MTR 276, Legislature Approves Landmark "Fix-it-First" Transportation Bill

Issue 276

July 3, 2000

Legislature Approves Landmark "Fix-it-First" Transportation Bill

Last Thursday, both houses of the New Jersey legislature approved the Transportation Trust Fund renewal bill released by the Assembly Appropriations Committee the week before (MTR #275). The bill was later returned to the two houses after Governor Whitman issued a conditional veto over provisions that would restrict the use of Trust Fund monies to pay agency operating expenses.

The Senate moved quickly to approve a renewal bill updated with language favored by the Governor that imposed a far less stringent cap on the percentage of Fund revenue to be used towards employee salaries. But the Assembly refused to vote on the new language and will meet again in a special July 13th session to reach an agreement on the contentious issue. The results of this meeting are not expected to affect any other aspect of the bill.

Environmental and transportation reform groups immediately praised passage of the bill, saying that it puts New Jersey at the forefront of 21st Century transportation policy.

"No other state has tied transportation spending to 'smart growth' so explicitly," said Janine Bauer, executive director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign. "The Legislature, Governor Whitman, and New Jersey citizens should be proud of this landmark step."

Debate this year over the re-establishing the fund that provides money for transit and highway capital projects has focused not only on how to raise revenue, but also on how to best direct spending to reduce traffic and pollution, increase transit, and rein in sprawl development. The Tri-State Transportation Campaign, leading a coalition of environmental and cycling advocacy groups, won significant concessions in the bill.

Specific provisions in the legislation require:

NJ DOT to submit a new capital project spending plan that emphasizes repair of existing roads and bridges, and reduction of traffic congestion.
That new highway construction projects proceed only with explicit approval by the Legislature.
NJ DOT to submit a yearly "report card" on progress towards specific mandates to fix one-half of the state's structurally deficient roads and to construct 1,000 mile bikeway network over the next five years.
NJ Transit to purchase buses with reduced particulate emissions or non-diesel engines after 2007.
Formation of a yearlong task force to study highway congestion across the state with the aim of producing a plan to cap rush hour car trips at 1999 levels.

All communities in New Jersey are expected to benefit from these components of the bill, with more money available to restore urban roads and bridges and further safeguards that protect the character of rural communities from unwanted new highways. Governor Whitman's office has not communicated any problems with the provisions described above.

In poll after poll, New Jersey residents have overwhelmingly supported initiatives to fix roads and bridges, revitalize cities, improve public transit, and stop over-development (see next article). These issues have also been successful ballot items. In 1998, two out of every three voters supported spending $1 billion to purchase or preserve 1 million acres of open space. In 1999, the same margin of voters approved a transportation bond issue that provided money for road repair, expanded bikeways, mass transit, pedestrian safety projects, and rail freight construction. Thus, observers predict that support for dedicating new sales tax monies to a Trust Fund committed to these achieving these goals will be high in November.