MMA continues push for multi-year Chapter 90 local roads bill

The MMA urged a legislative committee on Dec. 11 to include the funding for the Chapter 90 local road and bridge program in the multi-year state transportation bond bill currently moving through the Legislature.

A five-year Chapter 90 bond bill providing $300 million per year (indexed for inflation in future years) is a top priority for local officials and the MMA. Following three years of lengthy delays in the release of Chapter 90 funds, the MMA is urging the Legislature to take early action on Chapter 90 for fiscal 2015 and beyond in order to give local officials the ability to plan ahead, take advantage of the full construction season, and use the funding efficiently.

In November, the Joint Transportation Committee released a multi-year state transportation bond bill (H. 3763) that does not include Chapter 90 funding. At a Dec. 11 hearing on the bill before the House Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State, the MMA called for an amendment to include bond authorization for a five-year Chapter 90 program providing $300 million per year, indexed for inflation.

The release of Chapter 90 funds has been delayed well past the statutory deadline of April 1 for the past three years. In 2013, final Chapter 90 allocation letters were delayed until July 30 due to debate over a transportation finance bill.

Like cities and towns, Frank DePaola, highway administrator for the Department of Transportation, told the State House News Service that his agency is concerned about potential delays in the availability of funding.

“We’re currently in a position where the state budget authority for transportation is probably going to run out of money by the end of February without the passage of a bond bill,” he said.

The Department of Transportation stopped advertising bids for state and federally funded projects in November, he said. DePaola told the Bonding Committee he is reluctant to advertise contracts until the transportation bond bill is finalized.

“I would be doing that on speculation that a bond bill passes in the spring,” DePaola said. “If it doesn’t, I would have to cancel them all.”

A bond bill and a separate “terms” bill each must be passed by the House and Senate and signed into law by the governor before any Chapter 90 funding can be released to cities and towns.

Both the House and Senate unanimously passed a $300 million, stand-alone Chapter 90 bond bill for fiscal 2014 in May, and the governor signed it into law. But the governor ultimately decides how much Chapter 90 funding is released to cities and towns, and he has only released $200 million. The $300 million Chapter 90 authorization remains on the books, however, and could be released by this or any future administration at any time.

The House Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets is expected to release a multi-year state transportation bond bill (H. 3763) soon. The bill would then go to House Ways and Means Committee and then on to the full House before going to the Senate.

The Chapter 90 program could still be funded in a variety of ways. The House Bonding Committee could amend the legislation to include Chapter 90, the Transportation Committee could release a separate Chapter 90 bond bill, or the administration could file a new Chapter 90 bond bill. Any of these bills would still be subject to the April 1 statutory deadline for final authorization.

A statewide survey conducted by the MMA a year ago documents that the state’s cities and towns would need to spend $562 million each year to maintain local roads in a “state of good repair,” the industry standard, but communities spend far less due to inadequate resources. With this in mind, local officials and the MMA have been consistently calling for a $100 million increase (50 percent) in the Chapter 90 program, from $200 million to $300 million per year.