By Ron Thaniel
September 13, 2004

With Congress returning from their month long summer recess this week, September 7, hopes of reaching a compromise on the transportation bill before the fifth extension expires later this month are slim.

Prior to the August recess, Congress passed and the President signed a fifth 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.

Efforts to complete the transportation bill in September will depend on conferees reaching agreement on the overall funding level. The Senate passed bill 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.

In an effort to bridge the funding gap, House conferees, led by Representative Don Young (AK), Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, proposed a $299 billion in contract authority and $284 billion in guaranteed funding level just prior to the August recess. It would include a rescission of $15 billion in existing contract authority.

The $299 billion proposal was a counteroffer to Senator James M. Inhofe's (OK), Chairman of Environment and Public Works, $301 billion in contract authority and $290 billion in guaranteed spending, including a $12 billion rescission of prior contract authority proposed in July.

House and Senate transportation members are studying Federal Highway Administration (FHA) computer simulations to calculate the effects of a $299 billion program on state-by'state Highway Trust Fund allocations. As U.S.Mayor heads to press, the Conference staff is evaluating the FHA calculations and will provide a detail analysis in the next issue of U.S.Mayor.

Transportation Investment Major Cornerstone of Mayors '04 Metro Agenda for America's Cities

In a September 7, letter to House and Senate leadership and members of the transportation conference committee, Conference President Akron Mayor Donald L. Plusquellic urged 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, 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.

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 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 or 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 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.