ARTICLE 22 AS AMENDED
RELATING TO
TRANSPORTATION FUNDING
SECTION 1. Title 39 of the General Laws entitled
"PUBLIC UTILITIES AND
CARRIERS" is hereby
amended by adding thereto the following chapter:
CHAPTER
39-18.1
TRANSPORTATION
INVESTMENT AND DEBT REDUCTION ACT OF 2011
39-18.1-1.
Short title. -- This chapter shall be known and
may be cited as the
"Transportation and Debt
Reduction Act of 2011."
39-18.1-2.
Legislative findings. -- The general assembly
finds that:
(1)
available for the upkeep, maintenance and repair of the state's
highways, roads, and bridges.
(2)
(20%) match required to bring federal transportation
dollars into the state by means of selling
bonds. This has proven unsustainable and creates
unaffordable debt-service obligations for future
generations of
(3) The health,
safety, and convenience of
adversely affected when the state's highways, roads, and
bridges are not kept in a proper state of
upkeep, maintenance and repair.
(4) A critically
important function of the state in maintaining the health, safety, and
welfare of all the people of
of the state's highways, roads, and bridges.
(5)
maintaining and improving the transportation infrastructure of
the state.
(6) Additional stable
and secure funding sources are absolutely necessary in order for the
state to carry out its essential functions, including the
upkeep, maintenance and repair of the
state's highways, roads, and bridges, and providing for the
continued functioning and reliability of
public transit. In order to avoid to the full extent possible
the creation of enormous and
unaffordable debt-service obligations for future generations of
Rhode Islanders, these funding
sources should be created on a pay-as-you-go basis, and
bonding should be reduced to the fullest
extent practicable.
39-18.1-3.
Definitions. -- When used in this chapter:
(1) "Department
of Transportation" means the department created by chapter 13 of title
42 of the general laws of
(2)
"Director" means the director of the
(3) "Highway
maintenance" means the upkeep, maintenance, and repair of the state's
highways, roads, and bridges, including repaving or
resurfacing the same.
(4) "State
Planning Council" means the state planning council within the division of
planning of the department of administration, as established
by
42-11-10.
(5)
"Transportation Improvement Program" means the transportation
improvement
program that is created and amended from time to time by the
state planning council.
39-18.1-4.
hereby created a special account in the general fund to be
known as the
Maintenance Trust Fund.
(b) The fund shall
consist of all those moneys which the state may from time to time
direct to the fund, including, but not necessarily limited
to, moneys derived from the following
sources:
(1) There is imposed
a surcharge of thirty dollars ($30.00) per passenger car and light
truck to be paid by each car and light truck owner in order
to register that owner's vehicle and
upon each subsequent biennial registration. This surcharge
shall be phased in at the rate of ten
dollars ($10.00) each year. The total surcharge will be ten
dollars ($10.00) from July 1, 2013
through June 30, 2014, twenty dollars ($20.00) from July 1,
2014 through June 30, 2015, and
thirty dollars ($30.00) from July 1, 2015 through June 30,
2016 and each year thereafter.
(2) There is imposed
a surcharge of fifteen dollars ($15.00) per car and truck, for those
cars and trucks subject to annual registration, to be paid
annually by each car and truck owner in
order to register that owner's vehicle and upon each
subsequent annual registration. This
surcharge will be phased in at the rate of five dollars ($5.00)
each year. The total surcharge will
be five dollars ($5.00) from July 1, 2013 through June
30, 2014, ten dollars ($10.00) from July 1,
2014 through June 30, 2015, and fifteen dollars
($15.00) from July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016
and each year thereafter.
(3) There is imposed
a surcharge of thirty dollars ($30.00) per operator's license to be
paid every five (5) years by each licensed operator of
motor vehicles. This surcharge will be
phased in at the rate of ten dollars ($10.00) each year. The
total surcharge will be ten dollars
($10.00) from July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014,
twenty dollars ($20.00) from July 1, 2014
through June 30, 2015, and thirty dollars ($30.00) from July
1, 2015 through June 30, 2016 and
each year thereafter.
(c) All funds
collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the highway
maintenance fund and shall be used only for the purposes set
forth in this chapter.
(d) Unexpended
balances and any earnings thereon shall not revert to the general fund but
shall remain in the highway maintenance fund. There shall
be no requirement that moneys
received into the highway maintenance fund during any given
calendar year or fiscal year be
expended during the same calendar year or fiscal year.
(e) The highway
maintenance fund shall be administered by the director, who shall
allocate and spend moneys from the fund only in accordance
with the purposes and procedures
set forth in this chapter.
39-18.1-5. Allocation of funds. -- (a) The monies in the highway maintenance fund to
be directed to the department of transportation pursuant
to subdivision (a)(1) of this section shall
be allocated through the transportation improvement
program process to provide the state match
for federal transportation funds, in place of borrowing,
as approved by the state planning council.
The expenditure of moneys
in the highway maintenance fund shall only be authorized for projects
that appear in the state's transportation improvement
program.
39-18.1-6.
Severability. -- If any of the provisions of
this chapter or the applicability
thereof is held invalid by any court of competent
jurisdiction, the remainder of the provisions of
this chapter shall not be affected thereby.
SECTION 2. This Article shall take effect on July 1, 2011.