Citing the lack of remaining time on the House calendar, House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman John Mica (R-FL) has now abandoned plans for quick House action on a long-term transportation authorization bill until next year. 

Back in July, Rep. Mica introduced a six-year highway, transit, and bridge bill that would have cut transportation programs by more 30 percent to reflect decreasing transportation revenues. Perhaps sensing resistance to such a significant cut in funding, in recent weeks, House Republicans have suggested that opening up new lands to oil drilling would provide enough new revenues to fully fund a six-year transportation program. 

In the Senate, the Environment and Public Works Committee, one of several Committees that has jurisdiction over transportation programs, adopted a bipartisan two-year bill a few weeks ago. The bill, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century, or MAP-21 (S. 1813), would alter the thresholds for remaining a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) from a population of 50,000 (current) to 200,000. Another provision adopted during Committee markup of S. 1813 would negatively impact the role of rural local officials working with states. NLC is actively opposing these changes to the bill and encourages you to contact your elected representatives to oppose any increase in threshold for remaining an MPO and to support an enhanced role for rural planning organizations in working with their state departments of transportation.

The Senate Banking and Commerce Committees are expected to consider the transit portion of the bill in early December.

On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the legal impediments to cities and states collecting sales taxes on remote sales. To view the hearing, click here.

For the record, NLC, the National Association of Counties, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and the Government Finance Officers Association submitted a letter to the Committee's Chair, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), and Ranking Member, Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), urging Congress to grant local authority to collect taxes on purchases made online.

In the letter, the groups offered support for the Main Street Fairness Act (H.R. 2701), a bill introduced this summer by Rep. Conyers that will allow for remote sales tax collection but expressed concern with the Marketplace Equity Act of 2011 (H.R. 3179), legislation that does not preserve local taxing authority and therefore could be detrimental to local governments and communities. The Committee has not scheduled a hearing on either bill. Click here to read the letter sent earlier this week.

At the request of NLC, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and the National Association of Counties, the U.S. Access Board has extended its deadline for comments on new pedestrian right-of-way guidelines under the Americans with Disabilities Act until February 2, 2012. The initial comment period closed on November 23. 

The proposed guidelines would impact several elements of the public rights-of-way in an effort to enhance mobility and encompass pedestrian access to sidewalks and streets, including crosswalks, curb ramps, street furnishings, pedestrian signals, and parking. NLC will be submitting comments and encourages cities also to submit them.

House Bill Signals Breakthrough on Public Safety Communications
Mitchel Herckis, herckis@nlc.org, 202.626.3124 

This week, a new Republican bill signaled bipartisan agreement on reallocation of the 700 MHz D Block of spectrum to create a nationwide public safety communications network. The bill, known as the Jumpstarting Opportunity with Broadband Spectrum (JOBS) Act of 2011, was introduced by Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. It was approved by the subcommittee yesterday, signaling a major step forward for the creation of a nationwide public safety communications network. 

While NLC agrees that reallocation remains a critical public safety issue for communities and applauds the bipartisan support, we do believe this bill could be improved. Specifically, the JOBS Act does not authorize sufficient funding for construction of the network; it includes a provision that would allow modifications to existing wireless towers without regard for local and state zoning authority; and it requires that the 700 MHz public safety 'narrowband', used by some municipalities for emergency services voice communication, be auctioned to commercial interests at a later date. In addition, the subcommittee markup of the bill highlighted concerns regarding how a nationwide public safety communications network would be governed at the federal and state levels. 

Earlier this week, NLC expressed support for the Wireless Innovation and Public Safety Act of 2011, a bill introduced by Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Ranking Member Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA). This bill closely mirrors bipartisan Senate efforts to create a nationwide public safety network and would address many of the concerns NLC has with the JOBS Act. Offered as an alternative to the JOBS Act during the subcommittee markup this week, the Wireless Innovation and Public Safety Act failed to pass along party lines.

Conference Call: EPA Integrated Stormwater and Wastewater Planning
Carolyn Berndt, berndt@nlc.org, 202.626.3101

On Tuesday, December 6 at 1:00 p.m. EST, NLC will host a conference call with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to discuss the agency's new integrated planning policy and recent memo sent to regional offices, "Achieving Water Quality Through Municipal Stormwater and Wastewater." Recognizing the challenging fiscal environment for local governments, EPA has committed to developing a planning framework that will allow communities to evaluate all of their Clean Water Act stormwater and wastewater obligations and prioritize their investments in a manner that maximizes water quality gains.

EPA representatives on the call will include Nancy Stoner, Acting Assistant Administrator for Water, and Mark Pollins, Director of the Office of Civil Enforcement's Water Enforcement Division within the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. Both will discuss EPA's efforts to develop an integrated planning framework and to better balance and prioritize the Clean Water Act obligations facing the nation's local governments. Questions will be taken at the end of the call.

Click here for additional information and to register for the call.