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Minutes for SB375 - Committee on Ways and Means
Short Title
Providing for the FORWARD transportation program.
Minutes Content for Wed, Feb 19, 2020
Chairperson McGinn continued the hearing on SB 375.
Steve Kearney, Economic Lifelines, testified as a proponent of the bill. Economic Lifelines is an umbrella organization and was involved in development of this plan. This is not a rehash of the old programs and much has changed. This is a ten year plan but has a built-in 2 year reconsideration and update so stakeholders stay engaged. One of the important points of this program is that promises made under T-WORKS will be completed by 2023. Another thing that is essential to any robust transportation system is maintenance and it is first in this bill. This program will benefit every community across the state is the bill contains $8 million for each and every county. This also has a lot to do with public safety. Better roads and shoulders provide more safety. (Attachment 4)
Kevin Walker, Overland Park Chamber of Commerce, spoke in support of the bill. There was a tremendous amount of stakeholder input and KDOT has traveled all across the state to solicit input. It is important to have the flexibility that is built into this bill with the two year review. This is an innovative approach. The plan also contemplates future technology and what transportation may look like down the road. His organization supports alternative delivery aspect of this bill. There is a great deal of pent up demand and this also directly impacts the economic progress of our state. (Attachment 5)
Jade Piros de Carvalho, IdeaTek, spoke in support of the bill. Her company provides fiber optic broadband with a focus on providing service to the under-served rural areas to bridge the digital divide in the state. They were excited to see the acknowledgment of broadband as a critical part of this program as digital roads are often overlooked. She does include a couple recommendations in her testimony. (Attachment 6)
Michael White, Kansas Contractors Association, spoke neutral to the bill. This is a really good product with good policy but we feel like it can be improved. There are two main issues with the program. The first is that the plan does not propose new funding. If we don't put new revenues on the table then how do we make FORWARD work when we couldn't make it work for T-WORKS. We need clarification on the current tax rate that is going to the State Highway Fund. He has a recommended amendment included in his testimony that would put a trigger on motor fuels tax. The second concern his board has is that alternative delivery is part of the market place but we need to go about this gradually and with safeguards involved. Small contractors are very concerned about this part of the program. Mr. White responded to questions from Committee members. (Attachment 7)
Kip Spray, CEO, Venture Corporation, Great Bend and Kansas Asphalt Pavement Association, testified as a neutral conferee. When transfers started coming out of the transportation program his company had to make decisions to go south and do work in Oklahoma or lay off people. They are now doing 30% of their work in Oklahoma and still waiting for money to come from Kansas to do more work here. His company is trying to bring their work back to Kansas but there is no funding protection in this program. FORWARD is a 2020 program with 2010 dollars. We may have another recession in the next two years so it's likely we won't have stable funding. (Attachment 8)
Travis Rose, Bridges Inc. Newton, spoke as a neutral conferee. Transportation is the lifeblood of his industry but his biggest concern is about the funding protection. When he bought his business in 2012 the future looked bright and 100% of the work was done in Kansas but, because of what happened with T-WORKS, they started doing more work in Oklahoma. They are starting to do more work in Kansas again. He should be looking at adding crews and equipment but he's not comfortable doing either because of concerns about sustainable funding. Also, alternative delivery is a concern for a small family-owned company like his. (Attachment 9)
Written testimony neutral to the bill was submitted by Tom Palace, Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association of Kansas. (Attachment 10)
Secretary Julie Lorenz, Kansas Department of Transportation, responded to questions from Committee members.
There being no further conferees, Chairperson McGinn closed the hearing on SB 375.
Chairperson McGinn adjourned the meeting at 11:56 am. The next meeting will be February 21, 2020.
