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Metro last year scored a win when Congress adopted part of the America Fast Forward initiative, expanding a federal loan program called TIFIA that offers low-interest, government backed loans.

Metro is now pushing Congress to adopt the other half of AFF, a bond program designed to raise money to accelerate transportation projects and create jobs.

Which might sound familiar. Everyone in Congress is always talking about job creation, including President Barack Obama in his State of the Union address on Tuesday. Metro believes AFF is a good way of tackling that issue while also dealing with a few others — expanding transit, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and ensuring that our infrastructure remains in good working order.

The bond program is a bit complex: it’s taken me a while to get my brain wrapped around it. The above graphic explains it well. In one sentence: those who invest in transportation bonds receive federal tax credits instead of interest, a good way for investors to lower their tax burden and a good way for transportation agencies to save on interest costs.

Another way of thinking about it: the program doesn’t ask the federal government to spend directly on transportation projects. It does, however, ask the feds to forgo some tax revenues.

Metro is hoping to get the bond and loan program enshrined in the next multi-year federal transportation spending bill. The current bill expires in 2014, meaning a new bill will hopefully be approved by Congress within the next year.

Here are the latest Measure J results, posted a few minutes ago the Los Angeles County Registrar.

According to the Registar, 130,063 ballots were added to the election results today. It appears of those, 112,383 cast a vote in the Measure J election. That brings the estimated total still to be counted to 215,991 ballots, according to the Registrar.

Measure J needs two-thirds voter approval to pass. As we’ve said the last two weeks, it’s possible but unlikely due to two issues: 1) of the remaining votes to be counted, it’s unlikely all of them cast votes for or against Measure J, and; 2) Of the ballots remaining, it’s likely that at least 75 percent of them would need to be ‘yes’ votes for Measure J to pass.

The news release from the Registrar is posted after the jump.

November 6, 2012 Presidential General Election
FOURTH BALLOT COUNT UPDATE

Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk (RR/CC) Dean C. Logan
announced the following updated semifinal results as of today, November 20,
2012.

The update includes 130,063 ballots processed since election night consisting of
97,878 Vote by Mail ballots and 32,185 Precinct ballots, which includes
Provisional ballots. For vote totals on specific contests, please visit lavote.net.
This brings the updated estimate to approximately 215,991 ballots to be
processed.

Please remember that these results are subject to change throughout the
canvass period. The next official update is scheduled for Friday, November 23,
2012 at 1 p.m. All results and updates will be posted online as they become
available.

Please see our Updated Canvass Schedule that includes new tally dates and
times online at http://www.lavote.net.

The mission of the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk is to serve Los Angeles
County by providing essential records management and election services in a
fair, accessible and transparent manner. For more information, visit
http://www.lavote.net.
#

Click above to see larger flier.

This should be an interesting event — and a good chance for anyone to learn about the bill from those who know the ins and outs of the legislation. If interested in attending, please make an RSVP today.

In addition, the bill contained part of the America Fast Forward program that has been created by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and backed by the Metro Board of Directors for the past couple of years.

America Fast Forward (pdf) originally called for expansion of both a federal bond program called QTIB and a federal loan program called TIFIA. The bond part of the program didn’t get traction in Congress — it involved some serious federal spending — but a hefty increase in TIFIA did make it into the bill. And that’s good news for Metro and transit agencies across the land who want to borrow money to build projects now rather than wait years or decades.

In particular because the bill greatly expanded the federal TIFIA program that provides loans, loan guarantees to local transportation projects around the country at competitive interest rates (today’s interest rate is 2.63 percent for a 35-year loan, by the way). As the TIFIA website puts it, “Each dollar of Federal funds can provide up to $10 in TIFIA credit assistance – and leverage $30 in transportation infrastructure investment.”

It also should be noted that TIFIA is part of the strategy that Metro staff wants to use to accelerate projects if, in fact, a Measure R extension makes it to the ballot this fall. Here’s the staff report that explains it. TIFIA doesn’t guarantee that any particular transit agency will receive loans or loan help — agencies have to apply — but the expansion of the program is an option that certainly was not on the table previous to this.

A few other key points about the new transportation bill from Metro’s government relations staff:

•The legislation signed into law includes an innovative finance section entitled America Fast Forward that includes $1.7 billion in lending authority through the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program ($750 million in Fiscal Year 2013 and $1 billion in Fiscal Year 2014).

•In addition, the TIFIA program is substantially reformed in ways that reflect our agency’s America Fast Forward initiative. The conference report shares that the America Fast Forward program will “help communities leverage their transportation resources and stretch Federal dollars further than they have been stretched before.”

•The America Fast Forward initiative was endorsed by our Board of Directors. MAP-21 keeps funding for federal highway programs at current levels with a small inflationary adjustment. In addition, the bill includes language that will serve to streamline the federal New Starts program, which has been an issue advanced by our agency with Members of Congress and the Federal Transit Administration. The bill also provides for expenditure authority through September 30, 2014, after which time Congress will need to adopt a new surface transportation bill or extend MAP-21.

America Fast Forward – Embedded in Surface Transportation Bill – Heads to White House for President’s Signature

America Fast Forward, the innovative national transportation finance plan championed by our Board Chairman and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and our Board of Directors, is slated to become the centerpiece of the innovative finance portion of America’s new surface transportation program. Earlier today, the United States House of Representatives passed HR 4348, the Conference Report on the new surface transportation bill by a margin of 373-52, with the entire Los Angeles County Congressional Delegation voting in favor. The bill, known as MAP-21, reauthorizes Federal transportation policy and funding levels through September, 2014 at current funding levels, adjusted for inflation. Less than an hour after the House passed HR 4348, the United States Senate followed suit by passing the bill by a margin of 74-19, with both California Senators, Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, voting in favor.  Metro is deeply appreciative to our Board of Directors, Senator Boxer and all members of the Los Angeles County Congressional Delegation and other Members of Congress, and the broad coalition of labor, business, and environmental groups who worked hard to ensure that MAP-21 includes America Fast Forward. The bill is headed to the White House, where President Obama is expected to sign the legislation into law.

MORE:  American Public Transportation Association (APTA) report
House and Senate Vote to Pass Surface Transportation Conference Report

A few moments ago, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a 90-day extension of the current Surface Transportation Authorization (H.R. 4281) on a 266 to 158 vote. H.R. 4281 will now be sent over to the U.S. Senate. This extension, though free of policy changes, was looked unfavorably upon by the U.S. Senate, which called on the House to pass their Surface Transportation Re-authorization Bill (MAP-21) that passed the Senate earlier in March. The current extension, and accompanying gas taxes, expires on Sunday, April 1, 2012.

The two-year bipartisan bill approved by the Senate — known as MAP-21 — includes provisions of Metro’s America Fast Forward plan to expand a federal loan program for major transportation projects. Whether House Republicans will ever consider the bill remains to be seen.

UPDATE, 2:45 p.m.: The Senate has agreed to the extension. Update from Metro government relations:

The U.S. Senate has passed the 90-day surface transportation authorization extension by unanimous consent. The extension, as passed by the House hours ago, will now move to the President’s desk for his signature. This new extension (the ninth such extension since SAFETEA-LU originally expired on September 30, 2009) will expire on June 30, 2012.

Our agency will continue to closely monitor the surface transportation bills in both the House and Senate.

The group is headed by former Santa Monica Mayor Denny Zane, who clearly let the hundreds in attendance know his position: the Measure R sales tax increase that expires in 2039 should be extended by voters.

Such an extension could accomplish two things, according to Zane: 1) It could help accelerate the building of the 12 Measure R transit projects if Congress doesn’t fully adopt the America Fast Forward plan (and they’re not likely to), and; 2) It may help finance additional transit and highway projects beyond the original Measure R package approved by Los Angeles County voters in 2008.

Some of Metro’s key players were in attendance. It’s important to note that neither agency staff or any members of the Board of Directors have endorsed extending Measure R either this year or in the future. Here are a few key points that were made as part of a panel discussion on funding:

•Metro government relations staff said that the agency is currently crunching the numbers to see what a Measure R extension would be able to accomplish in terms of speeding up the building of transit projects. Those numbers will eventually be presented to the Metro Board of Directors. The basic concept is to borrow against future revenues.

•Assemblyman Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles) explained the path his state bill would have to take, since that bill is necessary to get a Measure R extension on the ballot. If Metro pursues an extension this year, the bill will need two-thirds approval in the Legislature as an “urgency measure.” That’s never easy, considering the bill involves a tax and “tax” is never a popular word in an election year, even if it’s continuing a new tax and not a new one.

•Zane mentioned several projects that he would like to see funded by a Measure R extension, including the extension of the Gold Line Foothill Extension to Montclair, the Crenshaw Line north to a junction with the Red Line in Hollywood, pushing the Westside Subway Extension to Bundy and an extension of the still-to-be-defined Sepulveda Pass transit project all the way from the San Fernando Valley to LAX, among others.

As for those extra projects it’s important to stress that Metro does have a long-range plan that has a list of projects that are currently unfunded and are considered high priority beyond Measure R. Many of the projects that Zane mentioned are in the plan. A line from the Valley to LAX, however, is not.

Bottom line: At the end of the day, it’s up to the Metro Board of Directors and they are going to have to weigh many factors, including most notably how much Metro can borrow to accelerate the construction of transit projects.

A new multi-year bill was supposed to be passed by Congress two years ago. Fighting between Democrats and Republicans has delayed it, leading to several short-term renewals of the existing bill, which covered spending through fiscal year 2009 and was signed by President Bush in Aug. 2005.

The bill is also a chance for the federal government to lay out its transportation spending priorities for the next several years. For example, if the federal government wanted to greatly expand spending on transit, the multi-year bill would be the place to do it.

The update:

Despite a sustained effort by public transportation agencies, many Members of Congress, and a broad coalition of private sector organizations, Congress is poised to move consideration of a new federal transportation authorization bill to 2012. Efforts to reauthorize the previous surface transportation bill (SAFETEA-LU) in 2011 effectively ended this afternoon in Washington, DC when the Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, John Mica (R-FL) announced that the legislative schedule next month would not permit him to move forward with a new transportation bill. The current extension of SAFETEA-LU is slated to expire on March 31, 2012. Our agency will continue to work diligently with Chairman Mica, Chairman Boxer of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and members of the Los Angeles County Congressional Delegation to ensure that our Board-approved legislative program is advanced in any transportation authorization bill considered by the second session of the 112th Congress in 2012.

A Portland MAX light rail train pulls into the station. Photo by Flickr user camknows.

This weekly post features news from other transit agencies and planners from around the world. Did we miss a good story? Let us know in the comments.

Under pressure from riders, TriMet promises to consider longer transfer times (Portland, Ore.)

A coalition of transit riders in Portland has won a small victory in its effort to extend transfer times to three hours from the current one-and-a-half hour window. The group successfully convinced the transit agency’s board of governors to study the feasibility of a three-hour transfer on TriMet’s bus and light rail lines. Advocates view extended transfers as a way of assuaging the effects of recession-induced service cuts, which have led to longer waits. While the board endorsed the study, it doesn’t look like they’re actively supportive of the transfer extension. Joseph Rose of Oregon Live reports that “TriMet considers the idea an epic policy shift that could cost more than it’s worth.”

Line of the Week: MAX Green Line (Portland, Ore.)

With Portland on the brain, here’s a quick review of the MAX Green Line from local blogger Jung Gatoona. Be sure to check out the time lapse video of the route and admire all the bus and transit only lanes.

Metro Atlanta voters warm to mass transit, poll shows

In sprawling Atlanta, voters are warming up to the idea of expanding the city’s mass transit system and improving alternatives to driving. That’s a good sign for the transportation sales tax referendum that will be on the ballot next year. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that “voters in 10 counties will be asked to approve a 10-year, 1-cent sales tax…expected to raise $7.2 billion.” Here are some more interesting poll numbers from the AJC:

Overwhelmingly, 91 percent of voters said it was important to address the region’s transportation problems to improve its quality of life and economic future. Additionally, 67 percent said the region’s traffic congestion is deteriorating their quality of life. And 82 percent said it was important to do more to encourage everyone to commute to work by bus or train.

RTD seeks private-sector boost (Denver, Colo.)

Denver has a big transit expansion plan called FasTracks and even a dedicated sales tax to fund it. However, like Measure R in L.A. County, the revenues trickle in over time. Denver transit officials are looking for ways to get more revenue up front and thus accelerate a number projects, according to the Denver Business Journal. While America Fast Forward could help Denver in that regard — as I wrote back in March — FasTracks backers are reaching out to the private sector to see if there are opportunities for the vaunted Public-Private Partnership.

More money, more problems: MUNI spends more, but customer satisfaction falls (San Francisco)

Here’s a quagmire for you: Transportation Nation reports that San Fran’s transit operator MUNI has increased overall spending and on time performance, but riders are less satisfied than they were in 2004. Check out the story to read some hypothesizing from MUNI and what they’re doing to improve the transit experience.

New strategy for transit to North Meck (North Carolina)

The Naked City blog writes that transportation planners in the Charlotte, N.C. metro area are looking to innovative financing schemes to plug a budget hole in a proposed commuter rail line. I’ll admit, this approach is new to me: “Use the rail line as an economic development strategy for both passenger rail and freight rail.  And form a formal partnership among [the cities of] Huntersville, Cornelius and Davidson so they can share tax revenues from new development, via a Joint Powers Authority.”

Passengers taking the strain of transport costs (London, U.K.)

Transport for London boasts a farebox recovery ration of over 50 percent, meaning that over half of its revenues come from fares. Most transit agencies in the U.S. would envy that figure, but the BBC reports that high fares are taking a toll on commuters. The issue is turning into a battleground in the London mayor’s race. Incumbent Boris Johnson wants to raise fares by the rate of inflation plus two percent, while challenger Ken Livingstone announced that he would cut fares by five percent if elected. Johnson maintains that the extra revenue is needed for infrastructure improvements.

My quick take: it appears there will be more transportation money on the table — if Congress approves the package. However, it remains to be seen how much of those funds can be secured by Metro and how much can be applied toward accelerating Measure R transit and road projects.

The update:

White House Details Transportation Spending In American Jobs Act

Embedded as part of the American Jobs Act unveiled by President Obama last night is a proposal to provide $50 billion in immediate federal transportation spending. The proposed funding includes a request for Congress to provide $9 billion for our nation’s transit systems and $27 billion to bolster our nation’s highways. The proposal also includes an initiative, consistent with America Fast Forward, to vastly expand federal support for the Transportation Infrastructure and Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program. Another $10 billion would be used to create a National Infrastructure Bank. To emphasize the importance of his transportation proposals, President Obama stated last night that, “building a world-class transportation system is part of what made us an economic superpower.” Below please find language from a White House fact sheet detailing the transportation spending outlined in the American Jobs Act.

After the jump is a list of transportation funding initiatives in the American Jobs Act.

Immediate Investments in Infrastructure ($50 billion): In order to jumpstart critical infrastructure projects and create hundreds of thousands of jobs, the President’s plan includes $50 billion in immediate investments for highway, highway safety, transit, passenger rail, and aviation activities – with one fifth of the funding advancing a transformation of how we finance transportation infrastructure and what we finance.

Investments in Making Our Nation’s Highway Systems Safer and More Efficient: The President’s plan includes investments totaling $27 billion to make our nation’s highway systems more efficient and safer for passenger and commercial transportation.

Repairing Transit Systems and Improving Our Rail Systems: The plan includes $9 billion of investments to repair our nation’s transit systems, many of which are desperately in need of modernization. It also includes $2 billion in funding to improve intercity passenger rail service. These funds will connect communities, reduce travel times and congestion, and create skilled manufacturing jobs.

Improving Our Airports: The plan also includes airport improvement grants of $2 billion to improve safety, add capacity, and modernize airport infrastructure across the country.

Opportunities for All in the Transportation Sector: The President’s plan would invest an additional $50 million in 2012 to enhance employment and job training opportunities that will benefit minorities, women, and socially and economically disadvantaged individuals in transportation related activities, including construction, contract administration, inspection, and security. His plan will also invest an additional $10 million in 2012 to help minority-owned and disadvantaged business enterprises gain better access to transportation contracts. And it will ensure that infrastructure investments allow for the hiring of local workers, to maximize economic benefits for communities where projects are located.

Funding for Innovative Transportation: The plan includes $10 billion for innovative ways of financing and investing in infrastructure. This includes $4 billion to develop high-speed rail corridors; $1 billion to support NextGen Air Traffic Modernization efforts, which will employ technology to make the National Airspace System safer and more efficient, and $5 billion for the TIGER and TIFIA programs, which target competitive dollars to innovative, multi-modal transportation programs.

Expediting High Impact Infrastructure Projects: The President recently issued a Presidential Memorandum in coordination with his Jobs Council directing departments and agencies to identify high impact, job-creating infrastructure projects that can be expedited through outstanding review and permitting processes within the control and jurisdiction of the federal government. The President also directed the creation of a Projects Dashboard to ensure the details of each project identified will be available for stakeholders to follow through the expedited review process and provide public input. This initiative will create infrastructure related jobs and use the lessons learned to develop best practices that can be applied more broadly to permitting and review processes going forward.

National Infrastructure Bank ($10 billion).To direct Federal resources for infrastructure to projects that demonstrate the most merit and may be difficult to fund under the current patchwork of Federal programs, the President is also calling for the creation of a National Infrastructure Bank (NIB), based on the model that Senators Kerry and Hutchison have championed with bi-partisan support in the Senate. It also builds on legislation by Senators Rockefeller and Lautenberg, the work of long-time infrastructure bank champions like Rep. Rosa DeLauro and input from the President’s Jobs Council. The National Infrastructure Bank’s key provisions would include:

Independent, Non-Partisan Operations Led by Infrastructure and Financial Experts While NIB would be a government-owned entity, it would not be controlled by any federal agency and instead would operate independently. No more than four voting members of its seven member board could be from the same political party. Board members would have to possess significant expertise either in the management of a relevant financial institution or in the financing, development, or operation of infrastructure projects.

Broad eligibility for Infrastructure and Unbiased Project Selection: Eligible projects would include transportation infrastructure, water infrastructure, and energy infrastructure. In general, projects would have to be at least $100 million in size and be of national or regional significance. Projects would have a clear public benefit, meet rigorous economic, technical and environmental standards, and be backed by a dedicated revenue stream. Geographic, sector, and size considerations would also be taken into account.

Addressing Market Gaps for Infrastructure Financing: The NIB would issue loans and loan guarantees to eligible projects. Loans issued by NIB would use approximately the same interest rate as similar-length United States Treasury securities and could be extended up to 35 years, giving the NIB the ability to be a “patient” partner side-by-side with State, local, and private co-investors. To maximize leverage from Federal investments, the NIB would finance no more than 50 percent of the total costs of any project.

What Others Are Saying About a National Infrastructure Bank

Republican Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison: “This national infrastructure bank is an innovative way to leverage private-public partnerships and maximize private funding to address our water, transportation, and energy infrastructure needs.” (March 15, 2011).

Democratic Senator John Kerry: “Democrats and Republicans, business and labor, are now united to create an American infrastructure bank to leverage private investment, make America the world’s builders once again, and close the deficit in our infrastructure investments.” (March 15, 2011).

U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donahue: “A national infrastructure bank is a great place to start securing the funding we need to increase our mobility, create jobs, and enhance our global competitiveness.” (March 15, 2011).

AFL-CIO: “A broad coalition of union, business, government and academic leaders has called for creation of a National Infrastructure Bank (NIB) that not only would propel the rebuilding of the nation’s crumbling infrastructure, but also would be a major job-creating engine.” (January 22, 2010).