Louisiana Good Roads and Transportation Association

The Road We’re On

Louisiana Good Roads and Transportation Association

Transportation: The “No Respect” Policy Issue

Public Policy Priorities"Education is my number one priority.” – Gov. Kathleen Blanco

Rodney Dangerfield

“Jobs, jobs and jobs. That must be our No. 1 priority.” – Gov. Bobby Jindal

“Do you have any ideas how to fix this $14 billion backlog? I have constituents saying, ‘Fix our roads.’”– State Sen. Hunter Greene

Louisiana Good Roads and Transportation Association

Everyone Needs Good Roads

• Education

• Health Care

• Business

• Quality of Life

Louisiana Good Roads and Transportation Association

How important is transportation as an economic development factor?

1. Labor Costs, 96.7

2. Highway accessibility, 92.9

3. Tax exemptions, 88.4

4. Energy availability and costs, 88.0

5. Corporate tax rate, 87.0

6. Availability of skilled labor, 86.9

7. Occupancy or construction costs, 86.7

8. State and local incentives, 84.9

9. Availability of advanced ICT services, 83.2

10. Inbound/outbound shipping costs, 81.7

Availability of advanced ICT services

Availability of skilled labor

Corporate tax rate

Energy availability and costs

Inbound/outbound shipping costs

Highway accessibility

Labor Costs

Occupancy or construction costs

State and local incentives

Tax exemptions

“If a site does not have good infrastructure access for suppliers, customers and employees, it will be eliminated from consideration.”

Source: 2009 Area Development Corporate Survey

2009 Area Development Corporate Survey

Louisiana Good Roads and Transportation Association

What are the conditions of Louisiana’s roads and bridges?

• 44 percent of major state and locally maintained roads in Louisiana are in poor or mediocre condition. *

• More than 3,800 bridges in Louisiana show significant deterioration or do not meet current design standards. *

• Louisiana has the 2nd worst highway fatality rate in the nation, 60 percent higher rate than the national average. #

• Travel delays in Louisiana’s urban areas will double by 2030 unless additional capacity is added to those regions’ transportation systems. *

* Source: 2010 TRIP report# Source: 2010 Reason Foundation report

Louisiana Good Roads and Transportation Association

It only gets worse

• Rising costs and flat revenues mean less money for maintenance, safety and congestion-relief projects.

• Louisiana is in danger of not having enough state funds to meet federal match dollars.

• DOTD is on the verge of becoming a “maintenance only” department.

Louisiana Good Roads and Transportation Association

A bleak, bleak picture

“Louisiana faces a $12.5 billion

transportation funding shortfall

at a time when nearly half of the

state’s major roads are

deteriorated, more than a

quarter of bridges need

improvement, traffic congestion continues to choke major

urban roads, and the state’s traffic fatality rate is among the

highest in the nation.”- TRIP Report, Washington, DC

April 21, 2010

Louisiana Good Roads and Transportation Association

How Did This Happen?

Let’s follow the money

Louisiana Good Roads and Transportation Association

Gas taxes pay for roads and bridges

38.4¢ per gallon tax

18.4 ¢

20 ¢

4¢

TIMED: 16 specific projects

16¢

Everything else

96%

Louisiana Good Roads and Transportation Association

Fact or Fiction

Louisiana has one of the highest gasoline taxes in the country.

We would have more money for transportation if the state would stop being so wasteful.

Transportation funding gets a huge boost whenever the price of gas goes up.

FACT – Louisiana is 39th in the country; the average gas tax in other states is nearly 5 cents more than Louisiana’s.

FACT – DOTD is one of the most efficient transportation departments in the US, with an overhead rate about one-fourth the national average.

FACT – Gas tax revenue goes up only if people buy more gas; higher prices cause people to conserve, generating less money for roads and bridges.

FICTION

FICTIONFICTION

Louisiana Good Roads and Transportation Association

Gasoline is taxed by volume, not value

• Sales taxes grow with inflation

1990 - $10.00 8% $0.80

2010 - $20.00 8% $1.60

Sales Tax Tax Revenue

• Gas taxes do not increase with cost

1990 - $1.00 $0.20 per gal. $0.202010 - $3.00 $0.20 per gal.

LA Gas Tax Tax Revenue

$0.20

Louisiana Good Roads and Transportation Association

So, what can we do about this?

Louisiana Good Roads and Transportation Association

Support increased funding for transportation

• A well-funded transportation system is vital to economic development.

• Louisiana cannot build and maintain a 21st Century transportation infrastructure on a 1990s allowance.

• Louisiana must find alternate sources of revenue to build and maintain the roads and bridges we need.