LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

Updated August 16, 2005

Washington Brews New “SAFETEA-LU”…
President Signs New Transportation Bill

The Bay Area transportation community is celebrating enactment of a multiyear federal transportation bill. For a nation on the move, the nearly two-year wait for a new federal transportation program finally paid off on July 29, 2005, when Congress completed action on the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users. President Bush signed the bill into law on August 10, 2005.

More familiarly known as SAFETEA-LU, the bill authorizes $255.5 billion in funding for federal surface transportation programs over five years (fiscal years 2005 through 2009), an average annual increase of 41 percent over prior levels [view tables].

A total of 116 Bay Area projects worth $734.4 million stand to gain from congressional earmarks in the bill [view list]. The massive law establishes several new programs and makes clear Congress’ commitment to transportation safety. Yet the package is most notable not for its innovation but for its preservation — maintaining the emphasis on flexible financing and local planning ushered in by the landmark Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991 and reaffirmed by the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA 21), which was signed in 1998 and through a series of short-term extensions provided the template for federal transportation investment long past its original September 2003 expiration date.

Following is MTC's analysis:

• Highways
• Public Transportation
• Planning and Project Delivery