The League recently signed onto a letter with other state municipal leagues and local government organizations advocating positions beneficial to local governments in the upcoming surface transportation reauthorization legislation.
The current surface transportation funding is due to expire on September 30.
The committees in both the House and the Senate are actively negotiating over base text, which means that we are at a pivotal moment in the process.
The letter focuses on three core priorities that are important for local governments in every state in the country:
Local Partnership: As the level of government closest to our shared constituents, local governments are best positioned to identify which transportation investments will deliver the greatest benefit on the ground. To do this, Congress should:
- Expand the suballocated share of Federal-aid Highway Program formula funding, including the most flexible formula program--the Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG).
- Strengthen project selection processes to ensure that regional planning organizations in urban and rural area scan effectively access and program available funds.
- Preserve discretionary funding programs with a strong local nexus, such as the Safe Streets, BUILD, and the Railroad Crossing Elimination grant programs, to advance discrete, high-impact projects that fall outside traditional formula structures.
Safety First: Local governments strongly agree that safety must be a top priority for the transportation system. We urge Congress to retain the Safe Streets program in the next bill and consider adding local suballocation provisions to the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), giving local governments predictable, formula-based funding to address urgent needs and advance traffic safety goals in our communities.
Rebuild Bridges: Local governments play a role in bridge ownership and maintenance in every state in the country. We urge the continuation of a formula bridge program paired with a suballocation requirement to ensure meaningful improvement to both local and state-owned bridges. Suballocation levels could be calibrated based on local ownership within each state.
During this reauthorization process, we may communicate a need for you to reach out to your Member of Congress about the importance of these principles in the reauthorization.
Contact: Paul Penna, Director of Government Affairs, ppenna@njlm.org, 609-695-3481, x110.