Recently you have heard and read much about the SC Department of Transportation and restructuring. In the next few weeks, a draft proposal will be submitted for consideration by the General Assembly. I hope in the meantime these facts about our state's transportation system will be informative and helpful in understanding the tremendous responsibiblity of this agency to the general public.
SC State Government must maintain three times the number of road miles that other states maintain as compared to local government.
SC state-source highway funding per mile is the lowest in the nation.
Federal highway funds are limited and they are mostly dedicated to construction. Highway maintenance is a state responsibility.
Nearly one-third of SC’s primary and interstate highways and half of the state’s secondary roads are now in poor condition.
One out of every five of the state’s 8,300 bridges is considered deficient.
SC highways are the fifth most deadly roads in the nation. An average of three people die on SC roads every day.
Unlike most states, virtually all funding (90%) for SCDOT currently comes from the motor fuel user fee. Most states augment their highway programs with other non-fuel tax revenues like General Fund dollars, rental car usage fees and sales tax on automobiles.
The state gasoline tax has not been adjusted since 1987. It has remained flat while the construction cost index has grown 63%, the Consumer Price Index has grown 78%, and traffic has grown 63%.
An increase of one cent in the motor fuel user fee would generate an additional $32.8 million per year for transportation.
Because the cost of motor fuel is lower in SC, truckers often purchase much of their fuel here even if they do most of their driving in other states. Federal law requires each state to redistribute fuel revenue to other states based on highway usage. This program is known as the International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA). SCDOT does not administer IFTA, yet the State Highway Fund incurred more than $1 million in administrative costs last year.
By state law, SCDOT is required to install and maintain residential driveways from the edge of pavement to the right-of-way line. Last year this cost the state almost $7 million.
When the General Assembly grants state employees pay raises and other benefits, they provide money to the General Fund agencies to meet this increased cost. SCDOT must cover these costs from the Highway Fund. In 2006, the 4% cost-of-living increase cost the Highway Fund $8.7 million and the raise in health insurance over $800,000. This is money that could have been used for routine maintenance.
A recent study released by the Reason Foundation, an independent research and education organization, named SCDOT as the second most cost effective Department of Transportation in the nation.
SCDOT has consistently been named in the top five for lowest administrative costs and fewest number of employees per mile.
According to the Moore School of Business at USC, for every dollar invested in transportation by SCDOT, 9.6 cents of tax revenue is generated for state government, for an annual total of more than $100 million in recurring monies for SC. SCDOT related activities create approximately 25,000 jobs across many sectors of the state’s economy.
About half of the state highway system is made up of roads having a national significance. The other half could be characterized as local roads. Because of this, only 50% of the SC Highway System qualifies for federal funding. Since highway maintenance is a state responsibility, the state has often found itself more capable of building new bridges, connectors and interstate highways than performing routine maintenance on existing state roads.
Federal funds come to SCDOT on a reimbursement basis. This means that state fuel tax dollars must first be spent on each project. SCDOT invoices the Federal Highway Administration and is reimbursed for approximately 80% of the amount spent. The 20% not reimbursed is the “state match” and must be taken from the State Highway Fund.
Between 1999 and 2006, SCDOT pursued an aggressive construction program funded with bonds. Those bond revenues have now been spent and, due to the current financial situation, the agency’s construction program has decreased from $768 million in fiscal year 2005 to an expected $250 million in the current fiscal year. This is reducing economic activity statewide and will impact statewide tax receipts in the coming years.
If you have a comment or opinion concerning the matters discussed in this report, or if I may be of assistance to you at any time, please feel free to call your legislative office in Columbia (803-734-2957); my home office (843-237-8603); or the Georgetown County Legislative Delegation Office, located in the Courthouse (843-545-3029); or write P.O. Box 1270, Georgetown, SC 29442. If you would like any information on any legislation under consideration by the General Assembly, feel free to visit our website at www.scstatehouse.net. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you in the House of Representatives.
0 comments:
Post a Comment