Senate Approves $214-Billion Transit Plan

The Senate approved one of the biggest public works bills in U.S. history Thursday, mapping out the nation’s transportation plan for the next six years and setting up an expected gush of federal money for California and every other state.

The Senate approved the $214-billion bill by a vote of 96 to 4 and sent it to the House. House members ultimately will decide precisely which roads, bridges and the like will be funded when they take up the measure this spring.

The derby for the money already has begun, with more than 400 lawmakers lodging hundreds of millions of dollars in requests for transportation projects--far more than the bill could pay for.

California is positioned to see its federal transportation money grow from $2 billion annually to $3 billion a year through 2003.

“I am proud to have worked to ensure that this bipartisan bill preserves California’s interests and continued economic growth,” said Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.). “It is a wise investment in our future--for California jobs, its environment and our people’s quality of life.”

Still, some critics argue that the Senate bill falls short of fairly providing for the nation’s most populous and heavily traveled state. While the total amount of money will increase for California and every other state because the pot is bigger, the bill actually cuts California’s share of the funds from 9.3% to 9.1%.

Gov. Pete Wilson said he was “extremely disappointed” with the proposed reduction, saying California motorists “deserve to end up with at least the share” the state now receives.

“Absent changes, [the Senate bill] will mean that more of the federal fuel taxes paid by Californians will be going to meet the transportation needs outside the state--a trend that must not continue,” Wilson said.

He called upon the state’s House delegation to “redouble its efforts” to maintain California’s previous share of the federal money.

California’s 52 members, the largest delegation in the House, are maneuvering to bring home as much of the wealth as possible. Once a notoriously bickering bunch, the Californians appear united on the topic of transportation, a consensus reached only once before when they banded together to protest military base closures.

“California lawmakers will have to hang together to simply maintain the share of highway and transit dollars the state has enjoyed for the last six years,” said Tim Ransdell, executive director of the California Institute, a Washington think tank.

In cobbling together the 800-page spending measure, once-frugal senators voted to tap into the unexpected federal budget surplus, producing a package $59 billion richer than its 1991 predecessor, which expired last year.

The gigantic bill will test the limits of last year’s balanced budget agreement and require cuts in other programs yet to be named.

The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, known as “Iced Tea” because of its ISTEA acronym, is a deceptively dry piece of legislation that has enormous quality-of-life implications for California.

Not only do the state’s motorists pay more than any other state in federal gasoline taxes, but they also sit on the brink of a 21st century transportation nightmare. According to transportation officials, California drivers collectively waste 20 million hours a day sitting in traffic, a number that will get worse without the relief the new funding bill can help provide.

“Billions of dollars are virtually up for grabs, and California, being the most populous state in the nation, should get its fair share,” said P.J. O’Neil, an aide to Rep. Jay C. Kim (R-Diamond Bar), who heads the California Transportation Task Force.

The Senate bill specifically authorized $173 billion for highways and $41 billion for transit construction to be divided among the 50 states. The money comes from federal gasoline taxes collected at the pump.

The Senate’s final bill and the one under consideration in the House already carry several valuable provisions for California, including:

* Approximately $100 million a year for a border program to connect freeways to border crossings, construction that the state currently pays for.

* Doubling to $330 million a year money to help cut air pollution with carpool lanes, transit and other air quality projects.

* An increase in the state’s share of transit funding, which under the House version would grow from 13.3% of the pot to 13.9%.

The Senate bill includes measures to toughen drunken driving laws by mandating that states lower blood-alcohol limits from the standard 0.10% to 0.08% or face the loss of transport funds. California law already uses the stricter standard.

The legislation increases highway and transit money and preserves environmental programs such as air quality improvement and bike and walking trails that some GOP senators had attempted to roll back.

“We’re very happy,” said James Corless of the Surface Transportation Policy Project, a coalition of more than 200 local community and environmental groups. “We see this bill as a testament to the principles of environmental protection and local control.”

During its debate on the bill last week, the Senate defeated a proposal to eliminate a federal program that has the goal of awarding 10% of federal construction contracts to women and minorities.