DATE:                    May 29, 2009

TO:                         WTBA Member Owners

FROM:                  WTBA President Jeff Parisi

RE:                          2009-11 State Budget Update

Early this morning, the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance voted to approve two omnibus motions encompassing major portions of the 2009-11 transportation budget.  Bottom Line:  This is a major step forward for our industry, but there is much work to do as the budget moves through the full Legislature.

Here are the key transportation provisions as passed by the committee:

n  An additional $110.9 million for State Highway Rehabilitation, which includes $60 million in Transportation Fund-supported general obligation bonding.

n  An additional $100 million for the Major Highway Program, which includes $50 million in transportation-supported G.O. bonding.

n  25 positions within WisDOT to expedite the highway project delivery process.  The department would also be required, by July 1, 2014, to continuously maintain a one-year inventory of completed highway project designs.

n  The Joint Finance package rejects the proposed $139.7 million in budget transfers and funding for programs in other state agencies (school busing, park roads, etc.).  Instead, it transfers a similar amount of funding from the Rehabilitation program and replaces it with General Fund-supported bonding.

n  A provision requiring railroads receiving public funds for construction, rehabilitation, improvement, demolition or repair of railroad facilities to competitively bid the projects unless they do the work with their own crews.

n  A prohibition on using state funds for any bridge project crossing state boundaries that uses design/build.

n  A requirement that WisDOT take preliminary steps for developing major projects on U.S. Highway 12 between Elkhorn and Whitewater and STH 13 from Marshfield to STH 29.

n  An additional $22.6 million in General Transportation Aids to provide local governments with increases of 2%/3%.

n  $5 million in a new continuing SEG appropriation for bicycle and pedestrian facilities.

n  Last weekend, the committee reversed its previous decision and mandated that the source of debt service payments on a new $100 million transit capital program for Southeastern Wisconsin would be the General Fund.

Given current economic conditions and the fate of many programs in this state budget, I consider this Joint Finance Committee action a MAJOR SUCCESS.  Up to this point, WTBA has accomplished many of the goals we established at the start of this budget process:

n  Securing significant new revenues and allocating them to infrastructure investment programs.

n  Promoting increased transportation investment throughout Wisconsin.

n  Rejecting the creation of new appropriations within the Transportation Fund to finance programs in other state agencies.

n  Rejecting direct transfers of funding from the Transportation Fund to the General Fund.

n  Shifting the debt service for non-highway mode borrowing from the Transportation Fund to the General Fund, as is the case in most states.

n  Emphasizing that the federal stimulus bill only provides 1-time funding to Wisconsin and should not be used as an excuse by politicians to delay action on a proactive transportation agenda.

n  Implementing a grassroots lobbying effort in the Capitol to begin educating new legislators about industry issues and concerns.

I want to compliment the entire WTBA lobbying team for developing and executing this legislative strategy.  I’ve had the benefit of participating in a number of the team’s strategy sessions and can tell you that their work is top-notch.

But our work is far from finished!  Our budget efforts now expand from the 16 members of the Joint Finance Committee to the 132 members of the full Legislature.  As we’ve seen over the last few state budgets, success in Joint Finance can be fleeting.

Many other interest groups were not as successful -- to date -- in this budget and we are moving on to the next step in the process with a great sense of caution.  We are prepared to make this a debate about how the transportation construction industry can once again put Wisconsin on the path toward job creation and economic growth in these difficult times.  Below please find some basic talking points that I would encourage you to use in your communities as the analysis of this budget process begins to unfold in the days and weeks ahead.

Now, we need YOU and YOUR EMPLOYEES to contact legislators throughout Wisconsin to ensure this package survives Assembly, Senate and conference committee negotiations.  Phone calls and e-mails to legislative offices over the next month in support of this transportation package will be critical.

If you haven’t yet done so, please encourage your supervisors and job site employees to register with WTBA’s grassroots lobbying system at:  www.wisconsininterchange.com.  They will need to click on the “Call to Action” button, enter their home address and company name in the “User Profile,” and click “Continue” at the bottom of the screen to register.

WTBA will be using this system in the weeks ahead to quickly mobilize our industry at key points in the budget process.  Please take advantage!

Our industry has made great strides during this budget process to begin restoring the buying power of the state highway program so that the jobs and infrastructure improvements we create can lead Wisconsin to a brighter economic future.  Please help us finish the job by encouraging legislative support for this Joint Finance package.

Thank you in advance for your legislative efforts and support of WTBA.

Transportation Package Talking Points

May 2009

This is a smart investment that will put people back to work, improve our infrastructure and rebuild our economy

Ö        The revenue will put thousands of people back to work at a time when Wisconsin desperately needs more good-paying jobs.  According to the Department of Workforce Development, Wisconsin has lost more than 128,000 jobs in the past 12 months - the largest decrease in jobs since 1958!  Wisconsin’s unemployment rate is now 8.8%. 

Ö        It will also give a shot in the arm to local companies and stimulate economic development.

Ö        WTBA congratulates lawmakers for supporting jobs for Wisconsin, transportation funding for the future and roads for economic recovery.

This package reverses the trend of employment decline in the construction industry

Ö        Construction employment has declined every year since 2000, a cumulative loss of 25%.

Ö        This package is about reversing that trend.  Every $1 billion invested by state government on highway construction and improvement supports 27,823 jobs and generates approximately $2.5 billion in economic activity.

Ö        Construction jobs provide family-supporting wages and benefits.  They typically pay 5%-10% above the statewide average.

Raids on the Transportation Fund over the past 3 budgets have resulted in a net loss of $435.4 million in transportation investment.  These increases don’t even cover half of that.

Ö        This package says “NO” to further raids and uses transportation user fee revenues exactly the way the public expects them to be used – for infrastructure investment.

The package is consistent with President Obama’s goal of using infrastructure investment to pull the country out of this recession, and state legislators should be applauded for recognizing that priority.

Ö        The federal stimulus bill provided $529 million in 1-time funding to address the state’s most serious backlog of transportation needs.