032707 - Legislative and Policy Update

As a public service, I am forwarding these updates from the American Planning Association.

March 28, 2007 F E D E R A L Senate Passes FY08 Budget Resolution; House to Act This Week ADMINISTRATION'S DOMESTIC CUTS REJECTED Senate Democrats, joined by Maine Republican Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, passed the FY08 budget resolution. The House will take up its version of the budget resolution this week. Under congressional rules, budget resolutions do not have the force of law but set binding limits on discretionary spending that guide the subsequent work of appropriators. Congress has failed to adopt a budget resolution in three of the last five years. Both the House and Senate budget bills reject almost all of the major cuts proposed by the Bush administration. The resolutions restore funding for the Community Development Block Grant program, boost spending on water infrastructure loan funds, raise the amount available for the upcoming farm bill, increase resources for energy programs and tax credits, and allocate excess gas tax revenues to state and local projects. In this issue: F E D E R A L Senate Passes FY08 Budget Resolution; House to Act This Week F E D E R A L Billboard Industry Seeks Exemption in War Spending Bill F E D E R A L Transit Benefit Equity Legislation Introduced S T A T E Indiana: Public Opposition Scuttles Private Tolling Plan S T A T E Arizona: Water Adequacy Bills Make Progress The resolutions incorporate new "pay as you go" budget rules. The Senate bill envisions the extension of some tax cuts and an expansion of child health care. It does not address entitlement reform, but Senate Budget Chairman Ken Conrad (D-N.D.) and Ranking Member Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) plan to introduce legislation creating a bipartisan commission of lawmakers charged with proposing specific remedies to long-term solvency issues. F E D E R A L Billboard Industry Seeks Exemption in War Spending Bill PROVISION ALLOWS REPLACEMENT OF NONCONFORMING SIGNS Last year the billboard industry twice tried to include language in congressional appropriations bills to waive key sections of the Highway Beautification Act. The industry sought an exemption to rebuild billboards destroyed by natural disasters. The replacement signs would be modern, permanent structures. Those efforts were unsuccessful. Undaunted by defeats in the 109th Congress, the industry is back again with a provision in the Senate version of the supplemental spending bill for the Iraq war. The new effort limits the application of the exemption to 13 southern states. The language was inserted at the request of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. The HBA designated certain signs as "nonconforming" based on their location. The law stipulated that, as with all nonconforming land uses, when the structures were deemed destroyed they would not be replaced in the same location. Following recent hurricanes in Florida, hundreds of signs were illegally rebuilt, leading to a dispute with the Federal Highway Administration. Many believe the Florida experience led to the lobbying effort to seek natural disaster exemption. APA has written to Congress opposing the provision based on its potential impact on nonconforming land uses and potential for further erosion of local authority over outdoor signs. The Senate bill must be reconciled with a differing House-passed version. Both measures face a presidential veto threat related to provisions for withdrawal from Iraq. F E D E R A L Transit Benefit Equity Legislation Introduced MEASURE RAISES TRANSIT TAX BENEFIT In the same week that transit ridership topped 10 billion trips per year for the first time in 49 years, companion bills were introduced in the House and Senate to raise the allowable transit commute benefit to match that for parking. Rep. James McGovern (D-Mass.) and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) introduced the "Commuter Benefits Equity Act of 2007" (H.R. 1475 / S. 712). Commuters can now receive up to $110 per month in transit benefits, but the monthly parking benefit is $215. "Establishing parity between commuter benefits and parking benefits will provide American workers with an incentive to utilize transit for their commute to work," McGovern said. "Enactment of this legislation will help ease congestion, improve air quality, and reduce dependency on foreign oil. It also makes sense for employers who can use it as an effective employment recruitment and retention tool." The measures have been referred to the House Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee. Public transit use is up 30 percent since 1995. That's more than double the growth rate of the U.S. population (12 percent) and higher than the growth rate for vehicle miles traveled on U.S. roads (24 percent) during that same period. S T A T E Indiana: Public Opposition Scuttles Private Tolling Plan LEGISLATORS TURN FOCUS TO TRANSIT FUNDING Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels has pulled his proposals for two privately funded toll roads, indicating that he is open to supporting other financing for the projects in the Indianapolis area and northwestern Indiana but that the privatization plan is dead. The turnabout was sparked by strong public skepticism expressed in a series of public meetings and hearings. Daniels's support had plummeted in public polls and he was grilled at congressional hearings examining the privatization of transportation infrastructure. The original plan called for private equity to largely finance the new 75-mile Indiana Commerce Connector. The road would be built and operated by a private firm that would collect tolling revenue. The private firm also would have provided up-front funding for an extension of Interstate 69. The project was widely touted as a model by national advocates of private tolling. Several other states are considering similar approaches to transportation finance. Legislators are turning their attention to other transportation approaches. Indiana House Speaker Patrick Bauer called the governor's decision "inevitable" and called for a new approach that includes an emphasis on transit. Hearings have begun to consider new funding sources, including dedicated revenue for transit. S T A T E Arizona: Water Adequacy Bills Make Progress DEVELOPMENT TO BE CONTINGENT ON WATER SUPPLY The Arizona state senate has approved legislation that allows local governments to block new development that cannot demonstrate an adequate water supply for the long term. The legislation allows a county board of supervisors to withhold approval of a final subdivision plan if the project doesn't have an adequate water supply. A county's water-supply requirements would be binding on cities and towns in the county, but individual cities could set up their own rules if the county does not. The bill is part of a set of legislative recommendations from the Statewide Water Advisory Group and a key element of Gov. Janet Napolitano's smart growth efforts. A companion bill provides funding for water-supply projects and offers an incentive for local governments to begin requiring developments to have 100-year water supplies. The Arizona house has passed the funding bill. Both measures are expected to be enacted this session.