Support County Priorities as Congress Begins Work on Surface Transportation Reauthorization

ACTION NEEDED: 

Urge your Members of Congress to support county transportation and infrastructure priorities in the next surface transportation reauthorization bill.   

BACKGROUND: 

Every five years, Congress reauthorizes the Department of Transportation, its surface transportation agencies (e.g. the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Transit Administration) and their formula and discretionary funding programs. This process often results in other policy changes as well, like the creation of new funding programs, changes to formula funding allocation methods and new rules and regulations. The most recent surface transportation bill was the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA; P.L. 117-58), often called the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Signed by President Biden in the fall of 2021, this bill is set to expire on September 30, 2026.

In addition to reauthorizing over $500 billion in existing surface transportation programs, the BIL also included over $550 billion in new guaranteed spending on a wide range of infrastructure, including roads, bridges, inland waterways, transit, airports and water infrastructure.

Despite this increase in funding, counties did not benefit significantly from the BIL. Bolstered formula funding continued to flow almost exclusively through state departments of transportation, while new and expanded discretionary grant programs largely benefited other recipients. This is misaligned with the fact that counties are key partners in the nation’s infrastructure system, owning and maintaining 44 percent of road miles, 38 percent of bridges and playing a major role in operating over a third of public transit systems and airports.

In the 119th Congress, there has been strong bipartisan interest from both chambers in crafting a comprehensive reauthorization package that builds on the momentum from the BIL. This presents a crucial opportunity for Congress to better balance federal infrastructure spending; as major owners of the transportation system, counties have a major role to play in supporting our infrastructure, but we need Congress’s support to match the robust federal resources with local expertise and needs.
 

NACo urges consideration of the following recommendations:

• Deliver Key Formula Funds Directly to Local Governments: To ensure fair and efficient support for our transportation systems, Congress should provide local and regional governments with reliable access to certain formula programs. By leveraging the capacity and expertise of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) and Rural Transportation Planning Organizations (RTPOs), we can ensure local project selection and prioritization to steer federal dollars to deserving local projects.
• Maintain Discretionary Grant Programs: Counties deserve access to formula funding but must retain access to discretionary grants for transformative projects. While there are opportunities for program consolidation, counties want to keep certain programs like the BUILD program and Safe Streets and Roads for All program that advance national priorities at the local level.
• Streamline Permitting and Project Delivery: Counties are eager to invest infrastructure funding but face delays from complex federal approval processes, especially NEPA reviews. Streamlining permitting while preserving environmental protections and public input will accelerate project delivery, benefiting safety and economic growth.
• Improve Intergovernmental Partnerships: Counties play an important role in maintaining the overall transportation system, but they cannot do it on their own. Congress should enact policies that strengthen counties’ ability to uphold their obligations, including through supporting technical assistance and capacity building programs, giving counties more authority over transportation revenue and funding and improving information sharing and collaboration with counties.
   

KEY TALKING POINTS: 

• Counties own, operate and maintain 44 percent of public road miles and 38 percent of bridges. Locally owned bridges are more than twice as likely to be in poor condition than a state-owned bridge, which threatens supply chains, safety and economic growth.
• In the IIJA, 90 percent or more of federal transportation funds flow directly to state DOTs, leaving counties and other local governments to compete for less than 10 percent of competitive funding programs. Providing access to formula funding for local governments would ensure that counties have the resources they need to maintain our nation’s infrastructure.
• Urge your members of Congress to support county priorities throughout the development of the upcoming surface transportation reauthorization bill. Funding and programs authorized in the bill help counties make critical investments in our nation’s infrastructure.