The Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission (MVRPC) launched a new safety campaign focusing on seat belt use, proper child safety-seat use, and safe cycling guidelines. This new effort is in response to recent, staggering statistics that show that only 83% of Ohio motorists wear a seat belt – the lowest rate in five years. MVRPC is also using this safety campaign to prepare motorists and cyclists for the warmer weather, when cyclists are more likely to share the road with vehicles. MVRPC partnered with the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority to display campaign ads on their transit vehicles. Residents will also see ads on poster and digital billboards and the Dayton Daily News.
Breaking News
Energy Secretary Perry Announces Funding for Advanced Vehicle Technologies Research
Energy Secretary Rick Perry recently announced $68.5 million in funding through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy for early-stage research of advanced vehicle technologies. Projects selected through this Vehicle Technologies Office funding opportunity will address one of five topics, including batteries and electrification, technology integration, and co-optimization of engines and fuels. The goals of this opportunity are to improve transportation efficiency and reliability by enhancing economic growth and enabling affordable mobility.
MAPA Wins Three APA Awards
The Nebraska Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA) recognized the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area Planning Agency (MAPA) with awards for two projects in addition to the APA Planning Agency Award for its overall work. The Omaha Metropolitan Area Online Bicycle Map won the Transportation Plan Award. The interactive map helps the community find routes for biking through the city and provides information on the current trail system and street network.
Lawmakers Push for Program to Improve Urban Flood Hazard Maps
Under the newly proposed bipartisan and bicameral Flood Mapping Modernization and Homeowner Empowerment Pilot Program Act of 2018, cities would gain access to a new grant initiative aimed at improving how the nation assesses and manages flood risk. If implemented, three cities with populations over 50,000 would be selected to participate in the FEMA pilot program every year to help develop better methods for mapping urban flood hazards. It would authorize $1.2 million for FY 2019 and a total of $4.3 million for FY 2020-2022 that could flow to state and local governments. FEMA will use information learned from this pilot program to create best practices and improve their flood risk mapping program.
Sens. Alexander, Murray Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Address “Urgent Opioid Crisis”
Senators Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray recently introduced a bipartisan bill to address the urgent opioid crisis in America. The Opioid Response Act of 2018 (S. 2680) is composed of forty proposals, mostly from members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions, that came from seven bipartisan hearings and feedback received from the public. The bill’s proposals include: improving data sharing among states so doctors and pharmacies know if a patient has a history of opioid abuse, making grants available that support state and local workforce boards and communities affected by the opioid crisis, and providing grants for states and localities to collect data and implement key prevention strategies. To learn more, read this summary of the legislation. The committee expects to mark up the bill tomorrow morning.
Upcoming Brownfields Tax Legislation
Representatives Elizabeth Esty and Peter King joined forces to introduce the Brownfields Redevelopment Tax Incentive Reauthorization Act of 2018, as referenced in their “Dear Colleague” letter. If passed, the legislation would save a brownfields tax incentive that expired in January 2012. According to the letter, the bill would “reauthorize a tax incentive program that would allow developers to fully deduct the costs of environmental cleanups of brownfields in the year the costs were incurred.” The reauthorization is expected to encourage private sector investment to take on brownfields cleanup and redevelopment projects. NARC, the National League of Cities (NLC), the National Association of Counties (NACo), and the U.S. Conference of Mayors recently produced a letter urging Congress to pass the bill.
Farm Bill Advances from House Agriculture Committee
On April 18, the House Agriculture Committee passed the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 out of committee in a party-line vote. The strictly partisan vote resulted from many factors, including the bill’s proposed changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the feeling from Democrats that they were left out of the bill drafting process. The Farm Bill is expected to face similar partisan pressure when it reaches the House floor, which could be as early as the week of May 7. Meanwhile, the Senate Agriculture Committee is expected to release their own Farm Bill next month. The Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts has indicated that the Senate’s Farm Bill draft will not include the House’s SNAP provisions since they will be much more difficult to pass in the upper chamber. Concerns remain about the partisanship surrounding the Farm Bill and whether that will affect the passage of the legislation before it expires on September 30.
Last week, NARC signed onto a letter with the Campaign for Renewed Rural Development (CRRD) – a coalition of national policy advocacy organizations representing a broad spectrum of interests focused on rural issues – to highlight to the House Agriculture Committee the need for a robust Rural Development Title that provides critical investments to underserved communities and enhances rural America’s competitiveness in a global marketplace.
Long-Term FAA Reauthorization Bill Introduced in House
Last Friday, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee introduced the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2018, which would reauthorize FAA through FY 2023. Attached to the bill are provisions of the bipartisan Disaster Recovery Reform Act previously passed by the House that makes changes to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) policy. The FAA bill does not include FAA air traffic control spinoff provisions. As of yesterday, 40 amendments had been filed. The House is expected to vote on the bill next week. The current reauthorization deadline is September 30, 2018.
THUD Appropriations Member Day
The Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) Appropriations subcommittee had its FY 2019 Member Day yesterday. Several members applauded FY 2018 increases and urged the panel to protect infrastructure and housing programs and increase funding for FY 2019. Members also asked for support in their districts on specific issues, such as housing displacement from Louisiana floods and building Interstate 11 to link Las Vegas and Phoenix. Subcommittee Chairman Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) said he is very happy with the 2018 omnibus and that it will be a firm starting point for 2019.
Rescissions Package a No-Go in the Senate
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) shut down the idea of a recessions package to reduce spending in the recently passed Omnibus bill, as has been floated in the House and by the administration. McConnell said that this action could imperil future negotiations with Democrats, telling Fox News, “you can’t make an agreement one month and say, ‘OK, we really didn’t mean it.’” He also pointed out that the administration was involved in bill negotiations and the President signed it, so they should not have been shocked to learn that the omnibus included Democratic priorities. Meanwhile, Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney told the House Appropriations Committee’s financial services subcommittee on Wednesday that he hopes to send a package in the coming weeks. He also said they plan to target money from previous years as well.