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Learn: Transportation Performance Management – Addressing Energy & Environmental Goals
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Category: US DOT
This morning the Department of Transportation will announce the availability of funds for the next round of the TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) Discretionary Grant program.
The Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) can be found here: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-01-31/pdf/2012-1996.pdf.
As you will note, the Fiscal Year 2012 TIGER grant program will make $500 million available for projects having a significant impact on the nation, a metropolitan area or region. In addition, as in prior rounds of funding, this year’s TIGER grants are for capital investments in surface transportation infrastructure and are to be awarded on a competitive basis. Projects will be evaluated on primary criteria that include safety, economic competitiveness, livability, environmental sustainability, state of repair and short-term job creation.
Please be aware of the following KEY DATES:
- Deadline for Pre-Applications— February 20th, 2012
- Deadline for Final Applications— March 19th, 2012
The DOT pre-application system will open on or before February 13th. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit pre-applications and applications in advance of the application deadlines.
If you have any questions regarding the TIGER 2012 NOFA, please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Aaron Rosenthal
Associate Director | Governmental Affairs
Office of the Secretary | U.S. Department of Transportation
202-493-2234 office | 202-400-1098 cell
The National Association of Profession Women is the most rapidly growing and recognized association for professional women in the United States. Lauren Michele was nominated and selected to join this organization in September 2010.
Policy in Motion is certified with the City of Sacramento as an Emerging Small Business Enterprise (ESBE). The firm’s Small Business Certification is linked here and can be found on the Vendor Database – City Certification Number 32334. The City of Sacramento states that the “small business certification provides bid preference and other incentives.”
Policy in Motion is certified as an Underutilized Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) in the States of California and Nevada. The firm’s California UDBE Certification is linked here— and can be found in the DBE Database under Firm Identification Number 39354. The firm’s Nevada DBE Certification can be found in the Vendors List under Vendor Number NV01335UCPN.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s DBE program provides a vehicle for increasing the participation by minority business enterprises in state and local procurement. Federal DBE regulations require state and local transportation agencies that receive DOT financial assistance, to establish goals for the participation of DBEs. Each DOT-assisted State and local transportation agency is required to establish annual DBE goals, and review the scopes of anticipated large prime contracts throughout the year and establish contract-specific DBE subcontracting goals. A percentage goal for DBE participation may be required on specific contracts, which is clearly stipulated at the time a contract is publicly advertised.
Please contact Lauren Michele if you are interested in contracting with Policy in Motion as an ESBE or UDBE
Join us for upcoming workshops in Sacramento, Los Angeles, and on the Web to help shape California’s future transportation system!
Caltrans is sponsoring workshops to gather early input from state, regional, and local agency staff and interest groups on the development of the California Interregional Blueprint. The California Interregional Blueprint will measure the effectiveness of the State’s and our regional partners’ plans to increase mobility, lower greenhouse gases, and create more sustainable communities.
Workshops will be hosted in Sacramento and Los Angeles, and feature informational presentations, large group discussions and interactive, real-time, electronic polling (allowing instant feedback). Workshops will also be simulcast on the Internet, allowing both in-person and webcast participants to participate in interactive polling exercises. (Please note: If you intend to participate via webcast, you will need a computer with a high-speed Internet connection and speakers.)
Register for the workshops by clicking on the button below:
After registering, you’ll receive a confirmation email with directions to the workshop. If you have questions, please contact Caroline Leary, Cambridge Systematics, at Cleary@camsys.com or via phone at (510) 879-4350 or 711 (TTY). For physical accommodations or other assistance, please contact Caroline as soon as possible but no later than two working days prior to the workshop you plan to attend.
SACRAMENTO
Friday, November 4, 2011
9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Sacramento Convention Center, Room 202
1400 J Street
Sacramento, California 95814
LOS ANGELES
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
1:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Caltrans District 7 Office, Room 01.040 A, B, C
100 S. Main Street
Los Angeles, California 90012
Federal NewsSenate Committee Adopts “Clean” Reauthorization. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passed a four month “clean” extension of the surface transportation reauthorization last week. Full Senate will consider next. The House of Representatives has yet to pass a “clean” authorization extension, but signals are that the four month extension should not run into too much trouble. House Marks Up Transporation-HUD Bill. The House Transportation-HUD Appropriations Bill (summary table) is consistent with the Ryan budget and funds Highway Trust Fund programs at “sustainable” levels as estimated by the CBO, meaning that federal-aid highways is set at $27.0 billion, a reduction of $14.1 billion (or 34%). The bill cuts Amtrak subsidies from $563 to $227 million; eliminates funding for high speed, TIGER grant programs, and intercity passenger rail capital grants. It funds mass transit new/small starts at $1.554 billion. Fun Federal Fact: Beginning in 1955 with Eisenhower, every administration but one has transmitted a Highway/Transportation bill to Congress. The exception? The Obama administration. While signaling strong support for infrastructure and transportation investments, the Obama administration stands out as the only one not to have transmitted a proposal to Congress (source Transportation Weekly). NADO Federal Legislative Report Materials. A well done report with graphs, charts, and just enough words. It covers the latest news from Capitol Hill and the federal agencies. There is an overview of the policy and budget outlook for the remainder of this year, including an update on the Debt Deal, the Congressional Super Committee, the FY2012 appropriations process, and a transportation update. |
CEQA Bills
| There were a lot of rumors of potential back room CEQA reform deals this year. Many ideas finally found the light of day in the form of late-session amendments. Three made it to the governor’s desk, one will have to wait for next year. Making the cut are SB 292 (Padilla) (the LA stadium bill), AB 900 (Buchanon) (giving governor discretion to grant streamlining for “environmental leadership development projects”); and SB 226 (Simitian) (solar projects, but also allowing new streamlining for projects that meet performance standards developed by OPR in a number of areas, including greenhouse gases and public health). The odd bill out was SB 931 (Dickinson) that would have allowed streamlining for employment centers and transit proximity projects. But that is why they have two year bills. |
California Interregional Blueprint November Workshops
| Save the Date! CalTrans will hold two California Intraregional Blueprint (CIB) workshops in November. The CIB provides a baseline for the California Transportation Plan and helps meet the requirements of SB 391 (requiring a state long range transportation plan to meet climate change goals). The CIB also complements RTPs. One session will seek input on the methodology that will be used to estimate GhGs for the 2015 California Transportation Plan.
Dates & Places: November 4 (9:00 to 11:30 am) at the Sacramento Convention Center; November 8 at the CalTrans District 7 Headquarters (100 Main Street) in Los Angeles (9:30 am to Noon). Both workshops will be webcast. |
Quick Hits
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On September 30, 2009 I was teaching a class of undergraduate civil engineering and transportation planning students at UC Davis about the evolution of the federal transportation reauthorization — particularly timely as on the day the current SAFETEA-LU bill expired. A few months prior on my first day interning as a transportation policy analyst in Washington D.C., then Chairman Oberstar of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I), proposed language for the Surface Transportation Authorization Act of 2009 — a 700+ page document stating that it would “transform federal surface transportation to a performance-based framework to reduce fatalities and injuries on our Nation’s highways, address the mobility and access needs of people and goods, improve the condition, performance, and connectivity of the United States intermodal surface transportation system, provide transportation choices for commuters and travelers, promote environmental sustainability, public health, and the livability of communities, support robust investment in surface transportation, and for other purposes.”
So here we are today — 646 days later — with another House T&I transportation reauthorization proposal described as a “multi-modal initiative” under Chairman Mica which “streamlines and reforms federal programs, expedites the project approval process, maximizes leveraging of limited resources, provides flexibility for states, and ensures long-term funding stability for job-creating transportation programs.”
However, if you ask anyone else paying attention what the proposal will likely achieve you will probably get a different answer.
The $230 billion proposal represents a 19.5% cut from the $286 billion from SAFETEA-LU (not accounting for the impact of inflation), with the “multi-modal initiative” in this proposal including:
- Vague performance measurements for highways, transit, and maintenance/state of good repair
- Major cuts to bicycle, pedestrian, transportation enhancements, and operational Amtrak funds
- Continues split of 20% for transit and 80% for highways
- No longer requires states to spend highway funding on non-highway activities
- No leadership for a federal infrastructure bank
James Corless, director of Transportation for America, responded to the Chairman’s proposal on state flexibility, transit funding and streamlining project delivery outlining that a bill this small would need to be constrained to three key goals:
- Maintaining our national highway and bridge system, which is quickly approaching its mid-life crisis;
- Providing more options such as public transportation, vanpools and safer streets for bicyclists and pedestrians;
- Promoting accountability through meaningful performance measures and a more strategic approach to transportation planning.
My overall take is that the proposal outline carries a mood of “making the most out of our scarce resources” — rather than providing for innovation and leadership. I mean, really, nearly two years later and this is the best we can come up with guys?
DOT 76-11
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Secretary LaHood Announces $527 Million in Funding for New Round of Popular TIGER Grant Program
Competitively Chosen Projects Will Create Jobs, Lay Foundation for Growth
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced that $527 million will be available for a third round of the highly successful TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) competitive grant program, which funds innovative transportation projects that will create jobs and have a significant impact on the nation, a region or a metropolitan area.
“Through the TIGER program, we can build transportation projects that are critical to America’s economic success and help complete those that might not move forward without this infusion of funding,” said Secretary LaHood. “This competition empowers local communities to create jobs and build the transportation networks they need in order to win the future.”
In the FY11 budget President Obama signed in April, $527 million was directed to the Department of Transportation for critical investments in the nation’s transportation infrastructure. States, cities, local governments, and other partnerships and groups will have until this fall to prepare their applications for the popular TIGER program, which has funded high-impact projects including roads, bridges, freight rail, transit buses and streetcars, ports, and bicycle and pedestrian paths.
The previous two rounds of the TIGER grant program provided $2.1 billion to 126 transportation projects in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Demand for the program has been overwhelming, and during the previous two rounds, the Department of Transportation received more than 2,500 applications requesting more than $79 billion for transportation projects across the country.
Projects will be selected based on their ability to contribute to the long-term economic competitiveness of the nation, improve the condition of existing transportation facilities and systems, improve energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improve the safety of U.S. transportation facilities and improve the quality of living and working environments of communities through increased transportation choices and connections. The Department will also focus on projects that are expected to quickly create and preserve jobs and spur rapid increases in economic activity.
For more information, please visit http://www.dot.gov/tiger/.
Policy in Motion has expanded legislative services to Washington State! Below are summaries and links to legislative analyses for 5 bills pertaining to transportation and energy:
Updated May 2nd, 2011
ESHB 1071: Complete Streets
- This bill will create a Complete Streets grant program. The purpose of the grant program is to encourage local governments to adopt urban arterial retrofit street ordinances designed to provide safe access to all users, including bicyclists, pedestrians, motorists, and public transportation users, with the goals of promoting healthy communities, improving safety, protecting the environment and preserving community character.
- ESHB1071 Bill Text (April 19, 2011)
- HB 1071 Bill Analysis
- Passed in the Washington State legislature on April 19, 2011. Delivered to Governor for signature.
SHB 1571: Regulation of EV Charging Facilities
- This bill prohibits the utilities and transportation commission,under certain circumstances, from regulating the rates,services, facilities, and practices of an entity that offersbattery charging facilities to the public for hire.
- SHB 1571 Bill Text (April 5, 2011)
- HB 1571 Bill Analysis
- Passed in the Washington State legislature on April 5th, signed by the Governor on April 11, 2011.
ESSB 5251: EV Road Maintenance Fees
- This bill requires that motor vehicles that are powered solely by electricity and are capable of being driven at a speed of more than 35 miles per hour must pay a $100 fee when the vehicle is registered and annually when the registration is renewed. The fee applies to registrations thatare due on or after March 1, 2012.
- ESSB 5251 Bill Text
- ESSB 5251 Bill Analysis
- ESSB 5221 passed in the Senate on March 29th, 2011. It is currently pending in the House.
SB 5467: 2011-2013 Capital Budget
- The Omnibus 2011-13 Capital Budget authorizes new capital projects forstate agencies and institutions of higher education for the 2011-13 fiscal biennium.The CapitalBudget generally includes appropriations for the acquisition, construction, and repair ofcapital assets such as land, buildings, and other infrastructure improvements. Funding for theCapital Budget is primarily from state general obligation bonds, with other funding derivedfrom various dedicated taxes, fees, and state trust land revenues.
ESSB 5764: Innovate Washington
- Innovate Washington is created as the successor agency to Washington Technology Center (WTC) and the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute (SIRTI). It is to provide and facilitate research supportive of state industries; to provide mechanisms for collaboration between technology-based industries andhigher education institutions; to help businesses develop and integrate technology into new products and helpbusinesses compete; to offer technology transfer and commercialization training opportunities; and to administer the Technology and Innovation Grant and Loan Program.
- ESSB 5764 Bill Text
- ESSB 5764 passed in the Senate on April 27, 2011. It is currently pending in the House.
For Immediate Release
Contact Rebecca M. (Becky) Sullivan
Communications Director
(w) 202-429-6990, ext. 206
(c) 202-412-5573
bsullivan@reconnectingamerica.org
April 12, 2011
STATEMENT ON CONTINUING RESOLUTION
BY RECONNECTING AMERICA PRESIDENT & CEO JOHN ROBERT SMITH
(April 12, 2011) The recently announced compromise to fund the federal government through the remainder of FY2011 preserves several critical programs, but also raises cause for concern. Reconnecting America is pleased to see that the compromise continues to support the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, which is effectively coordinating federal housing and transportation programs to provide the greatest benefits at the regional and local levels. Programs such as DOT’s TIGER grants and HUD’s Sustainable Communities grants will save taxpayer dollars over the long-term by helping communities make better investments today.
However, the reduction in the Federal Transit Administration’s New Starts/Small Starts program and the complete elimination of the High-Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail program in FY 2011 is a step in the wrong direction. In this era of $4-a-gallon gas, Americans need more transportation options, not fewer. In a report to be released tomorrow, Reconnecting America has found that the pent-up capital demand for fixed guideway transit, whose major federal source of funding is New Starts/Small Starts, is at least $233 billion and at current levels it would take 73 years to fund the backlog of transit projects being planned by communities all around America. (See graphic at right.)
These programs support communities’ efforts to connect people to jobs, to school, to health care. They are creating jobs today, and are helping to build a better future for our children and grandchildren. Reducing support for these programs is short-sighted and ultimately will set us back in our efforts to create stronger and more economically-resilient communities where Americans of all income ranges can afford to live, work, and play.
Reconnecting America’s work across the country has demonstrated the transformative power that investing in infrastructure can have on the economy, sustainability, and quality of life in our communities. Continued investment in transportation options is essential to allow our nation to realize its full potential.
# # #
Reconnecting America is a national nonprofit that is helping to transform promising ideas into thriving communities – where transportation choices make it easy to get from place to place, where businesses flourish, and where people from all walks of life can afford to live, work and visit. Reconnecting America is the managing partner of the Center for Transit-Oriented Development, the only national nonprofit effort funded by Congress to promote best practices in transit-oriented development. Reconnecting America is also a founding partner of Transportation for America, a broad coalition of housing, environmental, equal opportunity, public health, urban planning, transportation and other organizations focused on creating a 21st century national transportation program. For more information visit our website, www.reconnectingamerica.org
by Tanya Snyder on March 10, 2011
Senator Barbara Boxer got down to brass tacks on transportation funding in a committee hearing yesterday, even as DOT Secretary Ray LaHood remained vague on how to pay for the president’s ambitious proposal. Boxer said she’s not in favor of raising the gas tax, but she’d like it to be indexed to inflation. “We don’t even know if the president would go that far with us,” she said, but clearly something needs to be done.
Boxer: It’s a good news, bad news story. Good news, because people are getting better fuel economy; bad news because the Highway Trust Fund is slipping. And I’m looking for ways to get more money in there but they’re hard to come by. And because I drive a hybrid I’m not paying my fair share.
Ranking Member James Inhofe: That’s all right, you ought to see what I’m driving. We average out.
Boxer: I’m sure we average out. But you’re paying more for the roads than I am. I may be on the road as long as you are but I’m getting 50 miles to the gallon. So I’m not filling up the car and you’re paying more than I am. So it’s not fair to him [Inhofe] – I mean I think I’m wise to this, but we all should pay our fair share. So I think vehicle-miles-traveled is the way to go but I don’t seem to get much excitement when I mention it. I think we could do it easily, when you re-up your registration, this is how many miles I have now, then – but I don’t have any takers. Indexing the gas tax – indexing, not raising it – I could do that.
Boxer started the hearing with a ringing endorsement for a major expansion of the TIFIA loan program. She said both she and House Transportation Committee Chair John Mica “embrace a much more robust TIFIA program.”
She said the federal government is almost entirely shielded from risk with TIFIA. She alluded to the leveraging that is possible when federal funds are used right, using as an example the Crenshaw/LAX Light Rail project in Los Angeles, which made more than $500 million available at a cost of just $20 million to the federal government.
TIFIA loans only cover up to a third of a project, with local and state matches covering the rest. Boxer suggested allowing TIFIA to cover half of the project. DOT Budget Director Chris Bertram said that would be a mixed blessing – fewer projects could get federal money and less private investment would be involved, but it could be beneficial for projects that have a harder time attracting private investment.
Boxer asked Secretary LaHood, who was testifying at the hearing before the Environment and Public Works Committee, to support a TIFIA expansion. “In your budget, you call for a very large six-year bill,” she said. “But you really don’t – you say you look forward to working with us on how to fund it. I would respectfully suggest – and this is just me, speaking for myself – that this TIFIA program could be of enormous consequence. My understanding is that we are funding it at a very low level and the requests far surpass what we’ve been funding it at.”
But Secretary LaHood wasn’t nearly as specific as Boxer about how to fund the president’s $556 billion transportation proposal. He responded to Boxer’s push for expanded TIFIA funding by saying, “We like TIFIA,” and throwing in that he also likes the infrastructure bank and tolling. The president’s budget for 2012 authorizes $450 million for TIFIA – almost four times more than the amount authorized in SAFETEA-LU.
LaHood has been telling lawmakers, “We want to work with Congress on that,” when they ask him for funding justification for the president’s ambitious transportation proposal. The EPW hearing was the fourth time in a week that LaHood has appeared before Senate panels to be grilled about where the money for the plan was supposed to come from – especially with a gas tax hike off the table.
But when is that “working with Congress” part supposed to begin, if not now, while appearing daily before Senate committees that are trying to have a conversation with him about it? When asked about that after the hearing, LaHood just repeated, “We’re going to work with Congress.” But what funding options are even open for debate? “I’m not even going to get into that,” he said. “I’m going to wait to sit down in a room with these members of the House and Senate and see where they want to go.”
Both LaHood and Boxer also referred to a provision in the House budget proposal that would call for unobligated TIGER funds to be rescinded. The Senate is stalemated on the budget right now. LaHood and Boxer both condemned the call for rescissions. LaHood said the rescissions were a bad idea if Congress is trying to create jobs.
“People are expecting this money,” LaHood said. “And some of them are starting to realize now that if H.R.1 were to pass in the Senate, this money would come back to the federal treasury. And their dreams and aspirations and projects for high-speed rail, for transit, for light rail projects, streetcars and other things, roads and bridges, it would come back to the treasury.”
“They just cut the legs out from under these TIGER grants,” Boxer said.