SUMMARY OF S.1258

Governance:

Commission:

• Responsibilities are clarified to include long-range planning (i.e. the STIP) and general oversight.
• Eight members, all appointed by the Governor:  one from each congressional district and one at-large.
• Requirements for qualification include transportation-related experience or a college degree.
• Four year terms with a maximum of two consecutive terms for any individual. (Twelve-year lifetime maximum for any individual.)
• No county may have a resident commissioner for more than eight consecutive years, and no county may have more than one commissioner simultaneously.
• Each district appointee is referred to the Senate and the House, which then refers the appointee to the resident members of the respective congressional delegation.
• Upon congressional delegation approval, the district appointee is referred to the JTRC.  (The at-large appointee is referred directly to the JTRC.)
• Upon the JTRC finding an appointee qualified, the appointee is referred to the Senate for advice and consent.
• A district commission member may be removed at the discretion of the Governor subject to the prior approval of the delegation.

Secretary:

• Appointed by and serving at the pleasure of the commission with the advice and consent of the Senate.
• Responsible for day-to-day administration.

Internal Auditor:

• Employed by the State Auditor.
• Must be a CPA.

Infrastructure Bank:

• SIB must utilize prioritization criteria provided in Section 57-1-370(B)(8) in selecting projects.
• SIB projects must be submitted to DOT Commission prior to providing financial assistance.

Funding:

Sales Tax on Motor Vehicles:

• Directs all revenue collected from the sales tax on motor vehicles—except the portion designated for EIA—to be credited to the State Highway Fund (SHF).  (RFA Estimate:  $131,360,000)
  • DOT is to transfer amount required to finance bridge and road projects identified by DOT to the State Infrastructure Bank (SIB).
    • $50 million of the funds are to be used to finance bridge replacement, rehabilitation projects and expansion and improvements on existing roads in the state-highway system.
    • Funds in excess of $50 million are to be used to finance expansion and improvements to existing mainline interstates.
    • DOT is to identify the projects.  Funds cannot be used to finance projects approved before July 1, 2013.  Joint Bond Review Committee (JBRC) must review projects.  No local match is required for projects.
    • DOT is directed to allocate any funds not needed to finance SIB projects to the state-funded resurfacing program and develop a needs-based methodology to distribute the revenue so that each county is guaranteed funding.

DMV Fees and Fines:

• Directs fees and fines collected and retained by the Department of Motor Vehicles to be transferred to the SHF.  (RFA Estimate:  $84,211,596)
  • DOT is to transfer amount required to finance bridge and road projects on existing roads in the state-highway system to the SIB.
    • DOT is to identify the projects.  Funds cannot be used to finance projects approved before July 1, 2013.  JBRC must review projects.  No local match is required for projects.
    • DOT is directed to allocate any funds not needed to finance SIB projects to the state-funded resurfacing program and develop a needs-based methodology to distribute the revenue so that each county is guaranteed funding.

Proposed Use of Bond Proceeds:

$1.6 billion – Expansion and improvements to interstates

$700 million – Eliminate structurally-deficient and load-restricted bridges