House approves bill to restore state, local control of transportation planning

The House approved legislation to repeal a rule that would have reduced local input on state and local transportation plans and use of future resources, with support from U.S. Reps. Charlie Dent (R-PA), Jeff Denham (R-CA) and Sam Graves (R-MO).

The legislation, S. 496, would repeal the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Coordination and Planning Area Reform rule that the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) issued in December 2016.

Under the rule, MPOs representing communities within larger metropolitan areas were directed to develop a single set of transportation plans and standards for all communities in the area, in effect centralizing the transportation planning process.

“I am pleased to support this legislation and maintain local control over our regional infrastructure decisions by preventing the short-sighted MPO rule from going into effect,” Dent said. “This rule would have restricted economic competitiveness by making it more difficult for regions to coordinate and implement planning decisions that best fit local communities, including those here in Pennsylvania’s 15th congressional district.”

Dent voiced concerns about the MPO Coordination and Planning Area Reform rule last year, and he supported the House version of the legislation that was approved on Thursday.

“The MPOs in my district have universally expressed their objections to this rule,” Dent said. “Their current structure has been a successfully coordinated approach to address regional issues that cross jurisdictional boundaries without the compulsion of a one-size-doesn’t-fit-all-approach imposed by the FHWA and FTA,” Dent said. He praised the support in the House for keeping local infrastructure decisions in the hands of people who live in the region.

Denham, an original cosponsor of the House version of the bill, also commended House approval on Thursday.

“The repeal of the MPO Coordination and Planning Area Reform rule is a win for the Valley,” Denham said. “While it works well in other areas, this rule did not take into consideration the unique needs of rural communities like ours and would have complicated a process that is already working well for my constituents.”

Graves, the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, said that the primary objective of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act was to give states more control over transportation decisions.

“We all agreed that people on the ground were in the best position to identify infrastructure needs and set priorities,” Graves said. “Unfortunately, the previous administration’s DOT decided it wanted things run differently. The bill passed in the House (on Thursday) will restore Congress’ intent in the FAST Act to emphasize local planning authority, and I look forward to seeing it signed into law by the president in the coming days.”