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Federal Highway Funding Under the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2004, Part IV

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Summary

Funding for the Federal Highway Administration will be based on two legislative acts: The Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2003 (STEA03, P.L. 108-88), as amended by the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2004 (STEA04, P.L. 108-202), the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2004, Part II (STEA04-II, P. L. 108-224), the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2004, Part III (STEA04-III, P.L. 108-263), the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2004, Part IV (STEA04-IV, P.L. 108-280, signed July 30, 2004) and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2004 (P.L. 108-199).

Contract Authority

STEA04-IV authorizes contract authority for FY 2004 for FHWA programs. The amounts authorized include the amounts previously authorized by STEA03, STEA04, STEA04-II, and STEA04-III for each program. The highway contract authority made available under STEA04‑IV, except for the portion of Minimum Guarantee that is exempt from the obligation limitation, is subject to a 0.59 percent across-the-board reduction found in the Consolidated Appropriations Act. The dollar amounts in the discussion below are the full amounts authorized, before the 0.59 percent deduction.

Formula Programs

Contract authority is authorized for the FHWA’s formula programs. A separate authorization is provided for metropolitan planning, but a single lump sum of contract authority is authorized for all other formula programs. This lump sum will be apportioned among the states based on the FY 2003 formula obligation limitation distribution. The amount for each State will then be programmatically distributed among the formula programs, including the Minimum Guarantee, based on the amounts the State received for each program for FY 2003. The apportionments will be subject to the various penalty provisions. The Metropolitan Planning funds will be distributed under the usual formula.

Allocated Programs

Amounts are also authorized for individual allocated programs. In most cases, the amounts authorized are the same as the amount authorized for FY 2003. Programs normally funded by deductions off the top of the authorizations for apportioned programs, such as FHWA administrative expenses and the Bridge Discretionary Program, are authorized separately under STEA04-IV.

Administrative Funding

No new authorizations for FHWA administrative expenses are included. The amounts authorized for this purpose in STEA04-III remain unchanged. The STEA04-III funds authorized for FHWA administrative expenses include funds for the administrative expenses of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) for the Appalachian Development Highway System and to reimburse the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for audit costs. The authorization is equal to the Limitation on Administrative Expenses set in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2004 plus the amounts usually provided to the ARC and OIG.

Obligation Limitation

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2004 set the obligation limitation for Federal-aid highway and highway safety construction at $33,843,000,000, subject to a 0.59 percent across-the-board cut. Under STEA04-IV, within the obligation limitation set in the DOT Appropriations Act, obligations for all Federal-aid highway programs are limited to $31,890,519,230, not including $602,134,615 for Minimum Guarantee that is exempt from the obligation limitation. These amounts are 49/52nds of the amounts provided in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2004. No Federal-aid highway program obligations may be made after September 24, 2004.

Special Transfer Provisions under the Extension Acts

Previous extension acts allowed the transfer of apportioned funds subject to the obligation limitation among programs and suballocations. States were allowed to transfer NHS, IM, STP, Bridge, and STP, except that STP funds setaside for safety, transportation enhancements and for urbanized areas over 200,000 population could not be transferred. CMAQ funds were eligible for transfer under STEA03, but this option was eliminated by STEA04. Funds so transferred are subject to repayment to the programs from which transfers are made. No changes to the transfer provisions are made by STEA04-IV.

Reserved Funding

Of the $35,245,000,000 potentially available for highways under the FY 2004 budget resolution, STEA04-IV authorizes a total of $33,211,634,615 in contract authority for highways. Similarly, $31,890,519,230 of the $33,843,000,000 obligation limitation set in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2004 has been made available by STEA04-IV. It is anticipated that the remaining $2,033,365,385 in contract authority and $1,952,480,770 in obligation limitation will be made available for High Priority Projects and/or other purposes when the Congress returns from its August recess.

 

Section Analysis
P.L. 108-280 - The Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2004, Part IV

The highway provisions in the legislation amend the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-88), the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (P.L. 105-178) and Title 23, United States Code.

Sec. 1. Short title.

This act may be cited as the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2004, Part IV.

Sec. 2. Advances.

Advance Authorizations of Contract Authority

The section provides funding for Federal-aid highway apportioned programs except Metropolitan Planning (see section 4) for FY 2004. Funding is provided as an extension of TEA-21 (thus, TEA-21 conditions such as DBE will apply). No new programs are authorized in the extension bill.

For Federal-aid highways and highway safety construction programs, $30,469,806,615 in contract authority is authorized, to be apportioned as a lump sum to each State based on the State’s relative share of the 2003 formula obligation limitation. Each State’s lump sum of contract authority is to be divided programmatically based on the State’s relative share of the FY 2003 apportionment for each of the following categories

  • National Highway System (NHS)
  • Interstate Maintenance (IM)
  • Surface Transportation Program (STP)
  • Bridge Program
  • Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ)
  • Recreational Trails
  • Appalachian Development Highway Program (ADHS)
  • Minimum Guarantee (Minimum Guarantee funds in excess of $2,800,000,000 will be programmatically distributed to the IM, NHS, STP, Bridge, and CMAQ programs; the remainder will remain as Minimum Guarantee funds with STP eligibilities as in current law.)

The following deductions and set-asides will not apply to these funds, because these activities are separately authorized in STEA04-IV or earlier extension acts --

  • Federal Highway Administration Administrative Expenses [104(a)(1)(A)]
  • Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration [104(a)(1)(B)]
  • Territorial Highway Program [104(b)(1)(A)]
  • Alaska Highway [104(b)(1)(A)]
  • Operation Lifesaver [104(d)(1)]
  • Rail Crossing/Hazard Elimination in High Speed Rail Corridors [104(d)(2)]
  • Metropolitan Planning [104(f)(1)]
  • Recreational Trails Program Administration [104(h)(1)]
  • Interstate Maintenance Discretionary Program [118(c)(1)]
  • On-the-Job Training/Supportive Services [140(b)]
  • DBE Training [140(c)]
  • Bridge Discretionary Program [144(g)(1)]

Separate contract authority is provided for the above activities and other allocated programs (see Sections 4-5).

Obligation Limitation

Within the obligation limitation set in the DOT Appropriations Act for FY 2004, STEA04-IV limits obligations from the Federal-aid highway program to $31,890,519,230, not including $602,134,615 for Minimum Guarantee that is exempt from the obligation limitation. The limitation applies to formula programs, allocated programs and administrative expenses. No Federal-aid highway program obligations may be made after September 24, 2004.

Generally, STEA04-IV directs that the available obligation limitation be distributed according to section 110 of Division F of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, as amended1, except that the obligation limitation for each program, project, or activity will be the greater of the amount made available under STEA04-IV or 49/52nds of the amount made available under the DOT Appropriations Act, 2004.

STEA04-IV contains a provision that is intended to allow FHWA to calculate final “lop off” ratio even though the full amount of obligation authority has not yet been made available and the lack of legislation authorizing FY 2004 contract authority for high priority projects.

1 Section 110 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2004 (PL 108-199) was amended by the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-202) and by the FY 2005 Defense Appropriations Act.

Sec. 3. Repayment from Future Apportionments.

Amounts apportioned to the States under previous extension bills are offset against the funds made available by STEA04-IV and apportionments under STEA04-IV will be offset against amounts apportioned under subsequent laws extending the Federal-aid Highway Program authorizations for FY 2004.

Sec. 4. Other Federal-aid Highway programs.

Contract authority is provided for other programs for FY 2004, as follows:

  • Indian Reservation Roads (IRR) - $275,000,000 (with a minimum $13,000,000 for IRR bridges) *
  • Public Lands Highways - $246,000,000 *
  • Park Roads and Parkways - $165,000,000 *
  • Refuge Roads - $20,000,000 *
  • Borders and Corridors. - $140,000,000
  • Ferry Boats & Terminals - $38,000,000, with setasides for projects on the NHS in Alaska ($10,000,000), New Jersey ($5,000,000), and Washington ($5,000,000).
  • Scenic Byways - $26,500,000
  • Value Pricing - $11,000,000
  • Highway Use Tax Evasion - $5,000,000
  • Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Highway Program - $110,000,000
  • Bicycle/Pedestrian Clearinghouse - $500,000
  • Transportation and Community and System Preservation Pilot Program - $25,000,000
  • Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation (TIFIA) - $130,000,000, with up to $2,000,000 for TIFIA administrative costs. The principal amount of credit instruments made available during the fiscal year is limited to $2,600,000,000.
  • Surface Transportation Research - $103,000,000
  • Technology Deployment Program - $50,000,000, with $5,000,000 for the Advanced Technology Pilot Program (low-speed Maglev)
  • Training and Education - $20,000,000
  • Bureau of Transportation Statistics - $31,000,000
  • Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Standards, Research, Operational Tests, and Development. - $110,000,000
  • ITS Deployment - $122,000,000
  • University Transportation Research - $26,500,000
  • Metropolitan Planning - $240,000,000
  • Territorial Highway Program - $36,400,000
  • Alaska Highway - $18,800,000
  • Operation Lifesaver - $500,000
  • Bridge Discretionary Program - $100,000,000
  • Interstate Maintenance Discretionary Program - $100,000,000
  • Recreational Trails Program Administrative Costs - $750,000
  • Railway-highway Crossing Hazard Elimination in High Speed Rail Corridors $5,250,000, with $250,000 to be available for improvements to the Minneapolis/St. Paul – Chicago segment of the Midwest High Speed Rail Corridor
  • DBE Training - $10,000,000
  • On-the-Job Training/Supportive Services - $10,000,000

* There will be no administrative takedown (FHWA or FMCSA) from Federal Lands Highways funds.

Sec. 5. Extension of Highway Safety Programs.

Extends through FY 2004, the two safety grant programs that are within the Federal-aid highway program:

  • Safety Incentive Grants for Use of Seat Belts - $112,000,000
  • Safety Incentives to Prevent Operation of Motor Vehicles by Intoxicated Persons - $110,000,000

Sec. 6. Sport Fishing and Boating Safety.

This section extends provisions related to programs funded from the Aquatic Resources Trust Fund.

Sec. 7. Extension of Federal Transit Programs.

This section extends through FY 2004 the programs of the Federal Transit Administration.

Section 8. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Programs.

This section extends National Highway Traffic Safety Administration program through FY 2004.

Sec. 9. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Program.

This section extends through FY 2004 the programs of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Sec. 10. Extension of Authorization for Use of Trust Funds for Obligations under TEA-21.

Generally, this section amends the Highway Trust Fund provisions of the Internal Revenue Code to authorize expenditures from the HTF before October 1, 2004, and authorizes expenditures to carry out this Act. For programs funded from the Highway Account of the Highway Trust Fund, other than those carried out by NHTSA and FMCSA, the section authorizes expenditures made before September 25, 2004. The section also adopts a temporary rule that says, for Byrd Test purposes, the imposition of relevant taxes are assumed to have been extended through the end of FY 2006 along with the deposit of such taxes in the Highway Trust Fund.

07-30-2004
HPLS-10

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