BRADENTON, Fla. — Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley is seeking transportation proposals that will be funded with the first round of financing from $600 million to $650 million of grant anticipation revenue vehicle bonds the state intends to sell.
The Garvee bonds are expected to be issued over three years as the main financing mechanism for Bentley’s Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program, or ATRIP.
“We have an aggressive timeline, and we will work quickly and efficiently to identify the roads and bridges that most urgently need to be repaired,” Bentley said.
No time frame was announced for the sale of the bonds.
The Alabama Department of Transportation is administering ATRIP as a federal-aid highway program that funds up to 80% of construction. Local sponsors will pay at least 20% of construction costs.
Local governments and public-private partnerships have been asked to submit proposals, which are due by Saturday. Final projects will be chosen by the governor after review by an advisory committee that Bentley appointed last week.
Bentley has touted low borrowing costs of ATRIP, and its potential to create jobs, though the status of Garvee bond programs is hazy as Congress continues to debate reauthorization of the federal highway and transit bill.
The current bill expires Saturday, though a short-term extension is expected to be considered this week.
The Alabama Federal Aid and Highway Finance Authority refunded $91.2 million of Garvees last August and retired all of the state’s outstanding Garvee bond debt.
Meanwhile, 17 state senators are sponsoring a competing bill unrelated to the governor’s program that would authorize $650 million of Garvee bonds.
SB 339 was still waiting to pass out of committee at the end of February. The annual legislative session runs through mid-May.
Lawmakers have been more interested in speeding up the progress of SB 150 — a measure that would create the Alabama Transportation Infrastructure Bank, which is modeled after a similar program in South Carolina.
The bank bill passed the Senate on Feb. 23. It is waiting to pass out of the House transportation committee before it can be considered by the full House.
The bank would fund local highways, roads, bridges and mass-transit capital projects across the state with bonds secured by a gas tax or other state and federal funds, as well as a local match.
Cities, counties, local authorities or a state agency would qualify to borrow from the bank.
This bill provides specific authorization to capitalize the infrastructure bank with up to one cent of the state gas tax — which would bring an estimated $25 million annually if the full cent were used — and a portion of the license taxes and registration fees on trucks, which could bring as much as $21 million annually.
The exact amount the bank receives from taxes and fees will be determined by the director of transportation with the approval of the governor.
Bentley’s ATRIP would focus on larger road and bridge projects, while the Transportation Infrastructure Bank would include assistance for smaller projects.
