InfoHive – Transportation – Page 196 – Just another WordPress site

State Guts Mass Transportation Funding. 3 Bits of Informed Intel.

What state is gutting its mass transit budget? Colorado is moving a bill that would remove mass transit funding

What impact would this have on local government mass transit projects?

There would be no state grants to local transit agencies
Transportation officials also say it means “lost funding opportunities for organizations that provide transportation services for the elderly and people with disabilities”

Which party is pushing this? Republican

The Gazette | Bill would gut state funding for mass transit in Colorado

3 Bits of Informed Intel on all the new Aerospace And Aviation Advisory Committee Appointees

Sharon Denny
- McKinney
- vice president of Strategy for Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems
- B.S. in journalism from the University of Maryland & a Master of Science in natural resource management strategy from the National Defense University in Washington D.C.
Amy L. Gowder
- San Antonio
- vice president of Supply Chain Management for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company
- B.S. in bioengineering from Arizona State University & a MBA from MIT
Cathy Kilmain, Ph. D.
- North Richland Hills
- executive vice president of engineering for Bell Helicopter
- B.S. in aerospace engineering from Syracuse University & a Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy in aerospace engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology
J.Ross Lacy
- Midland
- president of Lacy Oil Corporation
- active at UT-PB from where he received a BBA in finance
Bob Mitchell
- Pearland
- president of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership
- very active : University of Texas Medical Branch Health System Advisory Board, Texas A&M University at Galveston Board of Visitors. Additionally, he serves on the boards of the Manned Spaceflight Education Foundation, Inc., HCA Gulf Coast Regional Advisory Board, Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Board of Advisors, and Gulf Coast Limestone, Inc
Terry Stevens
- Waco
- partner of First Title Company of Waco, LLC, and President/CEO of M&I Industries, Inc.
- former mayor of Woodway & past chairman of the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce
John Elbon
- Seabrook
- vice president and general manager of Space Exploration at Boeing
- B.S. in aerospace engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology
Robert Harless
- Dallas
- vice president and general manager of the Gulfstream Service Facility
- B.A. in applied science from Thomas Edison State College in Trenton, NJ.
Janine K. Iannarelli
- Houston
- founder and president of Par Avion Ltd.
- founding member of the Peace Parks Foundation of Stellenbosch, South Africa
- B.S. in business administration from Montclair State University, New Jersey
Gilberto Salinas
- Brownsville
- executive vice president of the Brownsville Economic Development Council & member of TexasOne
- Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Texas and Master of Communication from the University of Texas Pan-American.

Governor Abbott Names Presiding Officer And Appoints 10 To The Aerospace And Aviation Advisory Committee

Another Southern Republican State Moves to Raise the Gas Tax. 3 Bits of Informed Intel.

Loyal subscribers will recall thge luck Georgia had when it increased its gas tax when gas prices were low and taxpayers offered little objection.

Now, Alabama wants to follow suit with this proposal to raise the gas tax:

5 cent increase in the gas tax
with the seal of approval from the Alabama Legislature’s Permanent Joint Transportation Committee
American Petroleum Institute says the total Alabama gas tax will be 44 cents, that is including 18.4 cents of federal gas tax

The Hill | Alabama considering gas tax hike

West Coast Bullet Train May Change Course.

After condemning 350 pieces of property to build the first 28 miles of track in Southern California, the first segment of operational track may be moved to San Francisco Bay Area.

Why the switch in starting track? The Los Angeles portion of the high speed rail is expected to be:

costly
time-consuming
geologically complex with the Tehachapi and San Gabriel mountains and a large system of tunnels and aerial structures

East Bay Express | Monday Must Reads: Transportation Funding Hurt by Plummeting Gas Prices; Bullet Train May Connect to Bay Area First

Los Angeles Times | Bullet train’s first segment, reserved for Southland, could open in Bay Area instead

INTERIM Trend: Self Driving Car Regulation. 1 State Started Regulation and Statutes in 2012. Everything you need to Know.

California Department of Motor Vehicles has been wokring on rules for self driving cars since 2012. Here’s everything you need to know to be informed:

California DMV has a self driving car manufacturer & testing website
California is in the public input portion of rule making, on schedule to beat the feds on rules
What did California do by statute? defintions and rule making. The defintions:
- “Autonomous technology” means technology that has the capability to drive a vehicle without the active physical control or monitoring by a human operator.
- “Autonomous vehicle” means any vehicle equipped with autonomous technology that has been integrated into that vehicle. An autonomous vehicle does not include a vehicle that is equipped with one or more collision avoidance systems, such as electronic blind spot assistance, automated emergency braking systems, park assist, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, lane departure warning, and traffic jam and queuing assist.
- An “operator” of an autonomous vehicle is the person who is seated in the driver’s seat, or if there is no person in the driver’s seat, causes the autonomous technology to engage.
- A “manufacturer” of autonomous technology is the person that originally manufactures a vehicle and equips autonomous technology on an originally completed vehicle or, in the case of a vehicle not originally equipped with autonomous technology by the manufacturer, the person that modifies the vehicle by installing autonomous technology to convert it to an autonomous vehicle after the vehicle was originally manufactured.
The focus of DMV rulemaking is to develop requirements for :
- evidence of insurance
- surety bond
- self-insurance required for manufacturers’ testing of autonomous vehicles.
- application process to operate an autonomous vehicle beyond testing, including:
  - any testing, equipment, performance standards, or safety standards.

Sacramento Bee | AM Alert: California jump-starts discussion on self-driving car rules

Lege Trend: Sales Tax Break for Car Manufacturers. Bonjour Industrial Tourism & Eco Devo Dollars.

Which state is considering a new sales tax break for car manufacturers? California

What kind of the sales tax break is under consideration? eliminate sales tax on new automobiles manufactured in California for out-of-state buyers

What’s the goal of this bill? industrial tourism– buy a product; see the sights.

Is there a sunset time for this tax break? Yes, 2020.

Sacramento Bee| Lawmaker hopes to lure Tesla buyers for visits with tax exemption

4 Ways States in 2016 are Funding Transportation

California is looking at switching the gas tax to a tax on mileage
Indiana is looking to hike the gas tax and cigarette taxes for roads
Michigan Republicans see road funding in an increase in sales tax
Virginia is looking at a tax on mortgage filings and property lien filings to fund roads

Americans for Tax Reform | Meanwhile, in the States…

Lege Trend: Raising New Taxes for Long Term Road Maintenance. 3 Take Aways from the State with $77 Billion in Deferred Maintenance.

California has $77 billion in deferred road maintenance
California Governor called on building a reserve transportation fund
California Governor called on new taxes specifically dedicated for crumbling roads and bridges

Governing | California Governor Calls for New Taxes to Fund Roads