Bill Text: VA HJR620 | 2013 | Regular Session | Prefiled
Bill Title: Transportation programs; JLARC to study efficiency and sufficiency of funding in State.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-02-05 - Left in Rules [HJR620 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2013-HJR620-Prefiled.html
|
13102206D WHEREAS, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) released two reports on transportation funding more than a decade ago: The Adequacy and Management of the Virginia Department of Transportation's Highway Maintenance Program and The Equity and Efficiency of Highway Construction and Transit Funding; and WHEREAS, the first of these reports found that "the highway maintenance program appears inadequately funded to provide 'reasonable and necessary' maintenance of the State's highway system as required by law," and the second report proposed a revision of the highway allocation formulas used to distribute highway construction program funding and replacement of the present administrative classification of highways with a functional classification; and WHEREAS, since that time, a variety of regionally based reports support the findings that funding is insufficient to address critical needs in Virginia's urbanized areas; and WHEREAS, transportation revenue sources have not been substantially changed since 1986; and WHEREAS, transportation is an integral component of sustained economic growth in the Commonwealth; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That JLARC be directed to study the efficiency and sufficiency of funding for transportation programs in the Commonwealth. In conducting its study JLARC shall review the Virginia Department of Transportation's distribution of funding for construction and maintenance activities, identify when maintenance requirements are anticipated to require all available state transportation funds, evaluate methods used by other states to fund transportation activities, compare Virginia's expenditures for transportation with expenditures of other states, and identify options to supplement available funding for transportation purposes. Such evaluation shall include an analysis of Virginia's motor fuel tax rates compared with rates in other states, including a comparison of rates relative to population. The study shall also evaluate different methodologies for setting motor fuel tax rates, including methods of indexing, per gallon versus percentage tax rates, and combinations thereof, to evaluate the potential benefits and shortcomings of the varying methodologies. In conducting its study, JLARC shall also consider the relative buying power of the current motor fuel tax collections in the Commonwealth to growth in highway lane miles, vehicle miles traveled, and construction costs since that rate was last changed. This evaluation also shall include an analysis of what proportion of the respective highway user fees are paid by Virginia citizens and by out-of-state drivers and of the impact of rate changes on the purchases of fuel by commercial vehicles. Finally, the JLARC evaluation shall also consider the impact of federally mandated reformulated gasoline on prices in Virginia relative to other states, the projected impact of changes to the corporate average fuel efficiency standards required by the federal government, and projections on the increased use of alternative fuel vehicles on Virginia's transportation revenue stream. All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to JLARC for this study, upon request. JLARC shall complete its meetings by November 30, 2013, and the Chairman shall submit to the Division of Legislative Automated Systems an executive summary of its findings and recommendations no later than the first day of the 2014 Regular Session of the General Assembly. The executive summary shall state whether JLARC intends to submit to the General Assembly and the Governor a report of its findings and recommendations for publication as a House or Senate document. The executive summary and report shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports and shall be posted on the General Assembly's website. |
