State Transportation Funding Lessons Learned | T4America

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States face an increasing challenge in funding their mounting transportation needs. Their primary sources of revenue — taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel — have been depressed as vehicles become more efficient, per-person driving mileage declines and construction costs rise along with inflation.

Meanwhile, states are further challenged by uncertain federal funding, which has been squeezed by the same forces. Frozen at 1993 levels, the federal gas tax has lost approximately one-third of its purchasing power. In 2012, Congress did something it had not done in decades, passing a federal transportation law that did not increase funding.

The same is true in many states. Twenty-four states have gone a decade or more without raising their gas taxes. For example, before Massachusetts passed a transportation revenue package in 2013 the state gas tax had not changed since 1991 and as a result it had lost almost half of its purchasing power. Meanwhile, an aging infrastructure in need of repair and the demands coming from demographic and economic changes mean states need more revenue, not less.

Since 2012, twelve states have responded to that challenge by enacting new revenue sources for transportation, while dozens more have considered such legislation. Each legislative package was crafted to respond to the unique challenges of the state where it was passed, but each contains lessons for other states looking to address their funding needs.

One key lesson worth noting up front: Legislators who supported such moves have met with little to no pushback at the polls. . . . .

Building a broad coalition

A common feature among successful transportation revenue packages is support from a broad coalition of stakeholders throughout the state. A broad coalition enables proponents to reach a variety of legislators and to demonstrate how the investment will benefit a wide range of constituencies, including the business community, local elected officials, transportation trades, and environmental, faith-based and public health constituencies. . . .

Factors for Success

Seven noteworthy strategies and factors contributed to the success of campaigns in many states:

Support for local priorities
Ensuring transparency and accountability
Bridging the rural-urban divide
Leadership from the governor
Building a broad coalition
Creating new revenue mechanisms
Developing effective messages and messengers

. . .

For example, in Pennsylvania the Keystone Transportation Funding Coalition came together to advocate collectively for increased investment in transportation. Membership included:

Regional chambers of commerce from across the state
10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania
AARP
Health advocacy groups, like the American Heart Association
Pennsylvania chapters of trade associations with a stake in designing and building transportation projects
Community development organizations from across the state
Regional transit and rail providers
Labor unions
Local organizations supporting investment in bike and pedestrian infrastructure

With such wide-ranging representation in the coalition, members of the state legislature heard about the benefits of the legislation from many different perspectives, giving them certainty that they could support the legislation with support from many stakeholders.

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State Transportation Funding Lessons Learned | T4America