The Raleigh Report
From the Office of Cullie Tarleton
September 21, 2009
As our state grows, it has become increasingly important for us improve our transportation system. Crowded roads (yes, even up here in the high country) detract from our quality of life and decrease our sense of safety. Transportation projects help to reduce crowded roads and right now they also bring much needed jobs to our state.
During this past session, we have worked to spend stimulus transportation dollars fairly, studied ways to make improvements to our current system, and given our local governments more tools to increase local transit options. Both Ashe and Watauga have received stimulus dollars currently being spent on transportation projects including the King Street widening in Boone. I am also including a few other highlights of our work in this area this past session.
If you have any questions or if I can be of assistance, please feel free to contact me at culliet@ncleg.net or 828-295-3353.
Transportation
More than 240 contracts totaling $824 million have been awarded for highway and bridge projects across North Carolina since March, and about $723 million of that funding has come from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). According to the Federal Highway Administration, every $1 million spent on transportation creates 30 jobs, and according to the construction industry, every dollar invested in transportation generates $6 in economic impact.
Members of the House passed a resolution supporting the implementation of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (HJR 1654). The acts establish a program of federal capital grants to improve passenger, intermodal and freight services, create a new capital program for states to expand and improve passenger rail services and encourage public-private partnerships that work on high-speed rail projects. On Sept. 1, North Carolina submitted the first of the state’s high speed rail applications for funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. NCDOT filed six “project ready” applications totaling nearly $93 million, requesting $76 million in Federal Railroad Administration grants and pledging a total of $16.7 million in matching funds. The merit-based funding will be awarded before the end of this year. If funded, the projects will help retain or create an estimated 1,457 jobs for North Carolinians. The FRA requires the projects to be completed within two years of the grant award.
This year’s budget appropriated $126 million for maintenance. All of the money from this year’s secondary road improvement program and half of the money from next year was shifted to maintenance to prevent further deterioration of the state highway system due to reduced transportation revenues and maintenance expenditures.
A new state law allows counties to raise more money for mass transit projects, including rail service and buses. The law (H.B. 148 - S.L. 2009-527) will allow residents of Durham, Forsyth, Guilford, Orange and Wake counties vote on whether to increase local sales taxes by ½ cent and car registration fees by up to $2. The money would be used for public transportation. Other counties could increase sales taxes by a ¼ cent for such projects. The legislation is based on a plan Mecklenburg County used to finance its downtown rail line.
A new state law will transfer the functions and funds of the North Carolina Turnpike Authority to the Department of Transportation (H.B. 1617 - S.L. 2009-343). The change means the turnpike authority will now be under the direct supervision of the Secretary of Transportation. The intent of the legislation is to conserve expenditures and improve efficiency. The General Assembly created the Turnpike Authority in 2002 in response to concerns about congestion and growth. The authority was granted permission to develop and operate up to nine projects.
Legislation that makes text messaging while driving illegal has been signed into law (H.B. 9 - S.L. 2009-135). The law directs the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee to identify and study the leading causes of driver inattention or distraction, the risks posed by driver inattention or distraction, and any methods that might be used to manage those distractions and promote highway safety. This was a no-brainer for me and I was pleased to co-sponsor this bill. Clearly, texting or attempting to text while driving is dangerous. Law officers, firefighters and ambulance drivers would be exempted if they are texting as part of their official duties. A violation of this law would be punishable by a fine of $100 plus court costs.
A new state law establishes a penalty of a Class 3 misdemeanor for performing a safety or emissions inspection without a license (H.B. 882 - S.L. 2009-319). The law also provides a temporary exemption from inspections for vehicles that are located out of state or outside of an emissions county or that are transferred from out of state, and clarifies financial responsibility requirements for a temporary permit to drive a car to a repair shop or inspection station to meet inspection and registration requirements.
NCDOT is now on Twitter.com. Citizens can get brief updates, or “tweets,” for 16 different routes or regions of the state. To see all the Twitter options NCDOT offers, they can go to www.ncdot.gov/travel/twitter/. There, they also will find information on how to sign up for a Twitter account. Doing so allows users to receive tweets on mobile devices such as cell phones and PDAs. I don’t “tweet” but perhaps some of you do.
Notes
I was pleased to be re-appointed by the Speaker to the Joint Legislative Commission on Dropout Prevention and High School Graduation last week. There is $13m in the current budget for Dropout Prevention grants. I think we’re making progress but we still have a long way to go. There are still too many of our young people deciding to dropout. Clearly, in today’s knowledge based global economy the absolute minimum one needs to compete is a high school diploma. We must do a better job addressing this problem. The stakes for our young people are too high for us not to.
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