Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) on Nov. 2 proposed a 41 percent cut over the next two years to general funds used for transportation funding. Under Gov. Hickenlooper’s proposal, half of 2016’s $158 million transportation revenue from the general fund would be reallocated to 2017, and the $109 million planned for next year would be eliminated. A formula for regular transfers of $100 million to $200 million from the general fund to the transportation fund had previously been established in a 2009 bill, but can be overridden with a mandatory Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights tax refund or a legislative vote. Read More>>

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Iowa

Since a 10 cents per gallon gas tax increase was passed in March 2015, Iowa has seen an $800 million increase in the Iowa Department of Transportation’s (IDOT) five-year budget and an additional $375 to $468 million increase for county road funds. Stuart Anderson, director of IDOT’s Planning, Programming and Modal Division, told Iowa Farmer Today that this summer was a “a record across the board for improvements in Iowa’s roads and bridges.” Read More>>

Iowa state lawmakers who supported the 2015 transportation funding increase are not seeing any political repercussions in their 2016 reelection races, according to Des Moines attorney Doug Goss. Gov. Terry Brandstad (R) on Oct. 31 speculated that voting for the gas tax increase may be helping these lawmakers as their constituents see the benefit of construction in their communities. Read More>>

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Mississippi

Mississippi state democratic lawmakers on Nov. 2 proposed repealing a recent cut to the state’s corporate franchise taxes, income taxes, and self-employment taxes, and utilizing that revenue for an estimated $6 billion in new transportation funding over 20 years. Read More>>

The Mississippi Department of Transportation will not have enough funding for new capacity transportation construction projects after 2018, Transportation Commissioner Mike Tagert told attendees at Mississippi Today’s “Coffee and Conversations” event on Oct. 28. Read More>>

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