CTroyMathis
01 January 2003, 05:05 PM
Transportation funding may fall far short of needs: Report calls for sharp increase in gas tax
Plano Star Courier
By PAUL MEYER , Staff writer 12/29/2002
When Collin County Judge Ron Harris gazes 25 years into the future, he sees a disturbing combination of continued population growth and stagnant transportation funds.
"We're short as a state $20 (billion) to $25 billion in transportation funds by 2025," said Harris, who chairs the Dallas Regional Mobility Coalition. "We're going to have 10 million more Texans, 3 million more people in North Texas, and 500,000 more in Collin County."
In the Dallas area alone, almost $8 billion in under-funded transportation projects are projected by the year 2007, according to a report given to the Texas Transportation Commission earlier this month.
To help rectify the expected funding shortfall, Harris, along with regional transportation leaders and other local officials have recently proposed a 'Bold Transportation Initiative for Texans' that features a 20-cent increase in the gas tax over the next 10 years to help fund local transportation projects.
The group plans to ask for the tax increase, at a rate of 2 cents each year, in the upcoming legislative session, and for a constitutional amendment in 2004 to allocate 100 percent of the new revenue to transportation projects.
Currently, 25 percent of the state's gas tax goes toward education funding. Harris estimates the new tax dedicated solely to transportation would raise about $23 billion.
As part of the attempt to find more dollars to increase capacity of North Texas roads, transportation officials have also recommended restructuring the way projects are funded by developing a list of projects, providing a funding source, and submitting the package to voters for approval in the form of a bond.
Michael Morris, director of transportation at the North Central Texas Council of Governments, praises Harris' vision and leadership in trying to bring more transportation dollars to local projects while directly involving voters.
"Tying the tax to specific transportation projects is a very novel idea in state government, but it's an issue that Harris faces with each county bond program," Morris said.
"It's a nice twist, and the interesting part is that all the money would go toward transportation," Morris said. "I think Harris needs to be given credit for this initiative to raise the consciousness when it comes to transportation funds."
The challenge, however, comes in persuading enough politicians to vote for a new transportation program while facing more publicized items like the $5 billion budget deficit, a crisis in homeowner's insurance, and the need to reform medical malpractice proceedings.
"If you look at surveys of governors across the country, transportation funding doesn't get into the top 10 list, but on a local level transportation is an engine that has sustained economic development," Morris said.
State Rep. Jerry Madden, R-Plano, said he expects transportation funding issues to garner substantial interest among legislators but doubts whether new funds can be provided.
"It will be one of our top 10 items," Madden said. "I've seen various lists where it has ranked in the top five. There will be significant discussion about it, but it will be difficult to provide more funding given where we are with the budget."
To help pack a strong political punch in getting more dollars, Harris has also taken a lead in the now 6-month-old Greater Houston-Dallas/Fort Worth Transportation Alliance that hopes to bring a larger share of transportation dollars to Texas' largest urban areas.
The two areas together have almost 45 percent of the state's population and 89 legislators - numbers that give Harris hope when it comes to mustering the necessary political support to wrestle for transportation dollars.
"We have in the past been almost mortal competitors for transportation dollars, but we find we have a lot in common with our needs," Harris said. "Boiled down, it is our goal to bring a focus to urban issues on mobility without taking away from anyone else."
Harris helped present the alliance's recommendations to the Texas Highway Commission earlier this month where he says he received a sympathetic ear.
"We will have more people moving here than live here today in North Texas, and Collin County is in the epicenter of the growth," Harris said. "We were in Salado last weekend, picked up the Temple newspaper, and saw they had approved $250 million for new road construction. It's not that they don't need it, but what about LBJ and 35 that are causing a lot more traffic here."
The transportation alliance has issued a series of nine core recommendations to make urban mobility a priority, including an annual report card on the status of urban mobility in Texas and the adoption of performance measures to ensure accountability when state dollars are spent.
The group also recommends rewarding regions that invest more local resources than others to address mobility needs.
"I think the Houston/Dallas strategy exemplifies Churchill's saying that a rising tide raises all ships," Morris said. "If every community simply said, 'We're not getting our fair share,' then the legislature could just say this is not a funding issue but a crisis in management.
"TxDOT is not spending on the wrong projects, but there are just too many projects to fund."
For Collin County, mobility needs promise only to grow.
"We're looking at a $5 billion deficit statewide, and there are going to be some difficult choices because we're also in a transportation crisis," County Commissioner Joe Jaynes said. "We're coming out to the county voters next fall with $125 million in road projects. But with the state only having a third of the funding it needs, the most important thing legislators can do is fund the Texas Mobility Fund to sell bonds for road projects."
Last year voters approved the constitutional amendment that created the Texas Mobility Fund to finance state highways and other public transportation projects.
The bond program does not have any funding as of yet, and the Legislature must dedicate revenue to it before bonds can be issued for projects.
At stake, local transportation officials say, is the region's future as a leader in economic growth and the attraction of new industry.
"When Dell Computers moved from Austin to Tennessee, it showed that we can't take transportation for granted," Morris said. "I don't think it will take many Dell Computers before somebody pays attention to transportation. These are the kind of transportation projects that sustain our ability to have a high quality of life."
Plano Star Courier
By PAUL MEYER , Staff writer 12/29/2002
When Collin County Judge Ron Harris gazes 25 years into the future, he sees a disturbing combination of continued population growth and stagnant transportation funds.
"We're short as a state $20 (billion) to $25 billion in transportation funds by 2025," said Harris, who chairs the Dallas Regional Mobility Coalition. "We're going to have 10 million more Texans, 3 million more people in North Texas, and 500,000 more in Collin County."
In the Dallas area alone, almost $8 billion in under-funded transportation projects are projected by the year 2007, according to a report given to the Texas Transportation Commission earlier this month.
To help rectify the expected funding shortfall, Harris, along with regional transportation leaders and other local officials have recently proposed a 'Bold Transportation Initiative for Texans' that features a 20-cent increase in the gas tax over the next 10 years to help fund local transportation projects.
The group plans to ask for the tax increase, at a rate of 2 cents each year, in the upcoming legislative session, and for a constitutional amendment in 2004 to allocate 100 percent of the new revenue to transportation projects.
Currently, 25 percent of the state's gas tax goes toward education funding. Harris estimates the new tax dedicated solely to transportation would raise about $23 billion.
As part of the attempt to find more dollars to increase capacity of North Texas roads, transportation officials have also recommended restructuring the way projects are funded by developing a list of projects, providing a funding source, and submitting the package to voters for approval in the form of a bond.
Michael Morris, director of transportation at the North Central Texas Council of Governments, praises Harris' vision and leadership in trying to bring more transportation dollars to local projects while directly involving voters.
"Tying the tax to specific transportation projects is a very novel idea in state government, but it's an issue that Harris faces with each county bond program," Morris said.
"It's a nice twist, and the interesting part is that all the money would go toward transportation," Morris said. "I think Harris needs to be given credit for this initiative to raise the consciousness when it comes to transportation funds."
The challenge, however, comes in persuading enough politicians to vote for a new transportation program while facing more publicized items like the $5 billion budget deficit, a crisis in homeowner's insurance, and the need to reform medical malpractice proceedings.
"If you look at surveys of governors across the country, transportation funding doesn't get into the top 10 list, but on a local level transportation is an engine that has sustained economic development," Morris said.
State Rep. Jerry Madden, R-Plano, said he expects transportation funding issues to garner substantial interest among legislators but doubts whether new funds can be provided.
"It will be one of our top 10 items," Madden said. "I've seen various lists where it has ranked in the top five. There will be significant discussion about it, but it will be difficult to provide more funding given where we are with the budget."
To help pack a strong political punch in getting more dollars, Harris has also taken a lead in the now 6-month-old Greater Houston-Dallas/Fort Worth Transportation Alliance that hopes to bring a larger share of transportation dollars to Texas' largest urban areas.
The two areas together have almost 45 percent of the state's population and 89 legislators - numbers that give Harris hope when it comes to mustering the necessary political support to wrestle for transportation dollars.
"We have in the past been almost mortal competitors for transportation dollars, but we find we have a lot in common with our needs," Harris said. "Boiled down, it is our goal to bring a focus to urban issues on mobility without taking away from anyone else."
Harris helped present the alliance's recommendations to the Texas Highway Commission earlier this month where he says he received a sympathetic ear.
"We will have more people moving here than live here today in North Texas, and Collin County is in the epicenter of the growth," Harris said. "We were in Salado last weekend, picked up the Temple newspaper, and saw they had approved $250 million for new road construction. It's not that they don't need it, but what about LBJ and 35 that are causing a lot more traffic here."
The transportation alliance has issued a series of nine core recommendations to make urban mobility a priority, including an annual report card on the status of urban mobility in Texas and the adoption of performance measures to ensure accountability when state dollars are spent.
The group also recommends rewarding regions that invest more local resources than others to address mobility needs.
"I think the Houston/Dallas strategy exemplifies Churchill's saying that a rising tide raises all ships," Morris said. "If every community simply said, 'We're not getting our fair share,' then the legislature could just say this is not a funding issue but a crisis in management.
"TxDOT is not spending on the wrong projects, but there are just too many projects to fund."
For Collin County, mobility needs promise only to grow.
"We're looking at a $5 billion deficit statewide, and there are going to be some difficult choices because we're also in a transportation crisis," County Commissioner Joe Jaynes said. "We're coming out to the county voters next fall with $125 million in road projects. But with the state only having a third of the funding it needs, the most important thing legislators can do is fund the Texas Mobility Fund to sell bonds for road projects."
Last year voters approved the constitutional amendment that created the Texas Mobility Fund to finance state highways and other public transportation projects.
The bond program does not have any funding as of yet, and the Legislature must dedicate revenue to it before bonds can be issued for projects.
At stake, local transportation officials say, is the region's future as a leader in economic growth and the attraction of new industry.
"When Dell Computers moved from Austin to Tennessee, it showed that we can't take transportation for granted," Morris said. "I don't think it will take many Dell Computers before somebody pays attention to transportation. These are the kind of transportation projects that sustain our ability to have a high quality of life."