By Kevin McCarty
February 11, 2008

Denver John W. Hickenlooper, Chair of the Transportation and Communications Committee, convened panel members January 24 to review recent Congressional actions affecting the Conference’s transportation priorities and to assess the outlook for pending legislative proposals renewing federal rail, air and surface transportation programs.

In his opening comments, Hickenlooper called on the mayors to engage their Congressional delegations to urge action this year on pending legislation to reauthorize Amtrak, as well as the many programs and activities of the Federal Aviation Administration. He also encouraged panel members to begin thinking about proposed policy statements for the June 20-23 Annual Meeting, indicating that there will be proposals at that time to address the renewal of the nation’s multi-year surface transportation law, known as SAFETEA-LU.

Meridian (MS) Mayor John Robert Smith, Vice Chair for Railroads and Passenger Rail, told the panel members that the Senate had passed its Amtrak reauthorization bill (S. 294) with increased investment levels, but the House had not yet approved its version of the legislation, with the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar (MN) promising to place Amtrak’s reauthorization at the top of his agenda.

He explained that since this is a Presidential election year, there is not much legislative time on the calendar. For this reason, he said that, “There is an urgency to getting prompt action by the House on this legislation,” predicting that if final House action goes much beyond Memorial Day, it will be hard to get a final agreement to the President before this Congress adjourns. He asked his colleagues to contact their House Members to urge prompt action on the Amtrak reauthorization bill.

Smith also reported that a tentative labor agreement had been reached, averting a major Amtrak strike early this year, and that Amtrak’s ridership, on-time performance, and revenues are improving.

Tucson (AZ) Mayor Bob Walkup, Chair of the Aviation Subcommittee, reviewed the status of Congressional efforts to reauthorize the federal aviation law, providing an update on pending legislation and suggestions on what mayors can do to support action this year.

Walkup pointed out that the House-passed renewal bill (H.R, 2881) reflects the Conference’s key priorities, such as a proposed increase in local authority to raise Passenger Facility Charges (PFCs) to support growing airport capital needs. He said, “The Senate bill got caught in a dispute between the Commerce and Finance Committees over how to fund the Aviation Trust Fund,” explaining that the Commerce Committee is advocating an overhaul of the Trust Fund system by shifting the source of funds from a series of taxes and fees to a flat $25 fee per aircraft operation.

Reminding mayors that Congress extended FAA’s authorities only until February 29 without authorizing new contract authority, Walkup told his colleagues that FAA is not awarding any new Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grants. In December, $3.515 billion in AIP funding was appropriated for the current fiscal year, but no funds will be released until the FAA reauthorization is signed into law.

Citing the strong desire among Congressional aviation leaders to complete action this year on the FAA reauthorization, Walkup called on mayors to contact members of Congress to encourage them to support a PFC and AIP funding increase and to be prepared to demonstrate to them the benefits and impacts of these programs to our cities.

Calling attention to the recently-enacted Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, Anne Canby, President of the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership, explained how new transportation-related provisions can support mayors in achieving their energy and climate goals.

Canby told the panel that the new energy law changed the matching requirements for projects and programs funded by the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) Program, one of the core highway programs in the SAFETEA-LU law. Specifically, it allows 100 percent federal funding for CMAQ projects, subject to each state’s discretion, during this fiscal year (FY’08) and next (FY’09).

She emphasized how these funds can be used to advance many local climate and energy priorities given the program’s broad eligibilities (e.g., pay operating costs for new transit services, transit system expansions, including commuter rail, light rail and streetcars, bus purchases, and carpooling/vanpooling programs). Because states generally have not fully utilized these resources, Canby shared STPP estimates showing that about $3.8 billion is available in state accounts for CMAQ projects during this fiscal year, with an estimated $5.8 billion available through September 30, 2009.

In discussing the new Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant, Canby called attention to transportation elements that eligible for funding with block grant resources, including zoning changes that promote more energy efficient development, facilities for bicycling and walking, signalization, and other measures that increase energy efficiency and reduce energy consumption.

Tom Bulger, President of Government Relations, Inc., reviewed the key findings of a report by the National Surface Transportation Policy and Study Review Commission that was presented to President Bush and Congress just before mayors convened for the Conference’s Winter Meeting.

Notably, Bulger said that the Commission’s findings were strongly influenced by the Conference’s longstanding research on metropolitan economies, as the Commissioners sought to redesign the federal transportation program to respond to the needs of the nation’s larger metropolitan areas which now account for a substantial majority of the nation’s gross metropolitan product. Specifically, he called attention to a key Commission recommendation that a new Metropolitan Mobility Program be established, giving these areas access to a larger share of federal resources and significant autonomy over transportation investment decisions, subject to new federal performance measures.

His full presentation to the Committee, which was developed by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, can be found at http://www.mtc.ca.gov/meetings/presentations/TransportationForTomorrow.ppt

Although the Internet tax issue is handled by the Conference’s Urban Economic Committee, David Quam, Director of Federal Relations for the National Governors Association, was invited to brief Committee members on the outcome of the recent state local government campaign to win approval of key amendments to the Internet Tax Freedom Act. While the new legislation extended the 1998 moratorium on any new state and local taxes on Internet access fees, Quam explained that the extension should be viewed as a legislative success, given that a permanent moratorium was on the table. He also touted amendments clarifying the definition of Internet access, which limit the moratorium on state and local taxes to services that connects a user to the Internet. All goods and services sold over the Internet or any goods or services offered as part of a package or “bundled” with Internet access will no longer be subject to the existing moratorium.

Alan Fishel, a partner at the law firm of Arent Fox, spoke about the federal appellate court hearing February 6, and continuing efforts in support of the Conference and other local government organizations in their appeal of Federal Communications Commission decision on cable franchising. Fishel pointed out that there are numerous issues involved in the case, including whether the FCC had the right to usurp much of the local governments’ authority with respect to cable franchise agreements.