Sen. Boxer calls for beefed-up infrastructure fund

LA 30/10 initiative as model

Jon Boyd, Oct 02, 10.

Senator Barbara Boxer of California convened a committee hearing last week to explore innovative finance methods for large infrastructure projects, including an expansion of the The Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program, according to the AASHTO Journal:

The Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act [TIFIA], as well as other federal loan programs, should be extended to include larger and more diverse projects in stand-alone legislation or as part of the next long-term surface transportation reauthorization bill, senators and witnesses said Tuesday during a hearing held by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

Tuesday’s hearing, “Innovative Project Finance,” was called by committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-California. She said she believes the TIFIA program has been successful in recent years but is too small to be effective for larger projects such as the “30/10 initiative” proposed in Los Angeles to build 30 years worth of planned mass-transit projects in a single decade.

Boxer held a field hearing in August in California to discuss this same issue of supporting state and local community initiatives such as 30/10 by expanding federal credit programs to help leverage dollars to complete projects faster. (see Aug. 27 AASHTO Journal story)

The 30/10 Initiative calls for thirty years worth of capital transit projects in the Los Angeles region to be built within ten years, with financing through a local half-cent sales tax. By comparison to the Houston region, Metro collects a full cent sales tax, but contributes one-quarter cent to the General Mobility Fund for distribution to the municipalities. The Metro tax is applied to general transit purposes, raising the question whether the Los Angeles tax can only fund capital projects, such as fixed guideway systems, or if it can be used for any transit purpose.

Senator Boxer held out the 30/10 Initiative as a model for national policy, and she thanked Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, “for his commitment to the 30/10 initiative and for agreeing to work on expanding this model in the upcoming transportation bill. You could not ask for a better partner when it comes to forward-thinking transportation issues.” In the same statement, Senator Boxer prescribed expanding and creating more flexibility within TIFIA.

In past weeks, President Obama has mentioned a “National Infrastructure Bank,” perhaps referring to a 2007 bill from Senator Christopher Dodd’s Senate Banking Committee.