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- 4-/� -acs CONGRESS POISED TO DISCUSS FUTURE OF CRITICAL TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM The federal Transportation Equity Act for the 21 s' Century, commonly referred to as TEA -21, was set to expire on September 30, 2003, but House and Senate leaders reached an impasse on the question of overall funding levels for the program and the mechanism by which transportation spending will be financed. Since an agreement on a multi -year authorization bill could not be reached, Congress approved a short-term extension of TEA -21 (P.L. 108 -88) that ensures that all transportation projects receiving federal funds will be financed at 2003 spending levels through February 24, 2003. Additional time will allow Congress to evaluate and modify the Bush Administration's proposed multi- year authorization bill, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2003 (SAFETEA), which was introduced in legislative form in both the House and Senate (H.R. 2088 and S. 1072 respectively). The Bush Administration Proposal - SAFETEA SAFETEA, which was unveiled earlier this year and discussed in numerous committee hearing since May, outlines a $247 billion plan for reauthorization of TEA - 21. Under the proposal, the Revenue Aligned Budget Authority (RABA) calculations have been modified in an attempt to create more certainty about funding levels each year. In addition, the proposal creates a new core funding category within the Federal -Aid Highway program dedicated to transportation safety and seeks to consolidate a number of other existing safety programs related to the Surface Transportation Program safety set - asides and traffic safety and associated grants administered through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The proposal eliminates Surface Transportation Program set - asides for safety to be replaced by a new Highway Safety Improvement Program. SAFETEA also seeks to make several substantive changes and realignments within the federal transit program, in project areas such as New Starts. Other changes within the federal transit program may subject some of the programs within the federal transit pro- gram to the funding uncertainty inherent in the annual appropriations process because they would be sup- ported by general fund revenue rather than the TEA - 21 guaranteed funding streams they'd enjoyed previ- ously. SAFETEA continues the CMAQ program and increases its funding. In addition, the proposal ex- pands project eligibility and criteria and revises the funding allocation formula to reflect the extent to which jurisdictions meet federal air quality standards. Tax benefits and incentives to curtail pollution and an expanded timeline for states to demonstrate that transportation and air quality plans conform have also been included in the Administration's proposal. A six -month statute of limitations for appeals related to environmental documentation is part of the SAFETEA proposal along with an outline of the timelines state agencies must meet when making decisions related to permits and environmental reviews. Finally, the proposal creates a block grant pilot program that can be used for many of the projects and programs included in SAFETEA. Recent Committee Action on Reauthorization Last week, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee used the Administration's vehicle, S. 1072, to reach a bipartisan agreement on TEA -21 reauthorization (11/12). The amended legislation was accepted by the committee in a bipartisan fashion, 17 -2, and provides $255 billion for surface transportation projects. Controversial environmental concerns and the specific funding allocations for each state were not ultimately included in the bill marked up by the Senate Committee and await consideration on the Senate floor. A number of other amendments to the underlying bill however, were accepted during the markup and S. 1072 now includes some significant differences from the Administration's SAFETEA proposal. On November 19 the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Leaders introduced the Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (TEA -LU), which is a six -year (2004- 2009), $375 Billion piece of legislation. No further action on either the House or Senate version of the reauthorization bill is expected until Congress reconvenes in January 2004. Please visit the League's Transportation and Public Works Issue Page for the recently released draft of the House and Senate Committee bills and the TEA -21 Reauthorization principles and submit your comments on this issue to Jessica Mullan (916.658.8243, imullan(a or Genevieve Morelos (916.658.8254, amorelosecacities.oro). Continued on Page 7 PAGE 6 /PRIORITY FOCUS Visit the League's Official Web Site-- www.cacities.org