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Members of the Texas Legislature not only keep a close eye on issues of state government, but they also monitor issues happening at the federal level of particular importance to the state. One example of this is the Texas Legislature's passage of HCR 82 which requests Congress to increase Texas' share of revenue from the federal fuel tax.
The federal Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA 21), passed in 1997, authorized more than $218 billion for transportation programs in states across the nation. Of every dollar of gas pumped into your car, 18.4 cents are sent to the federal government's Highway Trust Fund. From there, the money is distributed to states for such things as road improvements, bridge repairs and new highway construction. Texas is the second largest contributor to the Highway Trust Fund, sending in over $2.5 billion per year.
However, states do not receive an amount of money back from the federal government equal to what they contribute. Some states, such as Texas, receive as little as eighty-five cents on the dollar in return under the highway program. Other, more sparsely populated states or states with older transportation systems receive much higher rates, such as South Dakota which receives $2.23 or New York which receives $1.21.
The states which receive less than a dollar for every dollar sent to the federal government are called "donor" states. Currently, there are seventeen donor states, most of which receive a return of less than ninety-five cents on the dollar.
The federal Congress is currently working on the Highway Funding Equity Act of 2003 which would help to alleviate some of the loss that states such as Texas are incurring. The Act would raise the minimum return to states from the current level to ninety-five cents on the dollar. Proponents of the bill argue that donor states want a fairer share of the money that they send to the federal government to spend on their transportation systems. Their citizens send the money to Washington, so more of it should be returned to benefit those who are paying.
Being a donor state receiving only eighty-six cents on the dollar, Texas is in a position to benefit from the increase in guaranteed returned made possible through the Highway Funding Equity Act of 2003. The state would receive over $100 million per year in additional funds if the increase is passed. Most of the members of the Texas House of Representatives signed a letter to the members of Congress from Texas expressing their full support of the legislation.
Although states that are benefitting from the current formula, i.e. those that receive more than a dollar return, stand to lose some of that return, the legislation does offer protection to sparsely populated states to ensure that every state is able to provide the quality of roads necessary for mobility. The bill requires a minimum return of greater than ninety-five cents if a state has a population density of fewer than fifty individuals per square mile. Currently, fifteen states fall below this threshold.
Please feel free to contact me if I may be of assistance regarding any matter of state government. You can contact me by writing to P.O. Box 2910, Austin, TX 78768-2910 or by e-mailing me at larry.phillips@house.state.tx.us.
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