Legislative and Major FTA Legislative and Major FTA Initiatives UpdateInitiatives Update

2011 Annual MTAP/SCOPT Fall Meeting2011 Annual MTAP/SCOPT Fall MeetingNovember 16, 2011November 16, 2011

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Legislative UpdateLegislative Update• FTA and all Federal Surface Transportation programs are

currently operating on extension bill (H.R. 2887) which extended the authorization of SAFETEA-LU to March 31, 2012

• House and Senate working on transportation reauthorization

Senate committee approved two-year highway bill – Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21)

Transit comes from the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee - mute now but should be moving forward

For the Senate version the Committee on Finance needs to find $12 b in general revenue to supplement Highway Trust Fund

Transportation Weekly recently reported that the House may be looking at going from 6 to 2 years due to lack of revenue 2

Legislative Update – Legislative Update – late breaking news!late breaking news!

• The House Appropriations Committee has filed the joint House-Senate conference report on the "minibus" appropriations package (H.R. 2112) containing the fiscal 2012 Agriculture, Commerce-Justice-Science, and Transportation-HUD appropriations bills, along with an extension of the current stopgap continuing resolution through December 16.

• The current CR expires at midnight on Friday, November 18, which makes the minibus a "must pass this week" item in the House and Senate, to avoid a partial government shutdown this weekend.  

• Conference agreement defers to the Senate’s proposed funding levels for FTA - $8.361 b for formula and bus grants, $1.955 b for New Starts, $98.7 m for admin, and $150 m to the DC Metro System

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American Jobs Act - Overview

• Introduced in the Senate by President Obama in early September 2011

• On October 5, 2011 Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid introduced a modified version of the American Jobs Act, S. 1660, which included $50 billion for infrastructure investment.

• State by state comparison: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/10/27/mapping-out-american-jobs-act

• $50 b to DOT – $9b to FTA

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American Jobs Act – Transit Capital Assistance

$3 billion for transit formula grants for urbanized and non-urbanized areas - To purchase buses and rolling stock and to repair existing rail and bus systems, including preventative maintenance.

• Recipients may use up to 10% for operating• Federal share up to 100 %• Funds must be obligated within 2 years after the date

of enactment• Distribution of funds by formula

5307 – Urban – 80% 5311 – Non-urban – 10% (Tribal Transit 2.5% available) 5340 – Growing and High Density States - 10%

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American Jobs Act – State of Good Repair

$6 billion for State of Good Repair

• Fixed Guideway Systems – modernize existing systems – 75%

• Bus Systems – replace, rehab, and purchase buses and construct facilities – 25%

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American Jobs Act

• Local hiring –use of geographical preference in “areas of high unemployment” and when the cost of the projects > $10 m• Includes workforce development and training

programs

• $5 b for transportation infrastructure grants and financing• May use to pay the subsidy and administrative costs

of projects receiving a TIFIA credit assistance

• National Infrastructure Bank• Projects > $100 m – rural projects >$25 m

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Safety

• Continues to be DOT’s #1 priority• 12/9/2009 - the Secretary announced Public

Transportation Safety Program Act of 2009, a new transit safety bill to ensure a high and standard level of safety across all rail transit systems

• Eliminates the statutory prohibition against imposing broad safety standards that has been in place since 1965

• Transit Rail Advisory Committee for Safety (TRACS) Provide information, advice, and recommendations on transit

safety and other issues as determined by the Secretary of Transportation and the Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) 

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Public Transportation Safety Act of 2010 (cont’d)

June 2010 - Senate Banking Committee unanimously approved the Public Transportation Safety Act of 2010

• Establishes a National Public Transportation Safety Plan. • Requires Public Transportation Agencies To Establish

Comprehensive Safety Plans.  • Improves the effectiveness Of State Safety Oversight Agencies

and increases Federal funding.   • Provides new enforcement authority over public transportation

safety to the Secretary Of Transportation. • Establishes a system to monitor and manage transit assets to

improve overall safety.  • Authorizes appropriations of $66 m over three years for public

transportation safetyThe future: Bill will need to be reintroduced – possibly in

reauthorization bill

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State of Good Repair

• July 2010 FTA study estimated bringing the nation’s rail and bus transit systems into a state of good repair at $77.7 billion

• Annual $14.4 billion to maintain the systems • Essential to provide safe and reliable service to millions

of daily riders.• Recapitalization, maintenance issues, asset

management practices, and innovative financing strategies.

• SGR Discretionary funding: FY10 - $776 m and FY11 awarded $753 m

• 22 State DOTs were direct recipients of a FY 2011 SGR Discretionary Grant Award

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State of Good Repair (cont’d)

TERM Lite is an analysis tool designed to help transit agencies assess their: State of Good Repair (SGR) backlog (total dollar

value and by asset type) Level of annual investment to attain SGR or other

investment objective Impact of variations in funding on future asset

conditions and reinvestment needs Investment priorities - by mode and asset type

www.fta.dot.gov – scroll down to State of Good Repair

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Climate Change Impacts Worsen State of Good Repair Challenge

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↑ Intense Precipitation, >90%*↑ Very Hot Days & Heat Waves, >90%*

↑ Hurricane Intensity, >66%*Rising Sea Levels, >99%*

*IPCC certainty level

FTA Adaptation Initiative• Report examines climate impacts,

strategies, risk management tools • Pilots of transit agency adaptation

assessments – selection to be announced soon (one to focus on asset management systems)

• Workshops and webinars –Next in DC, Feb/Mar 2012. Webinars 12/6/11. Recording on web.– Above available at

www.fta.dot.gov/sustainability.– Click on “FTA Climate Change

Adaptation Initiative”

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Veterans Transportation and Community Living Initiative

• Announced Nov. 9th

• New FTA initiative will invest $34.6 m in 55 different “one-click, one-call” transportation resource centers across the county, bringing more transportation choices and better job access to our veterans and their families.

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Livable/Sustainable Communities

• FTA focus – training, joint development circular, value capture research, support communities with streetcar projects

• Nov. 17th – rural report• Webinar series – 1st in December on rural

transit• Livability grants

$162 m in FY10 $175 m in FY11 ($25 m Alternative Analysis and

$150 m Bus/Bus Facility Livability Grants)

• HUD-DOT-EPA Partnership

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Title VI and Environmental Justice

• FTA’s proposed changes to the Title VI circular Prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or

national origin in Federally funded programs and activities Provide more clarity, accountability, transparency, and

consistency• FTA’s new environmental justice (EJ) circular

Fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.

Practical guidance on how to incorporate EJ principles• Rebecca Tanrath will be speaking tom.

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Questions?Questions?Charmaine Knighton

Deputy Regional Division Administrator

Region 8Charmaine.knighton@dot.gov

720.973.3327

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