Executive Director Steve Heminger's Report to the Commission Meeting of July 22, 2015

Assembly Transportation Committee

Sacramento, July 6

I testified before the Assembly Transportation Committee on the transportation funding issues pending before the special session of the Legislature called by Governor Brown. I presented a letter co-signed by the executive officers of the “Big 4” metropolitan planning organizations Commissioner Liccardo made a similar appearance before the Senate Transportation Committee on July 2nd.

Eno Technical Assistance Awards

Washington DC, July 7

The Eno Transportation Foundation has awarded MTC a Public-Private Partnership technical assistance award, which will assist us as we roll-out the express lane network in the East and North Bay areas.

Presidio Parkway Grand Opening

San Francisco, July 13

Commissioner Wiener was one of the featured speakers at the opening ceremonies I attended for the new Presidio Parkway, the roadway formerly known as Doyle Drive. As some of the longer-serving commissioners will recall, MTC under the leadership of then-chairman Bill Dodd played a pivotal role in closing the funding gap for this $900 million project to replace the seismically deficient aerial structures connecting San Francisco’s Marina district to the Golden Gate Bridge. [More info]

Year-End Surface Transportation Extension

Washington DC, July 15

To the surprise of absolutely no one, U.S. the House of Representatives has passed legislation to extend the federal surface transportation program from the end of this month until the end of this year. The bill pays for the extension (since the Highway Trust Fund is nearly broke) with $8 billion worth of General Fund revenue generated through various unrelated fees and accounting gimmicks. You can expect further drama over the next few weeks because the United States Senate can be counted on to offer a different approach to extending the program. As of yesterday, the Senate reportedly was considering a three-year-extension – sort of a mini-reauthorization like MAP 21 in 2012.

ACTC Retreat

Oakland, July 17

I was invited to speak on the subject of funding partnerships at a retreat of the Alameda County Transportation Commission.

TBPOC Urgent Meeting

Oakland, July 20

The three members of the Toll Bridge Program Oversight Committee held an urgent meeting via teleconference to discuss Caltrans’ request for capital outlay support (COS) funding for FY 2015-16. At our regular June meeting, the committee was unable to reach consensus on an annual funding request to forward to the Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) for consideration. As a result, the TBPOC authorized Caltrans to expend $2.5 million in COS for the month of July only. On our teleconference call earlier this week, the TBPOC unanimously approved a $22 million COS request for FY 2015-16, which represents nearly a 50% reduction from last year. Due to the lateness of this action, we will present this request to BATA for approval in September.