The Governor's departure from highway-transit "parity," which has been Albany's political formula for passing transportation budgets for some time, has caused consternation among the road industry, its allies in the State Senate and among some in the Assembly.

The main transportation provision in the State Senate's budget resolution is to increase the State DOT program to $16.5 billion by means of a $2.5 billion general bond obligation. The measure would have to be approved by voters in November. It's likely that the $2.5 billion bond would only boost the overall program to $16.5 billion instead of $16.8 billion because of the Senate's proposal to eliminate the state gas tax.

The Senate proposal is fraught with issues with strong potential to trigger opposition to the bond issue by environmental and transit groups this fall, even if the Senate is able to strike a deal with the Assembly to include a transit component in the bond issue.

One problem is the unsound proposal to cut transportation revenue - the state gas tax - while increasing transportation-related borrowing. Another is the skewed nature of the "parity" formula. It compares only the MTA transit budget and the NYS DOT program. But multi-year capital program proposals by the NY State Thruway Authority and MTA Bridges & Tunnels add up to $1.8-$2 billion, which would bring NY's grand highway total to $18+ billion. Adding upstate transit capital programs to the MTA figure puts mass transit's total at about $16.8 billion.

Moreover, a lot of the MTA's $16.5 billion looks like funny money. Big revenue gaps in this budget virtually guarantee a significant fare increase in the near future. The MTA also plans to issue a huge amount of new and refinanced bonds. Because the bonds are not backed by a serious long-term commitment of new state resources, their debt service promises crushing budget straits for transit down the line.

Finally, it's unclear where all the highway money would go. Neither NYSDOT nor the Senate has come out with a project list or program that comes close to the detail found in the MTA capital program. The highway industry is campaigning for more money on the premise of a road maintenance crisis. However, when pressed, industry representatives admit they would like to see a host of new road expansion projects launched as well. An Associated General Contractors spokesperson told the Journal News Wednesday that much of their proposed highway budget would be used for repairs, but that "many roads need to be widened for safety."

The State Assembly's budget resolution does not indicate its desired level of MTA capital funding, though it does contain strong language favoring 2^nd Ave. subway construction and large-scale NYC bus fleet conversion to compressed natural gas fueling. The Assembly adds $400 million to the Governor's proposed NYSDOT's capital budget for 2000-2001. If that funding level is multiplied out over 5 years, it would yield a DOT program of $16.3 billion. The Assembly's highway increase is funded out of its regular revenue estimate, not from a new bond issue.

Elsewhere in their budget documents, both Senate and Assembly restore $35 million in 2000-2001 in local aid highway operating funding cut by the Governor, and both seek a new "multi-modal program" for projects to be specified later by individual legislators.

The Assembly creates a new program called ROADS ("Repair our aging and dilapidated streets") through which the state would pay debt service on $300 million worth of municipal road repair bonds to be issued during 2000-2001.

The Assembly also hikes operating funds for NYC Transit by $9.75 million and the commuter railroads by $15 million. It also increases assistance to upstate transit operators by $2.1 million and downstate non-MTA systems by $5.3 million, though that restores only half of the Governor's $15 million small-system reduction from last year's levels. The Assembly apparently agrees with the Governor's $146 million 5-year non-MTA transit capital budget, which is $24 million short of the amount the NY Public Transit Association says is needed. The Senate's treatment of the smaller transit systems is unclear.

The Senate supports railroad property tax reform, but does not include language to make such changes permanent, proposing instead one year of relief payments to the railroads. The Senate includes language proposing that "adequate" TEA-21 funding be used for cycling and pedestrian projects, and water pollution run-off control.