Federal funding for surface transportation projects should migrate from the traditional petroleum fuel-based tax to a mileage-based user fee by 2020, according to a 15-member commission appointed by Congress two years ago. The bipartisan group released its final report Feb. 25 with recommendations for overhauling the highway trust fund, which is due for reauthorization later this year.
The National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission includes financial experts, lawyers, politicians and transportation industry leaders such as Elliot Sander, chief executive officer of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and Jeffrey C. Crowe, chairman of Landstar System, Inc. “We were charged with projecting the needs of surface transportation over the long term, how much money goes into the trust fund under the current policy and finally, what should Congress consider doing to replace the gas tax,” says Geoffrey Yarema, a commission member and a partner with Nossaman LLP, Los Angeles, a law firm specializing in infrastructure and transportation. “We have completed that task...it was unanimous.”