Long-awaited transportation bill becomes law: new transportation legislation brings increased certainty, at least for the next two years, and is expected to provide more stability to highway, bridge, and transit projects around the country.

• Author: Berger, Barrie Tabin
• Position: Federal Focus

On July 6, 2012, the president signed the $120 billion Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), reauthorizing surface transportation programs for a 27-month period through September 30, 2014 (Public Law 112-141). For the past few years, uncertainty about the prospects that a longer term, more comprehensive transportation measure would actually become law caused frustration for state and local leaders. Not knowing how much funding would be available in the future made long-range planning for large infrastructure projects difficult. If Congress had not approved MAP-2] and the existing legislation had been allowed to expire, many state and local transportation construction projects would have slowed down or completely halted.

The new law brings increased certainty, at least for the next two years, and is expected to provide more stability to highway, bridge, and transit projects around the country. It keeps most current Highway Trust Fund taxes intact, including the 18.4 cents-per-gallon tax on gasoline and the 24.4 cents-per-gallon surcharge on diesel purchases, and fills the funding gap with a financing package that includes private-sector pension changes. The law is expected to preserve and create nearly 3 million jobs.

BACKGROUND

On August 10, 2005, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient, Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) was signed into law (Public Law 109-59). It authorized $286 billion in spending for the six-year period from 2004-2009 for a number of surface transportation programs, including highways, transit, bridge, freight, safety, and research. The act first expired September 30, 2009.

Since that time, the program has been temporarily extended nine times; Congress was unable to reach an agreement on a new, longer-term reauthorization that provided a solution to the significant shortfalls facing the Highway Trust Fund, which finances federal highway and transit programs. Resolution was reached with the enactment of MAP-21, which now replaces the SAFETEA-LU.

THE NEW LAW

Federal Highway Programs. The new law authorizes appropriations of $37.5 billion in fiscal 2013 and $37.8 billion in fiscal 2014 for the federal highway aid program, which includes a new national highway performance program, the surface transportation program, the highway safety improvement program, and the congestion mitigation and air quality improvement program. The measure consolidates federal surface transportation...