The Ferguson Group Blog

WRDA a Priority in the Next Congress

Water resources development act (WRDA) legislation will not see action in this last month of the 112th Congress. There has been reason to doubt it could be done this late in the year ever since Environment & Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) announced in late September that she would try to get a bill done before adjournment. Yesterday, Senator Boxer said that she and her incoming ranking Republican partner in committee business, David Vitter (R-LA), plan to move a WRDA bill through committee shortly after the 113th Congress opens in January.

There is no doubt that both senators have a genuine interest in moving quickly on WRDA. The California senator has specific project concerns for her home state as well as a desire to address the increasing frequency of major storms and the damage we have come to expect from them. Her Louisiana counterpart has similar interests and has become an advocate for reforming the Corps of Engineers Civil Works program. Specifically, he is calling for reforms to expedite and improve the project delivery process; solutions to address the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) and Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF) problems; the need for greater oversight of Corps implementation guidance and internal policies; and the need for prioritization of water resource projects in a time of constrained federal spending.

On the House side, the incoming chairman of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee will be Congressman Bill Shuster (R-PA), who has already identified WRDA as one of his early priorities in the new Congress. We know that the senators have a head start in drafting legislation, Chairman Boxer having already produced a draft bill for comment. So it is possible that one or both committees of jurisdiction will move quickly out of the gate to address the many pressing water resource issues that have awaited “the next WRDA” since 2007. Be sure to bring your WRDA issues and any questions to the attention of those of us at The Ferguson Group as soon as possible. (For recent posts on WRDA, see The WRDA Imperative and Rebuilding Waterways and How They Are Funded.)

Energy Efficiency: A Little Competition is Good

Next Thursday, consider joining the EPA for a webinar to learn how local governments can plan and run an energy efficiency competition to encourage energy reductions in their communities. Not only will you learn about the benefits of a competition, the basic steps involved, common barriers and possible solutions, and free resources to help local governments put together their own competition, but you’ll also hear first hand from a Ferguson Group client and energy efficiency competition trailblazer, the City of Cary, North Carolina.  

The Cary team will be talking  about their efforts to reduce energy use across their fire stations, along with a sneak peek at their upcoming “Fire Chief's Challenge” for fire stations nationwide.  I hope you’ll join me in learning from EPA and Cary by clicking on this link.

All I want for Christmas is…..

…passage of online sales tax legislation.   

Word on the street is that legislation allowing greater collection of sales taxes on goods sold over the Internet may have enough votes to pass the Senate this year. As you’ll recall,  this legislation would grant state and local governments the authority to collect taxes on internet and mail-order sales. Because of the 1992 Supreme Court decision in Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, states are currently prohibited from collecting sales taxes from online retailers who do not have a physical presence in their state.

Senator Durbin of Illinois told reporters this week that he has been discussing the issue with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in an effort to push the legislation through the chamber as part of a deal averting the impending “fiscal cliff.”  If the Senate signals it is ready to pass the legislation, that could help proponents in the House.

Wednesday News Roundup

Every Wednesday, The Ferguson Group blog will be posting a series of articles published over the previous week that discuss topics of interest to local governments. Learn about emerging trends and keep up on key policy issues by browsing the TFG Wednesday News Roundup!

Municipal Leaders Fear Deficit Reductions Could Impact Bond Exemption

Municipal leaders fear that policy makers will attempt to get rid of the tax exemption on municipal bonds to reduce the deficit in order to avoid the fiscal cliff.  Concerns on the longevity of the exemption have been building amongst state and local leaders for years.  In 2011 Simpson-Bowles proposed revoking  the tax-exempt status of municipal bond earnings and the President suggested capping them.  Read More…

Retailers confident online sales tax has vote to pass

Retail groups and supporters are confident that they will be able to get the votes to pass an online sales tax measure, in the last weeks of the 112^th Congress.  Proponents are concentrating their efforts on the Senate with their powerful backer, Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL).  Read More...

Durbin warns against ‘heat of the moment’ entitlement reforms

The Senate’s second-ranking Democrat, Sen. Dick Durbin, announced that he is not willing to put entitlement reforms on the table in the fiscal cliff negations.  Durbin says Congress does not have enough time to study the long term impacts of changing these programs, and thus should hold off on making rash decisions.  Read More…

Local Governments Strive for Broadband Independence

Minnesota’s small town, Winthrop, is currently fighting to control their own municipally-owned broadband network.  Only 150 communities have been able to create city-wide cable or fiber-to-the-home networks in the United States.  Read More…

State Savings in Medicaid Expansions Outweigh Costs

According to an analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation, if all 50 states fully expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, they would collectively save more money than they would spend.  Read More…

Emanuel Highlights Need for Infrastructure Investment

Last Friday many of us were busy doing our part to grow our nation’s retail economy and you may have missed an editorial that appeared in that day’s Washington Post. Chicago’s Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s piece, “How to Rebuild America,” details a number of initiatives, including his vision for the restoration of infrastructure in Chicago and beyond.

“While infrastructure improvements have been neglected on a federal level for decades, Chicago is making one of the nation’s largest coordinated investments, putting 30,000 residents to work over the next three years improving our roads, rails and runways; repairing our aged water system; and increasing access to gigabit-speed broadband. We are paying for these critical improvements through a combination of reforms, efficiencies and direct user fees, as well as creating the nation’s first city-level public-private infrastructure bank.,” said Emanuel.

For details on the Mayor’s infrastructure investments, see this release from his office, highlighting 269 miles of alleys and streets resurfaced, 134 miles of water main improvements, and six rebuilt bridges.

It’s good to see another voice added to the chorus of elected officials who see infrastructure restoration as an essential need and vital job creation engine.

Task Force Urges National HIV Testing

In a report last week, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (an independent group of national medical and health experts) called on health providers and insurers to begin testing all residents between the ages of 15 and 65 for HIV.  It also called for routine testing of all pregnant women.  New data shows that increased use of anti-retroviral medications can dramatically reduce HIV transmission rates.  The Task Force issued its highest recommendation, which also means that it wants providers and insurers to cover the testing at no cost to the patient.  That would include Medicaid and Medicare-based systems of care. The recommendation reflects a major shift away from the long-standing tendency towards targeted testing for populations disproportionately prone to HIV infection.  Experts for years have called the risk-based approach ineffective because it fails to diagnose large numbers of people.  The Task Force’s recommendations are currently open to public comment through December 17^th. 

Wednesday News Roundup

Every Wednesday, the Ferguson Group blog will be posting a series of articles published over the previous week that discuss topics of interest to local governments.  Learn about emerging trends and keep up on key policy issues by browsing the TFG Wednesday News Roundup!

Sens. Alexander, Bennet Give Leaders Emergency Plan to Avoid ‘Fiscal Cliff’

Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) have submitted a three part plan to both the Senate Majority Leadership and the Senate Minority Leadership to be used in case the negotiations with President Obama do not work out.  The proposal would make a payment toward the deficit during the lame-duck session, create a streamlined process to reach a broader deal, and implement a default deficit-reduction plan if Congress cannot break a stalemate in 2013.  Read more...

Administration Defines Benefits That Must Be Offered Under the Health Law

On Tuesday, the Obama Administration took a big step towards implementing the Affordable Care Act.  The administration defined the term “essential health benefits.”  Insurers can no longer deny coverage or charge high premiums to people that are sick or have been ill, nor can they charge women more than men.  Some are worried that these rules will cause many families and small businesses to purchase coverage that is more expensive than the coverage they currently have.  Read more...

A New Policy That Incentivizes Walkable Neighborhoods

Massachusetts has announced a new policy initiative that is designed to encourage walkable neighborhoods.  If a municipality meets certain criteria, it will become eligible for preferential treatment in applications for state assistance funds. These criteria include requirements for housing density, affordability, and a policy of inclusion.  Read more...

Bernanke: Fix Fiscal Woes or Risk ‘Sudden and Severe’ Contraction of Economy

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke asked Washington policymakers to get the nation’s finances on track to prevent economic disaster.  He outlined a list of things that Congress and the White House must do including avoiding the “fiscal cliff,” raising the debt ceiling, and coming up with a long-term plan to bring down the deficit.  Read more...

Threats to Tax Exempt Status of Municipal Bonds

There are a number of proposals floating around Congress on potential tax reform to be included in tax extender discussions during the lame duck session of Congress.  One issue that has been included in nearly all of these proposals is repealing the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds.  This could have a devastating impact on economic development in communities.  Municipal bonds were created to attract public investment and provide a low-cost financing tool for local and state governmental infrastructure projects, as interest income from these bonds is exempt from federal income tax. Not only would these proposals destroy this widely used public financing tool, but none of them would allow state and local governments to tax federal bond interest (currently exempt from state income tax) to make up for the loss of municipal bonds, making infrastructure investments more costly.

Efforts to find a compromise on deficit reduction will be intertwined with the tax debate during this brief lame duck session, so now is the time to let your congressional delegation hear from you about how tax-exempt financing benefits your community and the devastating impact a repeal of this financing tool would have on your community’s public infrastructure and local economy.

Infrastructure Takes Center Stage

The impacts of Hurricane Sandy and talk on the campaign trail have highlighted our vulnerable infrastructure and brought this topic to the forefront of national discussion this Fall.  

In case you missed it, last week the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its 2013 Most Wanted List, the agency’s top ten list of safety advocacy priorities.  The list covers all transportation modes (aviation, highways, bridges, rail, waterways and pipelines).  One of the six new issue areas added to the list is to “Preserve the Integrity of Transportation Infrastructure.”  NTSB stressed the need to ensure that infrastructure can “age gracefully and retain its structural integrity,” through better inspection and maintenance.

And today’s Politico includes an opinion piece from Peter Ruane,  President and CEO of the Washington-based American Road & Transportation Builders Association, “Harden U.S. Infrastructure Before it’s Too Late.”

Hopefully this recognition of the problem will increase the focus of federal decision makers on the need for infrastructure investment. 

Wednesday News Roundup

Every Wednesday, The Ferguson Group blog will be posting a series of articles published over the previous week that discuss topics of interest to local governments.  Learn about emerging trends and keep up on key policy issues by browsing the TFG Wednesday News Roundup!

Cities and towns are collaborating more often to provide more and better services to residents

 Metro-area communities have begun to cut costs by sharing fire chiefs, training programs, and emergency dispatch technology.  The leaders from 15 cities and 3 different counties have come together in a pilot program to expand on their limited resources and growing demand for services.  Read More…

Leading the Way on ‘Lean’

Washington’s Governor, Chris Gregoire, is leading a government wide lean initiative to eliminate waste from business processes.  “Lean” has become synonymous with state-government transformation.  It has successfully eliminated livestock inspection nonpayment and reduced cash payments by 90 percent while cutting non-value-added steps by 20 percent for Washington’s Department of Agriculture.  Read More…

Health Exchange Plans Become Clearer After Election

States have until Friday, November 16^th to submit their health exchange blueprints to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  Governors have three options, a state-run exchange, a federal run exchange, or a state-federal partnership exchange.  Read More…

Americans would go over the ‘fiscal cliff’ with Congress, in variety of ways

The effects of the ‘fiscal cliff’ will reach far and wide, from doctors that accept Medicare, recipients of unemployment aid, defense contractors to national park rangers.  If the fiscal cliff takes effect in January, middle income families can expect to pay an average of $2,000 more next year, up to 3.4 million jobs lost, and the unemployment rate could reach 9.1%.  Read More…

Towns seeking federal help to recoup Sandy costs

Pennsylvania is asking for federal reimbursements to cover costs its counties and municipalities spent on preparing for Hurricane Sandy.  The federal emergency declaration only provided Direct Federal Assistance for supplies like generators and food, not overtime and debris clean up. Read More…