Infrastructure in the News: June 7, 2012

NATIONAL NEWS

The Hill: Highway bill conferees given new instructions in House vote
http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/231347-highway-bill-conferee...
The House passed a motion on Wednesday that instructs House conferees to the highway bill that they should accept language guaranteeing that each state receives more guaranteed highway money from the federal government. Members approved a motion to instruct from Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) by a 259-154 vote.

The Hill: GOP unveils $51.6B DOT, HUD budget
http://thehill.com/blogs/transportation-report/infrastructure/231197-gop...
The House Appropriations Committee said Wednesday that it will consider its Transportation, Housing and Urban Development budget for fiscal year 2013 in a subcommittee hearing Thursday. The draft of the proposal released Wednesday contains a $3.9 billion reduction for the agencies from 2012 spending and it is $1.9 billion less than President Obama requested for the departments earlier this year.

DC Streetsblog: House Appropriators Leave TIGER, HSR Out of Next Year’s Budget
http://dc.streetsblog.org/2012/06/06/house-appropriators-leave-tiger-hsr...
It’s always confusing when, in the middle of endless bicameral hand-wringing about transportation spending, the House Appropriations Committee puts out a budget for transportation without much ado. That’s what they did today. The Transportation and HUD Subcommittee will vote tomorrow on its draft budget, released today, in preparation to send it to the full Appropriations Committee.

STATE NEWS

Strong Towns: Three simple ideas for cities
http://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2012/6/6/three-simple-ideas-for-citie...
The idea of a nation-wide infrastructure bank has been thrown around in the media, but it’s concentrated on large-scale projects like high-speed rail, large bridges and highway projects. What if it happened at a hyper-local level for small development projects.

The Detroit News: Detroit light rail backers to address feds' questions
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120604/METRO/206040395#ixzz1x7HcAM5n
Officials pushing the M-1 light rail project in Detroit have been asked to address some concerns from the Federal Transit Administration about operating costs and who will run the project long-term. Backers said they will take 60 days to come up with answers and then meet with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to move the long-discussed project forward.

Post and Courier: Mount Pleasant needs $14 million for stormwater, road systems
http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20120606/PC16/120609455/mount-plea...
Mount Pleasant needs $14 million annually in new revenue, or about 20 percent of its current budget, to pay for all of the required maintenance on the town stormwater and road systems, according to a consultant’s report. Town Administrator Eric DeMoura said the work is key to preventing larger problems in the future. He pointed to the condition of Park West Boulevard as an example of the issue.