CTC outlines position on Governor Chafee's transportation budget proposal for FY 2012

When the House Committee on Finance met last week to debate the Governor's proposed transportation budget, the Coalition for Transportation Choices was there to testify about the need for investment in a wider range of transportation choices. Here's the statement that was delivered by CTC's Policy and Advocacy Chair, Jerry Elmer of the Conservation Law Foundation.

The Coalition for Transportation Choices (CTC) commends Governor Chafee on his budget proposal to re-direct the proceeds of Rhode Island's automobile registration fee to the Intermodal Surface Transportation Fund (ISTF), because the Governor's proposal takes several important steps in the right direction. By combining the best parts of the Governor's proposal and the best parts of the proposed Transportation Investment and Debt Reduction Act of 2011 (S-148 and H-5789), CTC believes that we can achieve an overall plan that is better than either proposal taken separately.

Governor Chafee's proposal recognizes, correctly, that additional funds are urgently needed if the state is to keep its transportation infrastructure safe and economically sustainable for all Rhode Islanders. CTC especially commends Governor Chafee because his proposal would reduce RIDOT borrowing in future years, thereby reducing the debt burden that will be faced by future generations of Rhode Islanders and allowing RIDOT instead to use its limited resources maintaining Rhode Island's roads and bridges rather than paying costly finance charges for borrowed bond money.

Nevertheless, while the Governor's proposal would provide major additional funding to RIDOT, it provides nothing at all for Rhode Island's mobility manager, RIPTA; nor for our 39 cities and towns for maintaining local roads and fixing pot-holes. The Transportation Investment and Debt Reduction Act of 2011 would fix this problem by allocating funds in the following way: 50% to RIDOT, 35% to public RIPTA, and 15% to municipalities for maintenance of local roads. (Governor Chafee's proposal to channel the new funds through the existing ISTF could easily be made compatible with the Transportation Investment and Debt Reduction Act's proposed allocation scheme by making appropriate amendments to how the ISTF currently allocates funds.)

In addition, CTC believes that additional new sources of funding (beyond the one source proposed by Governor Chafee) are needed. The Transportation Investment and Debt Reduction Act proposes a $40 increase in the biennial automobile registration fee, but CTC recognizes that other proposals made in the past by the Governor's Blue Ribbon Panel or other groups must also be considered.

In short, CTC supports an approach that combines the best aspects of Governor Chafee's proposal and the best aspects of the Transportation Investment and Debt Reduction Act of 2011 bills.

CTC advocates for a 21st century transportation system that enhances our economy and provides all Rhode islanders with healthy transportation choices. CTC is a coalition of 45 Rhode Island organizations including environmental organizations such as Clean Water Action, Save The Bay, and Conservation Law Foundation; labor organizations such as SEIU District 1199 and the Amalgamated Transit Union; community groups such as AARP and Grow Smart Rhode Island; health organizations such as the American Lung Association in Rhode Island; and business organizations such as Cornish Associates and the Providence Foundation.