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Transportation:
Resources
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Background
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The 1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation
Efficiency Act (ISTEA), PL 102-240, authorized $155 billion for highway and transit
funding over six years. In summary,
the bill provided authorization for an integrated transportation system by funding a
variety of programs including; highways, mass transit, maintenance, bridges, AMTRAK, air
quality programs, safety programs, recreational trails, intelligent transportation, and
research and planning. Over 70% of the transportation related
revenue is distributed to state and local governments for highways and mass transit. |
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The current mechanism to fund the federal aid
programs is through the Highway Trust Fund. Revenues from the highway
user taxes, particularly the motor fuel tax, are deposited into the trust fund and
divided between the highway and transit accounts. Money for
highways and transit is distributed to state and local governments from the accounts
through a series of formulas and grants administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The formulas are controversial as
many states receive less federal aid than was contribute to the trust fund. The
disparities tend to be regional, with the Northeast receiving significantly more funding
than contributed. A table prepared by Federal Funds Information for States
(FFIS) shows the state by state ratio of payments to the Highway Trust Fund and
apportionments from the trust fund. |
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Reauthorization
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The authorization for ISTEA is set to expire on
September 30, 1997. For the latest information available on the reauthorization process,
please proceed to our hot topics section
devoted to transportation. |
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State Impact
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According to the 1996 State Expenditure Report, in 1996 states
spent $66.8 billion on transportation. As reflected in the chart below, this represents
8.9% of total state expenditures by function.
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States rely on federal funding and state dedicated
revenues to fund transportation projects. One of the major state earmarked revenue source
for transportation is the state gasoline tax. The Federation of Tax Administrators compiles a table showing state gas tax rates. In
addition, the FHWA publications Highway Taxes and Fees: How They Are Collected and
Distributed, 1995 provides comprehensive information on state and Federal laws that
provide for the taxation of motor fuel, motor vehicles, motor carriers, and licensed
drivers, and the distribution of these taxes and fees.
In addition, states are relying
on innovative financing strategies to fund infrastructure projects. A handful of states
are participating in the federal State
Infrastructure Bank (SIB) program. The use of SIBs are expected to grow as Congress
makes more states eligible.
The states highlighted below have recently implemented new financing strategies to
address the needs of their state’s roads and highways.
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Utah
Colorado
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Websites
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Helpful transportation information is available at
the following sources:
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For further
information
please contact:
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Patrick Casados, Sr. Staff Associate
National Association of State Budget Officers
444 North Capitol Street, N.W., Suite 642
Washington, D.C. 20001-1511
Phone: (202) 624-5382 or Fax: (202) 624-7745
Email: pcasados@sso.org
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Policy Resources