California’s VMT Program Gets Going as Oregon’s Reaches 1-Year Mark
As Oregon’s vehicle mile tax pilot program hits the one-year mark on July 1, California’s nine-month program, which unlike Oregon’s includes commercial vehicles, is just beginning.
N.J. Assembly Cuts Transportation Deal With Christie
Not long before 1 a.m. on June 28, New Jersey’s Assembly dominated by Democrats turned its back on a package that paired a fuel-tax increase with a phase-out of the estate tax and approved a deal with Republican Gov. Chris Christie that balances the fuel-tax rise with a 1% decrease in the state’s sales tax by 2018.
Foxx Sees Tsunami of Change Coming to Transportation
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx sees “a tsunami of change” coming in transportation over the next 30 years. That was the theme of his speech at Volpe, the National Transportation Systems Center on June 27 in Boston.
Transportation Trust Fund Boost Approved by N.J. Legislative Committees
The transportation committees of the New Jersey Assembly and Senate overwhelmingly passed 10-year, $23 billion bills that would bolster the state’s Transportation Trust Fund. The full chambers must vote on the measures before the fund’s borrowing authority expires July 1.
Columbus Wins US DOT’s Smart City Challenge
The U.S. Department of Transportation wasn’t planning to announce the winner of its Smart City Challenge until June 23, but Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) revealed on June 21 that Columbus had been chosen over the six other finalists.
Illinois DOT Nearing Construction Shutdown, Layoffs of Highway Workers
Illinois is on the verge of stopping all highway construction July 1 because of the ongoing budget impasse between Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Democratic-controlled Legislature.
Massachusetts DOT Adds $500 Million to State’s Five-Year Transportation Plan
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation announced on June 20 that its board had approved the state’s updated five-year, $14.8 billion capital investment plan for transportation that included an extra $500 million.
New Louisiana Gov. Emphasizes Infrastructure
John Bel Edwards, who became Louisiana’s governor last November, is making infrastructure funding a priority.
OSHA Orders Driver Rehired, Reimbursed
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has ordered NFI Interactive Logistics to reinstate a truck driver who was fired for refusing to violate his hours of service, and the Cherry Hill, New Jersey-based company also was ordered to pay the driver $276,000 in back wages and damages.
Rhode Island House Budget Includes $6 Million for Trucking Industry
Rhode Island’s trucking industry, locked in a heated battle with Gov. Gina Raimondo for the last year over her truck-only tolls road funding plan, could be on its way to $6 million in relief.