DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
|
Adjusted |
Executive |
Legislative |
Change |
|
STATE OPERATIONS |
||||
|
General Fund |
170,969,000 |
172,478,000 |
172,478,000 |
0 |
|
Special Rev.-Fed. |
11,721,000 |
6,332,000 |
6,332,000 |
0 |
|
Special Rev.-Other |
46,424,000 |
33,515,000 |
33,515,000 |
0 |
|
Internal Service Fund |
4,524,000 |
4,558,000 |
4,558,000 |
0 |
|
Total for STATE OPERATIONS: |
233,638,000 |
216,883,000 |
216,883,000 |
0 |
|
AID TO LOCALITIES |
||||
|
General Fund |
168,807,500 |
163,033,000 |
309,387,500 |
146,354,500 |
|
Special Rev.-Fed. |
18,023,000 |
26,003,000 |
26,003,000 |
0 |
|
Special Rev.-Other |
1,437,646,000 |
1,499,323,000 |
1,532,817,500 |
33,494,500 |
|
Total for AID TO LOCALITIES: |
1,624,476,500 |
1,688,359,000 |
1,868,208,000 |
179,849,000 |
|
CAPITAL PROJECTS |
||||
|
Capital Projects Fund |
3,399,167,000 |
3,259,947,000 |
3,386,947,000 |
127,000,000 |
|
Total for CAPITAL PROJECTS: |
3,399,167,000 |
3,259,947,000 |
3,386,947,000 |
127,000,000 |
Agency Mission
Year-to-Year Change
The Executive recommends an All Funds State Fiscal Year 1999-2000 appropriation of $5,165,189,000, a decrease of $92,092,500 or 1.8 percent below the current year. State Operations appropriations decreased by $16,755,000 or 7.2 percent. Aid To Localities appropriations increased $63,882,500, or 3.9 percent. Capital Projects appropriations are proposed to decrease $139,220,000, or 4.1 percent.
The most significant change in the Executive proposal is the reduction of $200,000,000 from the Highway & Bridge Capital Plan. This program maintains, builds and reconstructs New York State's system of highway and bridges. This reduction comes one year after the Executive had proposed increasing the program by $100,000,000 both last year and this year.
Legislative Changes
|
Aviation program denied at this time. |
$(35,000,000) |
CAPITAL |
|
Deferral of Industrial Access Program. |
$(25,000,000) |
CAPITAL |
|
Rail program denied at this time. |
$(13,000,000) |
CAPITAL |
|
Elimination of State subsidy for rail service through the Adirondacks. |
$(820,000) |
ATL/GEN |
The Assembly rejects an appropriation of $820,000 in subsidies to support the Adirondack Amtrak line north of Albany to the Canadian border. This under-utilized line primarily serves a limited number of intercity passengers. Currently, New York State subsidizes buses that also provide similar intercity passenger travel in this area.
Legislative Proposals
The Assembly has developed a transportation plan which spends $5,589,373,000 on increased investments for many different elements of New York State's Transportation Network. This plan includes restorations to the Highway & Bridge Capital Plan that reflect previous commitments, as well as increased assistance for transit operators statewide.Capital
The largest component of the Assembly plan includes a $200 million restoration to the State Highway & Bridge Capital Program. The Executive proposed a reduction of $200 million from the Plan, a year after promising an increase of $100 million for SFY 99-00. The Assembly will restore this funding to ensure the continued improvement of the State's roads and bridges.
The Assembly's increase of $200 million to the Capital Plan will require a commensurate increase in the Engineering Services program to provide design and engineering functions for implementation of the Capital Plan. The Assembly provides an additional $63,215,000 to the Engineering Services program. The Assembly will also require the Department to use a higher percentage of State engineers when designing projects, to provide more cost-effective design services.
The Assembly plan includes an additional $25,600,000 in Consolidated Local Highway Assistance Program (CHIPS) capital spending to restore the program to SFY 98-99 levels. These funds will provide local governments with necessary resources to improve local transportation infrastructure.
To assist localities further and to restore necessary funds for highway improvements, the Assembly also provides an additional $4,700,000 to the Local Highway & Bridge Program, the Marchiselli Program. This will restore the program to SFY 98-99 levels and allow localities to proceed with projects to which the Department of Transportation had already committed.
To support increases to the Capital Plan the Assembly proposes the following:
-- Under the Assembly Debt Reform Proposal, $511,000,000 of Capital Funds will be paid for out of the Debt Reduction Reserve Fund instead of bonds;
-- The Assembly forecasts higher Dedicated Fund tax revenues in the amount of $15,500,000;
-- The Assembly re-estimates debt service on bond issuances for the Dedicated Highway & Bridge Trust Fund.
Aid To Localities
The Assembly increases the Operating & Maintenance (O&M) component of the Consolidated Local Highway Assistance Program (CHIPS) by $17,000,000 to $73,197,000, to return the CHIPS O & M program to its pre-1995 levels. Operating & Maintenance funding provides localities with great flexibility and allows localities to address their most immediate highway needs.Transit
The Assembly provides transit operators with additional funds of $161,669,000. The downstate region will receive $132,530,500, $114,036,000 for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), and $18,494,500 for other downstate operators. The upstate transit operators will receive $29,138,500.
The increase to the MTA's budget will be used for the following 3 purposes:
-- $15,000,000 for the State's share of eliminating Transit Authority half-fare passes for students;
-- $5,000,000 for enhanced security throughout the system, to include elimination of One Person Train Operation; and
-- $96,036,000 for enhanced service to both New York City Transit and the Commuter Railroads.
--The Transit Authority will receive $71,038,000 for enhanced service and to provide a maximum rush hour wait of 4 minutes.
--The Commuter Railroads will receive an additional $24,998,000 for enhanced service.
Increased funds for transit are available through the appropriation of fund balances already dedicated to transit, and higher estimated tax revenues in dedicated transit funds. For downstate operators, the Executive projects SFY 1999-00 closing balances in funds dedicated to downstate transit operators to total $112,531,500. For upstate operators these fund balances total $24,638,500. Additional tax revenue deposited into these funds is projected to be $24,500,000. In the past, the Executive has used fund balances to reduce the State's General Fund commitment to transit, triggering fare increases and service cuts statewide. The Assembly, therefore, recommends appropriating these fund balances to prevent further raids on funds dedicated for transit, and to help maintain current fares.
The Assembly plan also allows downstate non-MTA operators to spend appropriations from the Metropolitan Mass Transportation Operating Assistance account solely on operating assistance.
The Assembly recommends that legislation be introduced to extend the provisions of Chapter 432 of the Laws of 1997 relating to the mass transportation operating assistance formula.
|
STATE HIGHWAY AND BRIDGE PROGRAM. |
$200,000,000 |
CAPITAL |
|
MTA OPERATING ASSISTANCE. |
$96,036,000 |
ATL/GEN |
|
UPSTATE TRANSIT AID ENHANCEMENT. |
$29,138,500 |
ATL/GEN |
|
NON-MTA DOWNSTATE TRANSIT OPERATING ASSTANCE. |
$18,494,500 |
ATL/SRO |
|
CHIPS - OPERATING AND MAINTENANCE. |
$17,000,000 |
ATL/GEN |
|
ELIMINATE HALF-FARE ON SUBWAYS FOR STUDENTS IN TA. |
$15,000,000 |
ATL/SRO |
|
ONE-PERSON TRAIN OPERATION. |
$5,000,000 |
ATL/GEN |