Tracking State Policy & Funding Legislation
At least 24 states have raised new funding for transportation at the state level since 2012 to invest new money in transportation, and this year more states still are scrambling to find new funding to close widening deficits.
State legislatures can lead the way in making the most of limited infrastructure dollars with the forward-looking policies outlined in our report, Twelve Innovations in Transportation Policy that States Should Consider. Because the federal transportation program is still largely a block grant given to and controlled by the states, state leadership on transportation issues will be more important than ever in the years to come.
Which states are proposing to change to how those dollars are spent? Which states are working to create more transparency and build more public trust in transportation spending? In three tables on this page, we track the current progress in 2017 for states either: raising new funding for transportation, improving the underlying policies, or taking disappointing steps backwards from their peers.
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Tracking 2017 state legislation
This bill tracking information below is from 2017’s legislative sessions.
Click a tab to see tables containing the bills being tracked under each heading. Each table is sortable and searchable. Entering text into the search bar at the top will isolate only rows that include that text. Try it out by searching for “transit” or “performance measures.” The policy goals and policies in the first table are derived from the framework of our report on 12 policies that states should consider. Looking for information on the states that have successfully raised new transportation revenue since 2012? Those are here.
2017 – Bills to raise new transportation funding
| State | Bill number | Summary | Estimated new revenue per year | Multimodal? | Policy reform? | Most recent action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AZ | HCR 2011 | Raises fuel tax 10 cents per gallon, from 18- to 28-cents-per-gallon | $285 million | roads-only | Introduced | |
| WV | SB 477 | Increase gas tax by 10 cents per gallon. Increase vehicle registration fee by $30 and other vehicle fees and index fees to inflation rate. | roads-only | Passed Senate Transportation Committee | ||
| SC | H. 3516 | Increase fuel tax by 12 cents per gallon, phased in over the next six years. Increaser registration fee by $16 and drivers license fee by $25. Add $60 biannual fee on hybrid vehicles and $120 biannual fee on electric vehicles. | $800 million | roads-only | Passed House 97-18 on 3/1/2017. Cleared Senate Finance committee 14-8 on 3/15/2017 | |
| TN | SB1221/HB0534 | Increase gas tax 6 cents per gallon and diesel tax 12 cents per gallon. Reduce sales tax on groceries. Enable local option sales tax for transportation projects. [as amended by Senate Transportation and Safety] | $250 million for the state, $35 million for cities and $70 million for counties | roads-only | Yes | Passed Senate Transportation and Safety Committee 3/13/2017 |
| AZ | HCR 2011 | Increase fuel tax by 10 cents per gallon (from 18 to 28 cents) to fund highway maintenance and construction. | $396 million | roads-only | Passed Transportation and Infrastructure Committee | |
| AR | HB 1727 | Call a voter referendum to approve general obligation bonds for highway construction and maintenance projects. Add new wholesale gas and diesel taxes to repay bonds. Fuel taxes would be calculated as 6.5 percent of the 12-month average fuel price (approximately 10 cents per gallon at projected rates). Bond proceeds are allocated: 70 percent to the State Highway and Transportation Department Fund; 15 percent to the County Aid Fund; and 15 percent to the Municipal Aid Fund. The first $2.8 million annually from new diesel tax revenue directed to a new "Commercial Freight Route Improvement" special account dedicated to projects on the National Highway System. [as amended by committee 3/13/2017] | $217 million | roads-only | Passed House Committee on Public Transportation 3/13/2017 | |
| CA | AB 1 | Increase gas tax 12¢ per gallon, increase annual vehicle registration fee $38, and add new $165 annual fee on zero-emission vehicles äóî resulting in $200 million for road maintenance in counties with approved local funding dedicated to transportation; $80 million for the Active Transportation Program; $30 million for the Advance Mitigation Program; $5 million to universities for research and workforce development; and the remainder split 50 percent to the state highway system and 50 percent to cities and counties. Create a program to address deferred maintenance on the state highway system and local streets. Require the CTC to adopt performance criteria, consistent with asset management plan. Increase diesel tax 20 cents per gallon and direct new revenue into the Trade Corridors Improvement Fund. Increase the sales tax rate on diesel by 3.5 percent and dedicate proceeds of this tax to public transit capital projects. | $6 billion | multimodal | Yes | Introduced |
| CA | SB 1 | Increase gas tax 12¢ per gallon, increase annual vehicle registration fee $38, and add new $165 annual fee on zero-emission vehicles äóî resulting in $200 million for road maintenance in counties with approved local funding dedicated to transportation; $80 million for the Active Transportation Program; $30 million for the Advance Mitigation Program; $5 million to universities for research and workforce development; and the remainder split 50 percent to the state highway system and 50 percent to cities and counties. Create a program to address deferred maintenance on the state highway system and local streets. Require the CTC to adopt performance criteria, consistent with asset management plan. Increase diesel tax 20 cents per gallon and direct new revenue into the Trade Corridors Improvement Fund. Increase the sales tax rate on diesel by 3.5 percent and dedicate proceeds of this tax to public transit capital projects. | $6 billion | multimodal | Yes | pass Committee on Appropriations 3/8/2017 |
| CO | HB17-1242 | Ask voters to approve an increase to the sales tax rate of 0.62 percent. The new revenue would allow CDOT to draw $3.5 billion in bonds for highway expansion and repair. From the new revenue, approximately $270 million would be distributed annually to cities and counties and $115 million annually would be awarded through a new "multimodal transportation options fundäó for transit and projects for walking and biking. | $600 million | multimodal | Introduced | |
| CT | SB 751 | Establish electronic tolls on Connecticut's highways using a congestion pricing system of increased toll rates for operating vehicles during peak travel times or on congested highways. | multimodal | Yes | Introduced | |
| IN | HB 1002 | Increase fuel taxes by 10 cents per gallon and index rates to inflation (but limit increase to one cent per gallon per year). Add a $15 registration surcharge on large trucks. Add a $15 annual fee on electric vehicles. Dedicate revenue from sales tax on fuel to highway funds rather than general fund. Repeal restriction on tolling and direct Indiana DOT to seek a waiver from USDOT to allow tolling on Interstate highways. | $854 million | roads-only | Passed House 61-36 on 2/16/2017 | |
| MS | HB 1433 | Call referendum to approve increase in state sales tax, or gasoline or diesel tax to fund infrastructure projects. | Died in committee | |||
| MT | HB 0473 | Increase gas tax 8 cents per gallon and diesel tax 7.25 cents per gallon. Revenue is allocated: 57 percent (at least $35 million) to state highways, 4.5 percent (not more than $2.75 million) to state highway patrol, and the remainder to local governments for roads and streets. | $61 million | roads-only | Yes | Introduced |
| NH | HB 621 | Add a vehicle registration surcharge on vehicles with fuel economy over 22.5 MPG to equal the amount of fuel tax paid on a vehicle that travels 12,500 miles annually at 22.5 MPG. This charge is described as a road usage fee. This revenue is reserved for maintenance and construction of state highways and bridged. | $12 million | roads-only | Introduced | |
| NM | SB 95 | Increase gas tax 10 cents per gallon and diesel tax 5 cents per gallon. Increase motor vehicle excise tax rate 1 percent. One half of the new fuel tax revenue is directed to the state general fund reserve until this reserve fund equals fiver percent of the total general fund expenses. Once the reserve is met, a portion of the the fuel tax revenue and the vehicle excise tax revenue will go to the state highway account and a portion of the fuel tax revenue will be suballocated to counties and municipalities. | $183 million | roads-only | Passed Senate 29-13 on 3/3/2017 | |
| NM | SB 167 | Redirect revenue from motor vehicle excise tax from general fund to state road fund. | $81 million shifted to state road fund | roads-only | Passed House Transportation Public Works Committee 2/15/2017 | |
| OK | SB 499 | Require annual adjustments to fuel tax rates based on the change in average fuel efficiency of new registered vehicles and the inflation rate. | unknown | multimodal | Passed Appropriations subcommittee 2/28/2017 | |
| OR | HB 2121 | Increase wholesale fuel tax 5 cents per gallon in 2023 and every five years thereafter. Increase motor carrier tax rates. | not specified | roads-only | Introduced | |
| WV | SB 260 | Increase wholesale fuel tax rate 5 cents per gallon when wholesale fuel price is below $2.00 per gallon. | roads-only | Introduced | ||
| ID | S 1188 | Issue $200 million general obligation bond with $120 million directed to state highway projects and $80 million to local governments. Enable a 1 percent local option sales tax to transportation infrastructure or operations. | roads-only | Yes | Rejected by Senate Transportation Committee 3/16/2017 | |
| MS | HB 1732 | Issue $50 million in general obligation bonds to finance county and municipal bridge repair and construction projects. | roads-only | Died | ||
| OK | HB 1426 | Increase diesel fuel tax by 3 cents per galloon to fund highway construction projects. | unknown | roads-only | Introduced |
Last updated: 3/21/17
2017 – Bills to improve policy
| State | Bill number | Summary | Most recent action |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA | AB 1 | Give California Transportation Commission an independent oversight role. Require the Department of Transportation to update the Highway Design Manual to incorporate the ñcomplete streetsî design concept. Require the California Transportation Commission to adopt performance criteria, consistent with asset management plan. | Introduced |
| CA | SB 1 | Give California Transportation Commission an independent oversight role. Require the Department of Transportation to update the Highway Design Manual to incorporate the ñcomplete streetsî design concept. Require the California Transportation Commission to adopt performance criteria, consistent with asset management plan. | passed Committee on Appropriations 3/8/2017 |
| CT | SB 751 | Congestion pricing | Introduced |
| ID | S 1188 | Enable a 1 percent local option sales tax to transportation infrastructure or operations with approval through a voter referendum. | Rejected by Senate Transportation Committee 3/16/2017 |
| MA | S. 1551 | Enable regional ballot initiatives to approve funding for transportation projects. | Introduced |
| MA | S. 1945 | Allow testing of partially automated and deployment of fully autonomous vehicles on public roads. Require that automated vehicles be zero-emission. Charge a variable per-mile fee on automated vehicles. Allow local governments to regulate autonomous vehicles be used as public transportation or in shared use. | Introduced |
| MD | HB 0271 | Repeal requirement that the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) must recover at least 35% of its total operating costs from fares and other operating revenues. Establish goals and new performance measures for MTA. | Passed House 85-50 on 3/15/2017 |
| MT | HB 0473 | Commissions an independent performance audit of the department of transportation. | Introduced |
| OR | HB 2532 | Require the Oregon Transportation Commission to develop a new, quantitative scoring process to evaluate projects included in the State Transportation Improvement plan. Require the Oregon Department of Transportation to use least-cost planning and practical design to reduce project costs. | Introduced |
| TN | SB1221/HB0534 | Enable local option sales tax for transit. | Passed Senate Transportation and Safety Committee 3/13/2017 |
Last updated: 3/21/17
2017 – Bills that make negative changes
| State | Bill number | Why it's bad | Most recent action |
|---|---|---|---|
| NM | HB 63 | Restricts state fuel tax revenue (including funds suballocated to local governments) and local fuel tax revenue to be used only for bridge and highway projects and not for public transit. | Passed Senate 31-8 on 3/15/2017 |
Last updated: 3/21/17
