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Those holding this view generally call for available revenues to be bolstered through further expansions in innovative financing, tolling and PPPs, and for fed��� eral requirements to be further streamlined to re��� duce costs and provide states with maximum flexibility. Prioritizing Investment Under continued Republican leadership, the House is likely to favor accelerating the direction set in MAP��� 21 and ��� under any funding level ��� will likely seek to prioritize investment in the higher order systems, further streamline the environmental process, and make greater use of tolling, innovative financing and PPPs. The Senate and Obama Administration will want to maintain the policy compromises estab��� lished in MAP���21 and not go further. During consideration of MAP���21, for example, two of the most significant bi���cameral debates were about: n The extent of environmental streamlining. n Whether to modify or eliminate altogether the set��� aside for bicycle and pedestrian projects, which be came a proxy for the broader debate about the scope of the federal program and federal role. In both cases, the House wanted to go farther than the Senate ��� and that dynamic is expected to con��� tinue. While the Republican House has generally been less supportive of funding for urban transit sys��� tems, MAP���21 confirmed there is a fundamental core of bi���partisan and bi���cameral support for dedicated transit funding. Ultimately, the fundamental question facing the 113th Congress is whether and how to raise addi��� tional revenue, followed by the question of what the federal program will look like under the various con��� straints. In the 112th Congress, the Republican House, Democratic Senate, and Obama Administra��� tion grappled with these choices and in the end came together to enact a short���term bill that maintained current spending levels and relied upon another General Fund transfer. The same players now return for the 113th Congress, but facing a greater challenge. The financing gap con��� tinues to grow, such that even another two���year bill at current levels would require some $30 billion in additional revenue. Policymakers will also have to address the reauthorization with only limited time to see the effects of the policies put in place in MAP���21. Short on the heels of MAP���21 and facing an even larger revenue shortfall, Congress will confront the future of the program with heightened recognition that fundamental decisions need to be made, but faced with difficult and complex choices. E www.rockproducts.com VOTERS APPROVE STATE, LOCAL TRANSPORTATION INITIATIVES While the results of the presidential and congressional elections garnered the lion���s share of attention on Election Day, voters on Nov. 6 demonstrated the importance of transportation by approving 68 percent of the measures to increase or extend funding for highways, bridges and transit, according to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). The association tracked 31 measures overall ��� fve were statewide initiatives and 26 were local. All of the seven bond initiatives were approved by voters. Eighteen measures were for increasing, extending or renewing a sales tax for transportation purposes, two were property tax extensions and one was for a local gas tax. The total value approved was $2.4 billion. The results are consistent with previous elections, ARTBA said. In 2010, voters approved 61 percent of similar measures, 78 percent in 2008, 77 percent in 2006 and 76 percent in 2004. ���The results show the American people are looking for solutions to address their transportation challenges and are willing to pay more if they know the revenue generated will be used for its intended purpose,��� said ARTBA Chief Economist Alison Premo Black, who compiled the list. Three of the four statewide measures to raise additional transportation funds passed with an average approval rate of 63 percent. Arkansas voters approved a one-half cent increase in the state sales tax to cover a $1.3 billion bond issue for roads and bridges. The temporary sales and use tax will help fund improvements for state highways and bridges, county roads, city streets and other surface transportation. Alaska voters approved a bond issue of $453.5 million for transportation. Although a strong majority of voters (65 percent) in Los Angeles supported Measure J, which would have extended the 30-year one-half sales tax passed in 2008 for an additional 30 years, the ballot initiative needed a 66 percent super majority for approval. The current sales tax measure is set to expire in 2039. Had the measure passed, it would have extended the current sales tax to 2069. Three ballot initiatives did not specifcally ask voters to increase funding for roads, bridges or transit, but they did address transportation issues. Voters in Michigan opened a path to one of the largest bridge projects in the nation by rejecting an initiative that would have required a statewide referendum before building an international crossing to Canada. The referendum was initiated by the owner of the Ambassador Bridge to prevent a new crossing over the Detroit River. Earlier this year, the Canadian government announced an agreement with Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) to build and pay for a new, publicly owned bridge between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, just two miles south of the Ambassador Bridge. The Canadian Transport Minister said the bridge will now be built ���as soon as possible.��� The cost of the project is estimated to be $1 billion. Voters in Cornelius, Ore., rejected a measure to repeal the local fuel tax, which is used to improve roads. Residents of Virginia Beach, Va., approved a nonbinding referendum in support of having the local city council explore extending a local light rail system into the city. ROCKproducts ��� DECEMBER 2012 17