State of the State Transportation Trust Fund: What Florida and New Jersey Have in Common

Yesterday, the Florida House of Representatives once again voted to push raids on the State Transportation Trust Fund (STTF). As an organization, we work to remind legislators of the consequences of their actions should they agree to divert more than $400 million in recurring and non-recurring funds from the Transportation Trust Fund. Just over 20 years ago, Florida’s Department of Transportation (FDOT) was financially debunked and as a result stopped all road construction projects. Times may have been hard then, but even more is on the line today.

Averting money from the STTF to the state’s general revenue coffers will not only freeze funding for any new road projects but also eliminate tens of thousands of road-building jobs. Last time I checked, lawmakers tasked to find ways to create jobs not eliminate them.

Since we can’t seem to learn from our past mistakes, perhaps lawmakers should turn their attention to other states who are feeling the effects of a nearly bankrupt Department of Transportation.

In New Jersey, things look rather bleak. Like Florida, unemployment numbers are high and legislators are hesitant to see the impacts of their position within the next year, let alone, next election cycle. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports the New Jersey’s Transportation Trust Fund, which (like Florida’s trust fund) bankrolls highway and transit projects statewide, is projected to hit the bottom in approximately 15 months. Reporter, Paul Nussbaum, explained “…after June 2011, all of the $895 million [that] annually flows to the fund from tolls, gasoline taxes, and sales taxes on other goods and services will be needed to pay the interest on borrowed money. No money will be available for projects. If the state trust fund runs out, that also could jeopardize the $1.6 billion in matching transportation funds New Jersey gets each year from the federal government.”

The full article continues to provide possible solutions for the northern state while Florida is facing the same debacle with no solutions being offered by lawmakers. What would become of our state if we continue down this path? The Senate seems to understand the impacts of 100,000 unemployed Floridians on our already weakened economy. It’s time for the House to follow suit.