Transcript Document

Funding Options and Trends at the
State and Federal Level
Steve Pickrell
Cambridge Systematics, Inc.
1
How Does Oregon Compare to Other States?
• Primary State Transportation Revenue Sources
– State and Local Gasoline Taxes
– Vehicle Registration Fees
• Size of Surface Transportation Program
– Total Roadway Lane Miles, NHS Lane Miles
– VMT, Number of Vehicles and Drivers
• Size and Economic Activity
– Population, Gross State Product
2
Oregon’s Rank Among States on Several Key
Descriptors
Combined Registration & Fuel Tax Cost
Vehicle Registration Fees
State & Local Gasoline Excise Tax
Vehicle Miles of Travel
Registered Vehicles (All Types)
Licensed Drivers
NHS Lane Miles
Public Roadway Lane Miles
Gross State Product
Population
0
Lowest
10
20
Source: FHWA 2011; U.S. Census 2012; U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis 2012; Idaho
Transportation Dept. 2011; Washington Transportation Dept. 2011
30
40
50
Highest
3
When Other Taxes Are Accounted For, Oregon’s
Fuel Tax is Close to U.S. Average
60.00
60.00
50.00
50.00
40.00
40.00
Other State Tax/Fee
Oth er State
Tax/Fee
30.00
30.00
State Excise Tax
State E xcise Tax
20.00
20.00
Federal Excise Tax
Federal E xcise
Tax
10.00
10.00
0.00
0.00
Oregon
Gas Tax =
49.47 cpg
National
Average =
49.28 cpg
Oregon
Diesel Tax
= 54.74
cpg
National
Average =
55.15 cpg
Source: American Petroleum Institute, 2014
4
Weight-Distance Tax
• Four states currently have a weight-distance
tax: New Mexico, Kentucky, New York and
Oregon
• Maine and South Carolina have recently
considered adding distance-based tax on
heavy vehicles, and higher tolls for them
• Rationale: Internalize the cost of damage that
heavier vehicles inflict on public roads
5
Weight-Distance Tax
Dollars per Mile Traveled, by Vehicle Weight
Dollars Per Mile
$0.14
Oregon’s weight-distance tax rate is the
highest by far…. but its commercial
vehicle registration fees are among the
lowest in the nation (47th lowest in
rank).
$0.12
$0.10
$0.08
Oregon
$0.06
New York
$0.04
New Mexico
Kentucky
$0.02
Vehicle Weight in Thousands of Pounds
78-80
74-76
70-72
66-68
62-64
58-60
54-56
50-52
46-48
42-44
38-40
34-36
30-32
26-28
22-24
18-20
$0.00
General Typology of Revenue Sources
• Direct User Fees – Directly associated with a trip: Tolls,
transit fares, VMT fees, weight-mile fees, parking fees, etc.
• Indirect User Fees – Collected from transportation users,
but not associated with a trip on a specific facility: Fuel
taxes, vehicle registration fees and excise taxes, driver
licensing fees, etc.
• Specialized Taxes and Fees – Collected on nontransportation activities, but dedicated to transportation:
local option taxes, value capture techniques, lease rents, etc.
• General Taxes – Collected on non-transportation activities
but used for wide range of expenditures: Income taxes,
property taxes, general sales taxes, other ad valorem taxes
Common Criteria for Evaluating
Revenue Sources
• Yield: Revenue generation capacity
• Reliability: Predictability, sustainability of revenue stream
• Economic Efficiency: Promotion of economically sound
behavior
• Equity: Disproportionate burden on low-income
households or other disadvantaged groups
• Administrative Effectiveness: Ease and cost of
collection, distribution, enforcement, etc.
• Public Acceptance: Possible or probable, and in
what timeframe
• Policy Objectives: What does the state want to achieve?
What Revenue Sources Are Other States
Considering?
• There are few if any “new” sources of revenue
for transportation being widely discussed
• Relatively few recent comprehensive studies
of revenue at the state level…the work has
previously been done
• Political will and public opinion are driving the
decisions
• Most recent activity involves shifting from one
known revenue source to another, reflecting a
policy shift unique to each state
9
Current Trends in State Revenue Discussions
•
•
•
•
•
•
Increase the state excise tax on fuels
Vehicle sale and/or transfer taxes
Increase vehicle- and driver-related fees
Electric/Alternative fuel vehicle fees
Area- and facility-based tolling
Index existing motor fuel taxes to inflation and/or
changing fleet fuel efficiency
• Shift from at-the-pump gas tax to wholesale fuel tax
• Mileage-based fees or road usage charges
10
Recent State Transportation Finance Legislation
• More than a dozen states have implemented
legislation and policies in past three years
• Relatively few have actually raised or indexed
their gas tax rates
• A comparable number have eliminated at-thepump gas taxes in favor of wholesale fuel
taxes
• Alternative fuel and electric vehicle fees are
gaining momentum
11
Recently Proposed State Transportation
Revenue Sources
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Tolls, including higher tolls for heavy trucks
Wholesale fuel taxes
Parity in propane and diesel taxes
Alternative fuel tax & electric vehicle fees
Sales tax on fuel
General sales tax
Elimination of current subsidies
Assorted other: rental car taxes, lease rent
12
P3 Activity in the U.S.
•
•
•
•
35 states have enabling legislation
Only about half have used it
Legislation varies significantly across states
Five states account for 75% of activity in U.S. –
– TX, CA, FL, VA, CO
• Not as common here as in other countries
– U.S. is 9% of the global P3 activity
Source: Eno Foundation, 2014
13
Local Revenue Trends
• Local option sales and fuel taxes
• Area-based tolling (congestion pricing to
generate revenue)
• Transit fares, peak pricing, station parking fee
• Private sector exactions and contributions:
development fees, traffic impact mitigation
fees, direct transit subsidies, access payments
• Freight-specific taxes, tolls and fees
14
International Revenue Characteristics
• High fuel taxes are common
• Sales and carbon taxes used as well
• P3 more prevalent in Europe, Australia, Asia
– Europe is 50% of global P3 funding
• Dedication of specific revenue source to
transportation is rare
– General fund more common approach
– Cultural preference for blended funds
Source: Eno Foundation, 2014
15
Perspectives on Future of Federal
Transportation Funding
• Future of the Highway Trust Fund in question
• Viability of federal gas tax as main revenue
source
• Few perceived realistic alternatives
• Era of heavy reliance on Federal funding may
be drawing to a close
• Support across the political spectrum for
seriously considering these questions
Source: Innovation NewsBriefs, www.innobriefs.com, January 2015
16
Trust Fund Options
• T4America proposes
shifting more funding
responsibility to state
and local level
– Defacto approach
underway in many states
– 30 states passed
transportation fiscal
initiatives in last 3 years
(including P3 projects)
– 20 more poised to tackle
transportation funding
at state level in 2015
• Eno Foundation
proposes General Fund
appropriation, citing:
– Political opposition to
gas tax hike
– Declining travel per
capita, improved fuel
efficiency
– Movement away from
user-funded system
– “Every person and
business” benefits
17
Reauthorization Prospects
• Annual highway and
transit expenditures
exceed annual Trust
Fund revenue by
~$16B/year
• Six-year reauthorization
needs estimated to be
$100B
• Federal gas tax increase
seems unlikely
today….but ask again
tomorrow!
• Despite drop in gas
prices, prospects dim
for long-term T-bill or
gas tax increase
• White House believes
“corporate tax reform”
is best option
18
Summary of Trends
• Long-term projections for declining fuel tax revenue,
declining condition and performance of system
• Road Usage Charges gaining momentum in west, but
implementation costs and other hurdles are large
• Increased future reliance on state and local sources,
reduced expectations of Federal support
• Little political will to tackle revenue problem at
Federal, but some evidence of changing attitudes
• “Tipping Point” theory: Nothing will happen until it
happens….and then it may happen quickly
19
Questions / Discussion
20