Fund This

(from the March 2010 Editor's Note in AsphaltPro Magazine)

The Colorado Department of Transportation announced bid deferrals two weeks in a row (as we went to press). The Missouri DOT announced “indefinite” bid delays Feb. 26. An uncertain senator from Kentucky, whom we won’t name or lambaste here, held up flawed but necessary funding extensions Feb. 28. Liquid asphalt prices in most states, as reported on page 48, drifted a little higher…again.

I could list more gloom and doom, but why? We’re all living it. The tireless Jay Hansen, vice president of government affairs for the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA), Lanham, Md., provided a quick review of the “condition” of the Highway Trust Fund balance on page 30. It’s not pretty, but do you understand why? Hansen’s no-nonsense style spells it out plainly.

He explained in a side note—which didn’t fit on the page—that state agencies are impotent to move forward with projects that could put contractors to work thanks to funding instability. States have got to have an appropriations bill as well as an authorization bill enacted before they can build or repair federally funded highways. Here’s how it works.

“Before a state transportation department commits to fund a highway project it must be able to assign equal amounts of ‘contract authority’ from an authorization bill and ‘obligation authority’ from an appropriations bill. SAFETEA-LU (or an extension) is an authorization bill that provides states with a budget that can be committed for projects. The actual financing or cash for the projects is determined by Congress through the annual appropriations process. Finally, the Highway Trust Fund Highway Account is the source of funds provided in the appropriations bill.”

The next bill to hold industry’s attention is H.R. 2847. A 10-month band-aid doesn’t let states perform long-term planning, but at least clears the stage for immediate, 2010 construction season projects. As of a late press time, the House had just passed the bill and sent it back to the Senate. What industry members need to do is get on the phone to their representatives to encourage them to get H.R. 2847 in place. These cute little 30-day extensions might keep current work current, but they don’t let states make the necessary plans for real business, for a safe summer or autumn 2010.

A monthly publication like AsphaltPro is great for the how-to information and project stories we provide, but the lead time for monthly deadlines doesn’t let us bring up-to-the-minute updates on legislative action to you. For that, we developed this blog. I encourage you to check out the post titled “Funding Wars” for updates and links to funding information. Don’t forget your opportunity to influence legislation.

Stay Safe,

Sandy Lender, Editor

Tags: AsphaltPro Magazine, Asphalt Pro Magazine, funding, legislation

You Want to do WHAT in an Election Year?

(from the March Editor's Note of AsphaltPro magazine)

We ought to just label this "the tax issue" of AsphaltPro. We've got an article about transportation funding compiled from AASHTO Executive Director John Horsley's presentation at the recent NAPA meeting, our coverage of the NAPA meeting includes a hefty dose of info on transportation funding, and I'm about to rail on the topic here.

You have to understand, I don't like paying taxes. I live in a state where there is no state income tax, and that makes me pretty happy. (One less surprise to pay in April.) But a fuel tax that makes the roads I drive on safer is one of those inconvenient things that I almost welcome (almost) because it makes sense. And let's argue the word "inconvenient" for a moment, shall we?

How inconvenient is it to absorb an extra 40 cents that got worked into the system somewhere up the chain so I'm paying a couple cents extra at the pump? The steps:

1. insert debit card
2. pump gas
3. hang up nozzle
4. drive away

That wasn't so inconvenient, now, was it? It's not as if I was asked to write a large check to the state specifically to take care of the roads I want repaired so I can be safe, so my groceries can be delivered in a timely fashion to the store down the street, so the ambulance whisking a friend to the emergency room gets there without an additional accident, so the airplane taking me to CONEXPO doesn't have to wait in a long line because Runway C is too cracked for use.

Do you see my point? We don't feel the shock of a 40-cent user fee increase at the pump, but we sure will feel the shock of losing $70 billion in Federal Highway Funding next fall when the current user fee expires.

Consider the number of roads the construction industry can maintain if DOTs and counties see a sudden and sharp decrease in funding. How many new projects, intended to mitigate gridlock and congestion, do you think will go through if states suddenly can't go to the well for monies to pay contractors? And if states can't afford to let projects, how can producers and contractors afford to keep employees?

If your job is at risk, you must let your representative know. Why vote for him or her this fall if he or she isn't interested in protecting your welfare on not just that basic employment level, but on a safety level, too? The roads we all drive on should, at the very least, be preserved and maintained to keep them safe for travel. (Heck, about 4 to 6 percent of the roads in this country are concrete pavements that need to be replaced and/or resurfaced!)

The argument I present to you is that your representative in Congress should be concerned about your livelihood and your safety. If that person isn't willing to reinstate and up the user fee that funds highway and infrastructure expenses, then that person isn't willing to reinstate your job. Why should you be willing to reinstate his (or hers)?

Congress has to act this summer to get a user fee in place to replace the one that's expiring. Without it, we won't have the funds to continue maintaining and improving the nation's highways and bridges. Safety, thus lives, are at risk. Jobs, thus livelihoods, are at risk. It's time to make some phone calls. You can find your representatives' contact information at http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt.

Stay Safe,
Sandy Lender, Editor

Tags: AsphaltPro, Asphalt Pro, Federal Highway Funding