By Ron Thaniel
August 30, 2004

As Congress prepares to return from their month long summer recess September 7, The U.S. Conference of Mayors prepares to mount a September lobbying campaign advocating for a metropolitan focused transportation bill. The cornerstone of that campaign is the reauthorization of TEA-21 that invests in transit, addresses aging and congested infrastructure, protects the environment and fosters job creation.

Mayors '04 Metro Agenda for America's Cities Unveiled

Under the leadership of Conference President Akron Mayor Donald L. Plusquellic, the Conference of Mayors released its updated 4-point policy agenda for the 2004 election during a special leadership meeting in Chicago on August 11. Entitled Keeping America Strong: Mayors '04 Metro Agenda for America's Cities, the bi-partisan policy document focuses on four key policy issues to strengthen and maintain the growth of metro economies, including Smart Investment: New Infrastructure for a New Economy.

Under transportation investment, the Conference calls for no less than $318 billion over six years for reauthorization of the nation's surface transportation law (TEA-21) to build a 21st Century Transportation system with modern transit and high'speed rails, Amtrak, bridges, large'scale transportation infrastructure projects, and metro highway systems with new technologies that link major metro areas, cut the time people spend in traffic, create more jobs, and move goods and services more productively.

Conference Reauthorization Priorities

Maintaining the Conference's support for a $318 billion transportation bill requires continued balance transportation investment in our metropolitan areas including public transportation investment, metro focused infrastructure investment, environmental investment, and safety and increased public investment. Visit usmayors.org to view in detail the Conference's reauthorization priorities.

Rights-Of-Way Provision Undercuts Local Authority

A controversial provision slipped into both the House and Senate transportation bills would prohibit a state or local government entity from enforcing rights-of-way management rules on companies seeking to provide Intelligent Vehicle Highway/Transportation Technology Systems in the rights-of-way.

The provision states "An intelligent transportation system ... that involves privately owned intelligent transportation system components and is carried our using funds made available from the Highway Trust Fund shall not be subject to any law (including a regulation) of a State or political subdivision of a State prohibiting or regulating commercial activities in the rights-of-way of a highway for which Federal-aid highway funds have been used for planning, design, construction, or maintenance, if the Secretary determines that such use is in the public interest."

The Conference is preparing a second letter to House and Senate Transportation Conferees as Congress returns.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors calls on Congress to respect the unimpeded right of local government as owners/trustees of the local rights-of-way to manage their rights-of-way and to receive compensation, including collection of all costs, including recovery of reasonable rent, for the use of the rights-of-way by companies seeking access to the rights-of-way to provide Intelligent Vehicle Highway/Transportation Technology Systems.

Funding Obstacles Remain

The Senate passed a bill that provides $318 billion in contract authority and $301 billion in guaranteed spending, while the House-passed bill provides $284 billion in contract authority and $279.5 billion in guaranteed spending.

Current law, which expired last October and has been extended five times, provides $218 billion in funding for the period 1998-2003.

Prior to the August recess, Congress passed and the President signed another short-term measure that extends the transit program through September 30 and highway program through September 24. The highway program was extended for a shorter period because several Members want to preserve the option to authorize high priority highway projects for FY04.