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First Regular Session

Sixty-first General Assembly

LLS NO. R97@0058.01 JY

STATE OF COLORADO

BY REPRESENTATIVES May and Tucker;

also SENATOR Powers.

ENGROSSED

Transportation & Energy

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 97-1003

WHEREAS, The federal "Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991" (ISTEA) was designed to be the comprehensive solution to federal surface transportation funding since it replaced the "Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1987", which marked the end of the interstate era; and

WHEREAS, The purpose of ISTEA is "to develop a National Intermodal Transportation System that is economically efficient and environmentally sound, provides the foundation for the Nation to compete in the global economy, and will move people and goods in an energy efficient manner"; and

WHEREAS, When it was proposed, ISTEA was designed to give states and local governments flexibility as to how federal moneys were to be spent in their regions but, in fact and practice, the new federal program specifies how these moneys are distributed as well as how they can be spent by states and local governments; and

WHEREAS, Examples of the types of categories for which specified percentages of ISTEA moneys may be spent include, but are not limited to, safety, enhancements, population centers over 200,000 people, areas with populations under 5,000 people, transportation projects in areas that do not meet the Clean Air Act standards, and minimum allocation, reimbursement, and hold harmless programs; and

WHEREAS, For the six-year duration of ISTEA, Colorado will receive an estimated $1.31 billion in federal moneys, compared to $1.43 billion Colorado received in the previous six years; and

WHEREAS, Before the enactment of ISTEA, Colorado was permitted to use a portion of Interstate Maintenance Funds to increase vehicle carrying capacity, but under ISTEA, capacity improvements are limited to High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes or auxiliary lanes in nonattainment areas; and

WHEREAS, Since the six-year duration of ISTEA will end after the 1996 fiscal year, Congress will have to reauthorize ISTEA in order to continue the federal surface transportation funding to states and local governments; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Sixty-first General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate concurring herein:

That the Colorado General Assembly respectfully urges the 105th Congress of the United States to consider the following proposals as ISTEA comes under scrutiny for reauthorization:

(1)  Eliminate federal mandates, sanctions, and restrictions that limit the powers of the states and local governments to accomplish their individual transportation needs and reduce federal oversight and reporting requirements;

(2)  Transfer from the General Fund to the Highway Trust Fund, for distribution to the states, the 4.3 cents per gallon fuel tax added by the United States Congress in 1993; and

(3)  Allow the 2.5 cents per gallon fuel tax added by the United States Congress in 1990 to be deposited into the Highway Trust Fund and distributed to the states, given the demonstrated need for moneys for transportation systems.

Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Resolution be sent to the President of the United States, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate of each state's legislature of the United States of America, and Colorado's Congressional delegation.