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In a speech in St Paul, Minn. this week, President Obama provided his Administration’s broad concepts for reauthorization of the highway and transit programs, including his ideas for how to provide the needed revenue. The president called for a four-year, $302 billion authorization that would be paid for with $150 billion in revenue from corporate tax reform initiatives. Full details of the proposal will be spelled out in the president’s budget proposal, which will be released on Tuesday, March 4.

Take Action: Visit ��ѻ��ý’s Legislative Action Center to Submit Your Comments Today On Sept. 12, 2013, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a proposed new rule on silica exposure. ��ѻ��ý members, chapters and interested stakeholders are encouraged to submit comment letters opposing the proposed new rule on silica exposure through the ��ѻ��ý Legislative Action Center (LAC). A sample, editable letter has been provided for your convenience and can be customized to your respective operations. Click here to access the letter. All comments must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. (ET) Feb. 11, 2014.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) released a study this week that it claims supports the restart provision in FMCSA’s current hours-of-service rule as more effective at combating fatigue than the prior hours rule. The hours of service rule, which became effective July 1, requires any driver working long enough to need a restart to take off at least 34 consecutive hours that include two periods between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. FMCSA said the study found that drivers who began their work week with just one nighttime period of rest, as compared with the two nights in the updated 34-hour restart break, exhibited more lapses of attention, reported greater sleepiness and showed increased lane deviation in the morning, afternoon and at night.

As he has done in the past, President Obama used his State of the Union address to show his support for infrastructure without offering any concrete ways to responsibly pay for the investments needed for the nation’s aging roads, bridges, ports, airports, waterways, and water systems. While the president did call on Congress to complete action on the pending surface transportation reauthorization bill and water resources bill, he offered no new funding ideas on how to address our nation’s long-term infrastructure needs.  He pointed to corporate tax reform as the way to “create jobs rebuilding our roads, upgrading our ports, and unclogging our commutes.” However, Republicans in Congress agree that any tax reform effort should be revenue-neutral and that eliminating deductions and preferences should only be used to lower the rates for all businesses and not for unrelated spending.

As part of a settlement agreement related to a federal lawsuit, U.S. EPA this week agreed to take "final action" on coal ash waste disposal rules by Dec. 19, 2014. The lawsuit was initiated in 2012 by environmental groups that were pushing EPA to expedite a rulemaking on the issue. The Judge in the case directed EPA to come up with a timeline and the settlement announced this week fulfilled that directive. EPA did not indicate in the settlement whether it is planning to regulate coal ash as a hazardous or nonhazardous substance. EPA began work on a rule to regulate the disposal of coal ash following a December 2008 spill from an impoundment at a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) facility in Kingston, Tenn. The containment failure released approximately a billion gallons of coal ash sludge into the adjoining rivers and neighborhood and put a national spotlight on impoundment and disposal practices.

The House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee held its first hearing on surface transportation reauthorization and announced the creation of a special panel on public-private partnerships (P3s). The hearing titled, “Building the Foundation for Surface Transportation Reauthorization” marked the formal kickoff of the committee’s reauthorization process. With MAP-21 expiring on Sept. 30, 2014, Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) said he hopes to get the reauthorization done on time and plans to spend the coming months holding more hearings and roundtable discussions to give stakeholders an opportunity to share their policy priorities and concerns.  He went on to say the Committee hope to take action on the reauthorization in the late spring or early summer with the goal to be on the House floor before the August recess.  In terms of what the next bill may focus on, Chairman Shuster highlighted a few key principles – the bill needs to be fiscally responsible, build on the reform in MAP-21, continue to reduce regulatory burdens and provide more flexibility to states and localities.

One of the hallmarks of the MAP-21 legislation were the many reforms intended to speed up the time it takes to start and complete construction of transportation projects. Much of the focus was on the environmental review process. FHWA and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) have jointly released a new rule the significantly reduces the environmental review process necessary for projects that are within an existing right-of-way and projects that receive less than $5 million of total federal funding or projects costing less than $30 million where federal funds account for less than 15 percent of total project cost.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and US DOT continue to produce regulations and guidance in response to directives and changes that were contained in the MAP-21 transportation reauthorization legislation. The latest from FHWA is guidance for implementation of changes made in the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program which is a special category of highway funding to be used for transportation projects that improve air quality in areas that are not in compliance with air standards. ��ѻ��ý was successful in MAP-21 in expanding the eligibility for the use of CMAQ funds to assist contractors in retrofitting their off road construction equipment in air non-attainment areas when required by the contract and addressed this issue in comments to FHWA on the proposed guidance.

While the omnibus appropriations legislation fully funds the highway and transit programs at their MAP-21 authorized levels, congress is likely to need to take additional action to ensure that these funding levels are fulfilled. US DOT warns that its latest Highway Trust Fund estimates show that the Highway Account will encounter a shortfall before the end of FY 2014. DOT points out that the Highway Account began FY 2014 with approximately $1.6 billion in cash. While MAP-21 provided for a $10.4 billion transfer from the General Fund to the Highway Account to provide sufficient revenue through the end of the FY 14, the $10.4 billion authorized was reduced to $9.7 billion by sequestration. In addition, outlays for the highway program continue at a greater pace than in coming receipts.

The House and Senate this week gave final approval to the Fiscal Year 2014 omnibus appropriations legislation and President Obama said he will sign it.  The bill comes after Congress failed to pass any of the 12 appropriations bills for FY 2014.  ��ѻ��ý advocated for the passage of the bill to ensure predictability for FY 2014 federal construction programs.