Transportation Commission hears draft 2014 STIP guidelines; staff reports modest STIP capacity increase

Caltrans staff and regional transportation agencies presented the draft 2014 STIP (State Transportation Improvement Program) fund estimate and proposed permanent and cycle-specific changes to the STIP guidelines at a Transportation Commission hearing required by statute.

Caltrans project analyst Steven Keck said the workshop draft shows a roughly 10 percent increase in STIP capacity since the June draft and that the STIP line is "about $271,000,000 greater than what was presented in June." Keck also summarized assumptions behind the fund estimate: moderate increases in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) offset by rising fuel economy from new CAFE standards, a short-term revenue boost from a $0.035-per-gallon excise tax increase (effective July 1) split 44% to cities/counties, 44% to STIP and 12% to SHOP, and the need to assume federal revenues remain at current MAP-21 levels for the estimate period.

The staff presentation said losses of certain federal TE (Transportation Enhancement) funds and declining aeronautics revenue have created some shortfalls in early years. Keck reported an aeronautics result of about $1,000,000 per year for the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) match during the three-year aeronautics estimate period and noted non-Article XIX revenues formerly available to the State Highway Account are now being transferred to the general fund (transportation debt-service fund) at roughly $60 million–$70 million annually.

Mitch (CTC staff) opened the hearing on the draft 2014 STIP guidelines and summarized proposed changes to two guideline sections: cycle-specific rules for 2014 and a set of permanent guideline clarifications. He said staff will present a final fund estimate for adoption at the commission's next meeting on August 6. "The STIP guidelines are divided into two sections," Mitchell said, and walked through schedule elements, deletion of T reserves for Transportation Enhancement projects, and other cycle-specific adjustments.

Major permanent-guideline proposals discussed included: - A clarification that NEPA documentation is required before allocation or right-of-way certification for federally funded projects, with case-by-case exceptions possible (staff framed this as a clarification of existing policy). - Lowering the threshold for mandatory project-level reporting from $50,000,000 to $20,000,000, and a related proposal to create a comparable threshold for reporting on completed projects. - New or revised performance measures in Appendix B to track stormwater runoff, vehicle miles traveled and other indicators, and a request that regions with adopted Sustainable Community Strategies report how RTIP projects relate to those strategies. - A requirement that regions compare RTIP project lists with state highway and intercity rail needs provided by Caltrans (staff emphasized the lists must be financially constrained to be useful).

The proposed $20 million reporting threshold drew sustained opposition from multiple regional agencies. Kurt Bridal of the Orange County Transportation Authority said his agency preferred keeping the $50 million threshold and asked staff not to add responsibilities that would "constrain some agencies" or push new costs onto Caltrans. "We do appreciate the effort that staff has gone through," Bridal said, and asked that the AB 3090 reimbursement language not undermine local agency flexibility.

Representatives from Metropolitan Transportation Commission (Kenneth Cowett), the San Diego/SCAG regions, Riverside County Transportation Commission (Shirley Medina), L.A. Metro (Patricia Chen), San Bernardino Associated Governments (Philip Chiu), the rural counties task force (Sharon Scherzinger), and others urged retaining the $50 million threshold or at least demonstrating with data why a lower threshold would add value. Several speakers also asked that proposed performance metrics align with measures already used in regional planning documents and environmental studies to avoid duplicative work.

On NEPA and early right-of-way acquisitions, regional and local agencies asked staff to preserve MAP-21 authorities that allow certain early acquisitions or negotiated purchases prior to full NEPA completion when federal law permits. Caltrans staff and other commenters said they are working on guidance for applying MAP-21 streamlining tools, and Rachel Falsetti (Caltrans) requested that exceptions for early acquisition be retained so project delivery is not impeded.

Rural and small-agency speakers highlighted capacity and resource differences: Tehama County and other rural agencies warned they lack NEPA delegation and local resources to complete federal environmental clearances on the same timetable as Caltrans, and asked for flexibility or tools to avoid delaying critical bridge and safety projects.

The Strategic Growth Council and SANDAG-led work on performance measures was noted by Mike McCoy of the Strategic Growth Council, who said the draft measures result from a multiagency effort and aim to support more programmatic, statewide performance evaluation rather than impose a single rigid set of measures on all regions.

No formal votes were taken at the hearing. Staff said they will collect written comments and follow up with agencies as needed before bringing the final fund estimate and guidelines to the commission for adoption at the meeting scheduled for August 6.

Why it matters: The STIP guidelines and fund estimate determine how limited state and federal transportation dollars are programmed across regions, modes and projects; changes to reporting thresholds, NEPA sequencing and performance measures can alter what projects are prioritized, how regions document benefits and readiness, and how federal/state funds are used or matched.

Next steps: Staff will accept written comments, follow up with agencies on specific concerns (threshold analysis, NEPA exceptions, timing for Caltrans-provided state-highway need lists), and return a final fund estimate and amended STIP guidelines to the Transportation Commission for action at its August 6 meeting.