Daily News Briefs, November 18, 2021

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IIJA Includes Funds For Addressing Risks And Impacts Of Climate Change

CNBC reports, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) “includes historic funding to protect the country against the detrimental [effects] of human-caused climate change” in the form of $50 billion in allocations “for climate resilience and weatherization, as more frequent and severe droughts, heat waves, floods and wildfires ravage the the country.” CNBC notes, “Last year, a record number of disasters caused $95 billion in damages, according to the [US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration], and that record is forecast to be broken in 2021.” Although the IIJA “does little to curb planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions” and “falls short of the level of investment scientists say is necessary to adequately prepare for the worst consequences of climate change,” it is considered a precursor to the pending Build Back Better Act, “which designates $555 billion to aggressively combat climate change and cut emissions in half over the next decade.”

An article in The New York Times and this World Resources Institute blog post also look at IIJA climate resilience provisions.

Climate Change & Infrastructure Resilience Environmental Protection Policies Procedures And Initiatives US Gov't Transportation Funding US Infrastructure Funding And Financing Initiatives

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Poole Urges Georgia Commission To Drop Gas Taxes In Favor Of RUC

The Center Square (via Johnson City Press) reports, in testimony before a legislative commission, the Reason Foundation’s Robert Poole recommended that Georgia replace its fuel tax with a mileage-based use fee that would become the primary source of highway funding. With more fuel efficient and electric vehicles on the roads, Poole estimates that Georgia gasoline sales, which have been in decline since 2017, dropped 6.57 percent last year. At least one commission member voiced concerns about how the state would collect a road use fee.

Georgia Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) Road Use Charging (RUC-MBUF-VMT)

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These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.

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