that support industry expansion
    • fund transportation projects that attract businesses to Nebraska 

WOWT | Governor…

Lege Trend: Fund Transportation by Eliminating Economic Development Tax Credits.

The pitch by some in Missouri is that transportation funding can increase by eliminating tax credits for economic development. 

Future economic development tax credits are possible under this proposal, if and only if the Legislature meets the funding request of the Missouri transportation agency.

KGOZ | Harrisonville state representative seeks to have public vote for transportation funding 

INTERIM Lege Trend: Transportation Sales Tax. Funding Ideas from the Land of Cheese.

Where is this legislative movement happening?  It is a bipartisan transportation plan in Wisconsin

Did Republicans or Democrats come up with this idea? Republicans

What stumbling blocks do they have? Convincing collegues it is not a tax increase

How do they counter this? By focusing on the local vote requirement.

What does the legislation allow?

  • Allow counties, with voter approval in a referendum, to impose a half-cent sales tax
  • Sales tax revenue is then distributed to local…

New Transportation Reinvestment Zone in South Texas. 3 Points to Know.

  • New county-wide transportation reinvestment zone approved unanymously in Cameron County
  • Can raise $1.6 billion for future transportation projects over the next 50 years
  • Allows Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority to pledge its funding for transportation bonds

Valley Morning Star | Economic development: Court approves new transportation reinvestment zone