Federal Funding Uncertainty in State, Local, and Regional Departments of Transportation: Impacts, Responses, and Adaptations (2022) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Pages 1-8
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 1... ...
1 Over the past two decades, state DOTs, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) , transit agencies, local governments, and other transportation agencies have responded to uncertainty in federal funding for transportation programs.
|
From page 2... ...
2 Federal Funding Uncertainty in State, Local, and Regional Departments of Transportation: Impacts, Responses, and Adaptations transportation assets. Generally, states and regional governments experience more deleterious effects from federal transportation uncertainty when they have limited access to nonfederal revenue or poor asset conditions.
|
From page 3... ...
Summary 3 Sources of Federal Funding Uncertainty This study traces the evolution of federal funding uncertainty through five key phases of federal transportation law, ending with the current era, which is marked by delays in reauthorization of the transportation program and increasing structural deficits in the federal Highway Trust Fund. These and other factors have made federal funding increasingly uncertain for states and regional transportation agencies, as shown in Figure S-1 and described in greater detail in this section.
|
From page 4... ...
4 Federal Funding Uncertainty in State, Local, and Regional Departments of Transportation: Impacts, Responses, and Adaptations Appropriations Annual federal funding authorizations are established when an authorization act is signed into law, but transportation agencies must first wait for Congress to appropriate the new funding before they have access to it. However, as Figure S-3 shows, over the past 20 years or so, transportation agencies have had to wait anywhere from 1.5 to 7 months to have access to their federal funding.
|
From page 5... ...
Summary 5 Uncertainty about the timing of federal funding primarily impacts financial management activities. Because federal funding often becomes available within a fiscal year in unpredictable intervals, financial management strategies are required to cover cash flow needs and allow agencies to pay their bills on time and initiate projects per established schedules.
|
From page 6... ...
6 Federal Funding Uncertainty in State, Local, and Regional Departments of Transportation: Impacts, Responses, and Adaptations Figure S-5. Mitigation strategies by functional area.
|
From page 7... ...
Summary 7 Financial Management • Advance construction is when transportation agencies use state or local funding to advance projects for which federal obligation authority has not yet been received; this can be reimbursed once federal funding becomes available. Advance construction is widely used to get projects underway without depending on the timing of federal funding.
|
From page 8... ...
8 Federal Funding Uncertainty in State, Local, and Regional Departments of Transportation: Impacts, Responses, and Adaptations projects in smaller segments over longer periods of time, and increases the risk of focusing on shorter-term needs at the expense of future-ready investments. It can also have spillover effects on competition and efficiency in the construction sector.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.