“Building & Maintaining Transportation Infrastructure for New Mexico’s Economic Future”

Associated Cotnractors New Mexico

ACNM  Action Alert

Call Your U.S. Representative –
Highway and Transit Program Extension and Funding in Jeopardy

Situation

Legislation to keep core federal highway and transit investment flowing throughout 2010 needs your immediate help.

Although a shutdown of the Federal Highway Administration and Highway Trust Fund expenditures has temporarily ended, we still need to lock in federal highway and transit investments for the remainder of the year to provide stability for the 2010 construction season.  Democratic leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives plan to have their chamber act Thursday, March 4, on the “jobs bill”, H.R. 2847, that passed the U.S. Senate last week.   This legislation is focused on tax initiatives (including a small business depreciation incentive for capital purchases) and an extension of the surface transportation programs that also strengthens the Highway Trust Fund through December 31, 2010. 

The highway and transit programs have been operating under a series of short-term extensions since SAFETEA-LU expired at the end of September 2009.   These interim measures have distributed surface transportation funds in piecemeal fashion and at a reduced allotment of spending authority (contract authority) than was provided to states in Fiscal Year 2009.  This situation has imposed further complications and uncertainty on state transportation programs that are already facing major challenges.

While there is broad support for the transportation component of the bill, some Members of Congress have expressed concerns about the measure’s deficit impact and mix between spending and tax cuts.    Calls from constituents reinforcing the importance of the transportation provisions to your state are needed to overcome these unrelated objections to the bill.

The Details: Senate Surface Transportation Program Extension Proposal

• Extends the authorization for the highway, transit and safety programs at the 2009 investment levels though December 31, 2010.
• Credits the federal Highway Trust Fund (HTF) with $19.5 billion in foregone revenue due to the fund’s interest earnings being deposited in the federal General Fund since 1998.  These resources will ensure the Trust Fund can meet its obligations through the end of 2010.
• Shifts the cost of motor fuel tax exemptions for state and local governments to the federal General Fund.  This would generate an estimated $1.5 billion in new annual revenue for the HTF.
• Restores lost contract (spending) authority from the $8.7 billion rescission SAFETEA-LU required on September 30, 2009. 

ACTION ITMEM:                                Instructions for Calling or faxing the New Mexico Congressional Offices
Congressman Martin Heinrich    202-225-6316                     fax 202-225-4975
Congressman Harry Teague        202-225-2365                     fax 202-225-9599
Congressman Ben Ray Lujan       202-225-6190                     fax 202-226-1528
You can use the following points, but make sure to personalize them to reflect your state and company’s situation:

• The delayed highway/transit program reauthorization has created major uncertainty for state DOT/transportation programs. 
• This uncertainty is diluting the impact of the Recovery Act’s (i.e. stimulus’) transportation investments and helping drive the disproportionate level of unemployment in the transportation construction industry.
• The proposed extension and its provisions to stabilize the Highway Trust Fund will provide the continuity necessary to help maximize employment and economic activity from the 2010 construction season.
• Please support the highway/transit program extension, H.R. 2847.

Remember: You Vote, So Your U.S. Representative Will Listen!
Should you have any questions please contact the ACNM Executive Director, Mike Gibson, at 505-344-2072 X 11.

ACNM Board & ACNM Membership

 D’Auna Wood (ACNM President), Dan Silva (ACNM Legislative Consultant) and I were on a conference call this morning (March 2, 2010) with NMDOT executive staff, All of the NM Congressional staffers and the NM District Engineers regarding last week’s political impasse on legislative approval of the Highway Authorization extension and its impact on the industry.   As you know, last Friday Congress failed to pass the Federal Highway Authorization extension which has caused the FHWA to withhold reimbursement of funding to the NMDOT and all  state DOT’s.

 The NMDOT has stated that they have arranged for the local road fund to pick up the slack on the federal funding reimbursement issue and stated that contractors will continue to receive payments on existing contracts for the next three weeks.  After that period NMDOT stated that it would be difficult to meet its payment obligations.   NMDOT stated that all existing ARRA contracts would not be affected as to contractors being paid (this funding was earmarked and not affected by this legislative impasse).

 NM Congressional staff stated that they believed that this political impasse on the legislation to extend the Federal Highway Authorization bill would be settled by the end of the week and that the provisions by the NMDOT to address payment to contractors would only be needed for this week.   Each NM Congressional staffer committed to keeping ACNM and NMDOT updated on the progress on extending the Highway Authorization Bill.

 In summary, it appears that there will be NO DELAYS in payments to any contractors on existing contracts, ARRA or non-ARRA, and that this Congressional impasse would be resolved within the week.

 Should you have any questions or if your firm experiences anything contrary to the information in this email, please call me at 505-553-1324.  Thank you.

 Mike Gibson
Associated Contractors of New Mexico

House Passes Amended Senate “Jobs” Bill
 

In a week that saw the temporary shutdown of the Federal Highway Program and the president signing into law a 30-day extension of SAFETEA-LU, the House today passed by a vote of 217-201 an amended version of the Senate ”jobs” bill, which among other things would extend SAFETEA-LU  through 2010 and provide a $19.5 billion transfer from the General Fund of the U.S. Treasury to the Highway Trust Fund. 

Read more.

Recap of the 2010 Legislative Session. 

Should you have any questions please call me at 505-553-1324.

Mike Gibson
Associated Contractors of New Mexico

Legislative Recap

Updated summary of legislative bills that we are tracking.

Unfortunately over the weekend (late Sunday afternoon) we lost a House Floor debate and vote on HB 271 (Excess tax), all Republicans and several conservative Democrats (who were concerned about their fall elections) decided not to support this bill.  The good news is that the bill and the need for revenue got a lot of attention and stirred up a lot of other discussions by policy makers about the financial challenges within DOT.

ACNM joined in with several other groups to defeat on the House Floor (HB 271 – Air Quality) by a vote of 32-33.  This bill still may be placed on the calendar this week but time is running out.

Please call Dan Silva or myself with your comments or questions.  Thanks.

Mike Gibson

Updated summary