Senators Barbara Boxer (D-California) and David Vitter (R-Louisiana), Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee respectively, announced they have reached a framework for an agreement to a six-year surface transportation bill. The larger issue, however, is how to bring solvency to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF), which is the primary funding mechanism for the nation’s transportation system.
As counties will recall, Peter Rogoff, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s top policy official recently reported that the HTF could run short of funding as early as July. The implications of this will have a major impact on California’s counties as a whole, so restoring funding to the HTF will be of primary concern to Congressional members as part of any surface transportation discussion. The issue over how to fund the HTF will be under the purview of the Senate Finance Committee, which is chaired by Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon). Senator Wyden has expressed interest in pursuing corporate tax reform as one option for funding the HTF, but it is still uncertain where those discussions will end up.
RCRC Officers and staff recently attended the annual National Association of Counties (NACo) Conference in Washington, D.C., where they held meetings with key Congressional staff regarding reauthorization of the federal Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), the federal surface transportation infrastructure bill. These advocacy efforts were focused on the need to rededicate funding for on-system bridges, which was eliminated under MAP-21, and the need to reestablish the high-risk rural roads program.
For additional information, please contact RCRC Legislative Analyst Randall Echevarria at (916) 447-4806 or rechevarria@rcrcnet.org.