OLR Bill Analysis

sHB 6366

AN ACT CONCERNING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS FOR CONNECTICUT'S ECONOMIC FUTURE.

SUMMARY:

This bill:

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2007, except the FY 09 STO bond authorization for DOT's capital program is effective July 1, 2008, the authorization for the FY 09 capital resurfacing program is effective on May 1, 2008, and the requirement for DOT to revise its noise barrier project list by congressional district is effective upon passage

§§ 1-3 — NEW PROJECTS AUTHORIZED FOR USE OF EXISTING FUNDING

The bill expands the eligible uses for authorizations previously approved by the legislature for certain transportation projects identified as priority transportation strategy projects. It modifies the authorization for use of these funds to develop a new commuter rail station between New Haven and Milford to specify developing stations in both Orange and West Haven. It also:

§§ 4 & 38 — FUNDING FOR IMPROVING BUS CONNECTIVITY AND SERVICE

The bill provides both capital and operating funds for improving bus connectivity and service, including cleaner buses, expanded parking for express service, increased service frequency, new enhanced facilities, and bus rapid transit. It authorizes a total of $ 43 million on STO bonds for capital costs for FY 08 and the five fiscal years to follow. It appropriates $ 12. 633 million from the Special Transportation Fund (STF) to DOT in both FY 08 and FY 09 for the operating costs associated with the improvements.

§§ 5 & 6 — “FIX-IT-FIRST” PROGRAM FOR STATE ROADS AND BRIDGES

The bill authorizes up to $ 75 million in general obligation bonds in both FY 08 and FY 09 for DOT to establish a “Fix-it-First” program to repair state roads and another $ 75 million in each fiscal year for a second program component to repair state bridges. Thus, in FY 08 up to $ 75 million is available for expenditure on the road repair component of the program and another $ 75 million for the bridge repair component. The same amounts may be spent in FY 09.

§ 7 — GRANTS FOR TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

The bill authorizes up to $ 20 million in STO bonds for both FY 08 and FY 09 for the DOT to use to establish a transit-oriented development grant program. The program's purpose is to integrate, coordinate, and plan transit-oriented development around new and enhanced commuter rail and bus centers to provide both mixed-use development and housing. Eligible municipal applicants must work in partnership with their councils of governments, regional planning agencies, or metropolitan planning organizations. The grants may be made for planning and land acquisition with priority given to applicants with projects near the Metro North, Shore Line East, and New Haven-Hartford-Springfield rail stations and bus centers, and the New Britain-Hartford Busway. (The New Haven-Hartford-Springfield rail and New Britain-Hartford Busway projects are still in the implementation stage. )

The bill prohibits DOT from using more than 2% of the total bond allocation for administrative purposes.

§§ 14-25 — STO BOND AUTHORIZATIONS FOR DOT TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS

The bill authorizes $ 275. 688 million in STO bonds for DOT in FY 08 and $ 173. 3 million in FY 09 for DOT for its capital improvement program as indicated in the following table.

The authorizations for FY 09 are effective on July 1, 2008.

§§ 26-30 — DOT FY 09 CAPITAL RESURFACING PROGRAM

The bill authorizes up to $ 59 million in STO bonds for DOT's capital highway resurfacing program for FY 09. The funds may be used for road resurfacing and related projects. The authorization is effective on May 1, 2008.

§§ 8-13 & 31-37 — ADDITIONAL BOND AUTHORIZATIONS FOR SPECIFIC PROJECTS

The bill makes numerous additional authorizations of bonds for specific projects and studies as shown in the following table.

Bond Authorizations and Purposes

The bond authorizations are for use by DOT except as noted. Bond authorizations are effective for FY 08 except as noted. The authorizations are for STO bonds except for §§ 9 (Bikeway Grant Program) and 37 (Connecticut Transportation Institute), which are general obligation bonds.

Connecticut Bikeway Grant Program

Grants made under the bikeway grant program may be used for planning, design, land acquisition, construction, construction administration, and publications for bikeways and multiuse paths. Eligible projects may include (1) bike trails that complete sections of the Connecticut portion of the East Coast Greenway, (2) bikeways that connect to the East Coast Greenway, and (3) bikeways and multiuse paths established as part of the State Recreational Trails Plan.

The bill requires grants to include, at least; (1) a 20% local match provided by municipal, federal, other state, nonprofit, or private funds; (2) municipal responsibility for the bikeway; (3) public input; and (4) project designs that comply with the 1999 American Association of State Highway (and) Transportation Officials' “Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities. ” If grant applications include more than one municipality, the bill requires the local match to be 10% rather than 20%. State grant funds may be used to match federal funds being used for the specified purposes. For purposes of the grant program, a “bikeway “ is any road, street, path, or way specifically designated for bicycle travel whether or not it is shared with other modes of transportation.

The bill prohibits DEP from using more than 2% of the bond allocation for administrative purposes. It also requires DEP to establish an advisory committee to advise the commissioner on the allocation of funds. The committee must be made up of trail users and advocates the commissioner designates. The bill directs DOT to work with DEP in furtherance of the bikeway program.

Highway Noise Barrier Retrofit Program

The bill requires DOT to establish a retrofit noise abatement program project priority list for each U. S. congressional district in Connecticut. It must base the lists on the projects currently on its noise barrier priority list. In establishing the priority list for each congressional district, it must consider the project's proximity to residential areas and the results of noise tests performed at the project's location.

The $ 10 million the bill authorizes in STO bonds for the program must be distributed to each district on a prorated basis according to the number of projects identified in each district. However, no district may receive less than $ 500,000.

§§ 39-41 — APPROPRIATIONS FOR SPECIFIED PROGRAMS

The bill appropriates funds from the STF to DOT for the following programs:

BACKGROUND

Highway Noise Barrier Program

The noise barriers covered under the bill are known as “Type II” noise barriers. They are noise barriers that are constructed along a state highway without any other changes being made to the highway. Thus, they are commonly referred to as “retrofit” noise barriers. DOT does not generally fund Type II projects out of its existing resources and they are not eligible for federal highway funds.

DOT currently has a listing of 131 locations along state highways that it has previously surveyed and prioritized according to a formula that considers, among other things, the type of property affected by the highway noise, measured noise levels, the number of affected locations, their relative noise sensitivity, and the potential effectiveness of the abatement project. The bill appears to base the congressional district lists on this existing list of prioritized locations.

COMMITTEE ACTION

Transportation Committee

Joint Favorable Change of Reference

Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee

Joint Favorable Substitute