TEA-21 Moves Projects Forward State highway officials say they are able to proceed with planned road improvements during this construction season, now that President Clinton has signed the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, which authorizes federal highway and transit programs until 2003. Federal funding for the final six months of FY1998 had been held in reserve until a long-term highway bill was signed into law. Those funds, estimated at about $10 billion, now are flowing to the states, with additional funds coming from implementation of TEA-21. The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) estimated that TEA-21 will provide for reconstruction of 20,500 lane miles, adding 2,800 lane miles of new capacity and 720 lane miles of new roads on the National Highway System. Among the biggest changes TEA-21 will make is the establishment of guaranteed spending levels for highway and transit programs, so that these programs are not competing with a list of other spending priorities. The law guarantees that $165 billion will be obligated for highways over the next six years, and $35 billion for transit. The guaranteed amounts are linked to actual Highway Trust Fund receipts, and can only be used for highway and highway safety programs. In addition, states will be guaranteed a 90.5% return on their contributions to the Highway Trust Fund. Rep. Bud Shuster (R-Pa.), chairman of the House Transportation Committee and a driving force behind the final TEA-21 agreement, touted a number of procedural reforms in the law that should remove delays in road-building project approval. These reforms include streamlining the environmental review process to reduce procedural roadblocks; elimination of the programmatic responsibilities of regional Department of Transportation offices to remove a layer of bureaucracy; and improved project approval, giving states more responsibility on non-Interstate projects. The streamlined environmental review process will require concurrent, rather than sequential, review of projects. The law sets specific deadlines for resolving conflicts between federal agencies over environmental concerns. The legislation also codifies timetables for determining if states are complying with the Environmental Protection Agency's new air quality standards for particulate matter (known as PM 2.5) and ozone. Failure to meet these standards can result in withholding of federal road-building dollars. Codifying the timetables in the statute makes it less likely environmental groups can launch a legal challenge to force faster compliance. With the support of the Clinton administration, TEA-21 will maintain the existing Disadvantaged Business Enterprises program and maintain application of the Davis-Bacon Act to projects.

Congress Considers Mandates Cost to Businesses Legislators with an ax to grind could get a new means for shining the spotlight on proposals they think will unfairly burden the private sector. The House has approved H.R. 3534, legislation to expand the 1995 Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. The bill would allow a member of Congress to raise a point of order against any legislation that would cost the private sector more than $100 million. Twenty minutes of debate would be authorized on the point of order. While the mandates bill would not provide a legislator with the means to stop a bill, it does provide a mechanism for publicizing its burden on business, proponents say. Similar legislation is now in committee in the Senate. The Clinton administration is opposed to the proposals. While the tight legislative schedule may limit chances for success of the mandate bills, proponents point to a strong 279-132 vote in the House as evidence of the proposals' momentum.