Revision: June 15, 2014, midnight
SB 416-FN-A – AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
03/27/14 1078s
2014 SESSION
09/10
SENATE BILL 416-FN-A
AN ACT relative to highway fund appropriations and establishing a committee to study the effectiveness and efficiency of the department of transportation.
SPONSORS: Sen. Bradley, Dist 3; Sen. Morse, Dist 22; Sen. Forrester, Dist 2; Sen. Odell, Dist 8
This bill prohibits certain allocations of highway funds to the judicial branch, the department of justice, and the office of the commissioner and division of administration within the department of safety. The bill also establishes a committee to study methods of maintaining highway fund integrity, and a committee to study the effectiveness and efficiency of the department of transportation.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
03/27/14 1078s
14-2863
09/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Fourteen
AN ACT relative to highway fund appropriations and establishing a committee to study the effectiveness and efficiency of the department of transportation.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Findings and Purpose. The New Hampshire general court finds that:
I. Part 2, Article 6-a of the New Hampshire constitution limits the use of “registration fees, operators’ licenses, gasoline road tolls or any other special charges or taxes with respect to the operation of motor vehicles or the sale or consumption of motor vehicle fuels” exclusively for “the construction, reconstruction and maintenance of public highways within this state, including the supervision of traffic thereon.”
II. RSA 9:9-b requires that at least 73 percent of highway fund appropriations be allocated to the department of transportation, and no more than 26 percent be allocated to the department of safety.
III. However, the legislature has repeatedly waived its own diversion caps, diverting an additional $36.6 million over the caps required by RSA 9:9-b over the last 4 years.
IV. This act ensures the constitutional and statutory protections for the highway fund by prohibiting unrelated appropriations in the next state budget, and by establishing a legislative study committee to monitor highway fund diversion.
2 New Sections; Prohibitions on Highway Fund Allocations; Study Committee. Amend RSA 9 by inserting after section 9-c the following new sections:
9:9-d Prohibitions on Highway Fund Allocations. No highway funds shall be allocated to the judicial branch, the department of justice, the office of the commissioner within the department of safety, or the division of administration within the department of safety, except for the purposes of road toll administration and audit.
9-9-e Committee Established.
I. There is established a committee to study methods of maintaining highway fund integrity.
II.(a) The members of the committee shall be as follows:
(1) Three members of the senate, at least one of whom shall be from the majority party and at least one of whom shall be from the minority party, appointed by the president of the senate.
(2) Three members of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.
(b) Members of the committee shall receive mileage at the legislative rate when attending to the duties of the committee.
III. The committee shall study methods of maintaining highway fund integrity. The committee shall study:
(a) The current diversion of highway fund revenues for purposes not authorized by the New Hampshire constitution and state law.
(b) Methods of ensuring that highway fund revenues remain dedicated to “the construction, reconstruction and maintenance of public highways within this state, including the supervision of traffic thereon.”
IV. The first-named senate member shall be the chairperson of the committee. The first meeting of the committee shall be called by the first-named senate member. The first meeting of the committee shall be held within 45 days of the effective date of this section. Four members of the committee shall constitute a quorum.
V. The committee shall report its interim findings and any recommendations for proposed legislation on or before November 1, 2015, and make its final report of findings and recommendations for legislation on or before November 1, 2016 to the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, the senate clerk, the house clerk, the governor, and the state library.
3 Repeal. RSA 9:9-e, relative to the committee to study methods of maintaining highway fund integrity, is repealed.
4 Committee Established.
I. There is established a committee to study the effectiveness and efficiency of the department of transportation.
II.(a) The members of the committee shall be as follows:
(1) Three members of the house finance committee, at least one of whom shall be a member of the minority party, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.
(2) Three members of the senate finance committee, at least one of whom shall be a member of the minority party, appointed by the president of the senate.
(b) Members of the committee shall receive mileage at the legislative rate when attending to the duties of the committee.
III. The committee shall:
(a) Review the department of transportation’s statutory duties and responsibilities.
(b) Review whether the department is effectively and efficiently fulfilling its statutory obligations.
(c) Review whether the department’s current sources of funding are adequate to enable the department to fulfill its statutory obligations.
(d) Study successful practices and administrative models of other state’s departments of transportation and identify best practices or models that may increase effectiveness and efficiency in New Hampshire.
(e) Review whether the department is maximizing its resources by working cooperatively with other state agencies and private entities, where appropriate.
IV. The members of the study committee shall elect a chairperson from among the members. The first meeting of the committee shall be called by the first-named senate member. The first meeting of the committee shall be held within 30 days of the effective date of this section. Four members of the committee shall constitute a quorum.
V. The committee shall report its findings and any recommendations for proposed legislation to the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, the senate clerk, the house clerk, the governor, and the state library on or before December 1, 2014.
5 Effective Date.
I. RSA 9:9-d as inserted by section 2 of this act shall take effect July 1, 2015.
II. Section 3 of this act shall take effect November 1, 2016.
III. The remainder of this act shall take effect upon its passage.
LBAO
14-2863
Amended 04/01/14
SB 416-FN-A FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to highway fund appropriations and establishing a committee to study the effectiveness and efficiency of the department of transportation.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Office of Legislative Budget Assistant states this bill, as amended by the Senate (Amendment #2014-1078s), will have an indeterminable impact on state expenditures in FY 2016 and each year thereafter. There will be no impact on state revenue, or county and local revenues or expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Office of Legislative Budget Assistant states this bill prohibits highway fund allocations to the Judicial Branch, the Department of Justice, the Office of the Commissioner within the Department of Safety, or the Division of Administration within the Department of Safety, except for the purposes of road toll administration and audit, effective in FY 2016. This bill’s impact on state expenditures in FY 2016 and each year thereafter is indeterminable. However, pursuant to chapter 143:1, laws of 2013 (HB1), the current state operating budget appropriates the following highway funds, which under this bill would not be permissible in FY 2016 and each year thereafter:
? |
FY 2014 |
FY 2015 |
Judicial Branch |
$2,000,000 |
$2,000,000 |
Department of Justice |
$366,682 |
$367,839 |
Department of Safety |
? |
? |
Office of the Commissioner |
$8,368,379 |
$8,736,178 |
Division of Administration |
$12,515,821 |
$12,803,608 |
(Less: Road Toll Administration and Audit) |
($1,670,199) |
($1,715,100) |
Net Department of Safety |
$19,214,001 |
$19,824,686 |
TOTAL |
$21,580,683 |
$22,192,525 |
This bill also establishes two legislative study committees, which will have no impact on state, county, or local revenues or expenditures.