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Your Capitol Voice: Iowa needs $200 million more for transporation
by Jeff Kaufmann, State Representative · Op-Ed · March 12, 2008
Last week was funnel week, the week in which all bills have to pass committee or technically they are dead for the session.
This is a bit misleading because taxing and spending bills are exempt and all bills can be rewritten as amendments for future debate. In fact I am already doing just that.
This past weekend was a host of Republican County conventions and this weekend the Democrats will host their conventions. What a great process for party activists and interested citizens to gather to talk about real issues and solutions. Certainly there is much political posturing and strategy, but underneath it all is a genuine desire on the part of our citizens to make their community and state a better place. Congratulations to Republicans and Democrats alike for taking our democracy seriously.
This week I want to discuss the TIME-21 plan currently in the House. TIME-21 is a proposal to add $200 million in funding for our transportation infrastructure like bridges and highways. Legislators on both sides of the political aisle agree that there is a need and that $200 million is a reasonable request. There has also been agreement on the formula for distributing the funds between the cities, counties, and the state. This, of course, has been a point of contention for years with the larger urban areas wanting more of the rural share of the pie. If this happens, I will be a “no.” on any version of the bill.
The House bill does not increase the gas tax since the Governor has threatened a veto. Of course, without the gas tax there is no way to capture the dollars from non-Iowa residents traveling our roads. The bill essentially raises registration fees on cars, mini-vans, pickup trucks, and trailers. It also raises title registration fees and salvage title fees. Some of these increases are significant, including a few that are more than triple.
An often controversial part of this discussion is the pickup registration fees. In the past these fees had been held to $65, significantly lower than other vehicles. This bill creates a “business-trade/farm truck” registration category. These fees are raised to $100, but all other pickups would be moved to the car formula.
All current vehicles would be grandfathered in at the old rates. Upon purchase or sale of a vehicle, the new fees would take effect. One of the weaknesses of this bill is that even with all of these increases, the total 200 million dollars is still not raised.
I have significant reservations about this bill. The following list of questions reflects my concerns. Quite frankly if I do not receive adequate answers, I will be a “no” to this bill.
1. The TIME-21 dollars can not be accessed immediately. How will the needs be met for counties and cities in the immediate future?
2. Why are we relying on registration fees? Shouldn’t the entire 200 million be raised from a variety of revenue sources?
3. Why is four-laning Highway 20 a priority? Doesn’t the traffic count on Interstate 80, Highway 30, and Highway 61 merit reprioritization?
4. What is to prevent urban legislators, who often dominate leadership positions, from taking more money from the counties in the future?
5. The statewide SILO bill had a provision (now not part of the bill) which raised one-fourth of the dollars needed for the TIME-21 fund. This was a critical piece of legislation for rural/small town Iowa. It was not even considered. WHY NOT?
6. Tax revenues are the highest in decades. Why are we raising taxes (or the less offensive label of “fee adjustments”) instead of using this tremendous growth in state revenue to meet a fundamental function of government which is to build and maintain our transportation infrastructure?
As you can see, I have serious concerns and questions. I would like to hear what you think.
Please contact me with opinions or questions: e-mail: jeff.kaufmann@legis.state.ia.us; letter: State Capitol, Des Moines IA 50319: phone: 1-515-281-3221.
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