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Idaho Transportation
Department
Public Affairs Office
P.O. Box 7129
Boise, ID 83707
208.334.8005
Fax: 208.334.8563
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See the FTI Report

Forum presents transportation recommendations

The 14 recommendations the Forum derived from the conclusions covered a range of policy and funding options.

Those recommendations are included under three general categories:

  1. New and revised policies that will facilitate future improvement strategies.
  2. Policy/revenue options that will support diverse transportation needs.
  3. Revenue actions that include a variety of methods to increase revenue.

More information about the Forum's process can be found on the Idaho Transportation Department Web site (www.itd.idaho.gov). The final report will be posted on the Web site after the transportation board meeting.

Recommendations

The following recommendations are divided into three categories: Policy, Policy/Revenue and Revenue depending on their nature and application.

Policy recommendations
Idaho should:

P-1 Integrate land use and transportation planning at all levels-state/regional/local.

P-2 Provide opportunities for user-fee based systems (toll roads/high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, congestion pricing, etc.).

P-3 Promote partnership opportunities (private/public, public/public, etc.) and remove legal barriers whenever possible.

P-4 Pursue future revenue opportunities and sources by transitioning from traditional revenue generating sources (fuel tax/other) to other methodologies (BTU tax, VMT tax, etc.).

P-5 Update the analytic Idaho Highway Needs Assessment Study approximately every 10 years.

Policy/revenue recommendations
Idaho should:

P/R-1 Acknowledge that Public Transportation should be an integral part of Idaho's transportation system by dedicating revenue mechanisms to address public transportation issues.

P/R-2 Achieve improved freight mobility by encouraging truck/rail/port/air infrastructure investments and efficiencies.

P/R-3 Provide Local Option Taxing authority for transportation-related initiatives.

P/R-4 Establish Index strategies for fuel taxes, vehicle registrations, and other transportation-related taxes and/or fees.

P/R-5 Create a Rental Car Fee to generate revenue for transportation initiatives.

P/R-6 Assess new growth and development Impact Fees for transportation facilities and distribute to all transportation jurisdictions within the stated area of impact.

Revenue recommendations
Idaho should increase revenue to the Highway Distribution Account by:

R-1 Increasing ALL Fuel Tax and ALL Vehicle Registration Fees as soon as possible.

R-2 Increasing Motor Vehicle-Imposed Fees to cover the cost of providing the services.

R-3 Eliminating or replacing the revenue impact of alternative fuels tax exemptions (e.g., ethanol, bio-diesel, hydrogen, or electric fuels).

The recommendations above are a menu of transportation investment alternatives that the Forum felt reflected a variety of revenue and policy adjustments that Idaho could make to address its transportation funding shortfall. Each should be carefully considered as to its role in providing critical funding for all modes of transportation in the state.

An important point to be made in the discussion of transportation funding projected to FY2035 is that the Forum only examined the capital needs of the state and did not attempt to quantify the funding needed to operate and maintain the current and future transportation network.

Historical evidence tells us that operating and maintenance costs must be factored into the budgets of the nearly 300 jurisdictions responsible for transportation across the state.

Published 1-20-06