Gov. Chris Christie proposes allocating $140 million of funds in fiscal 2012 to support $1.18 billion of New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority borrowing.
The Department of Transportation Thursday released its $3.5 billion capital plan for fiscal 2012.
The program, which the Legislature will weigh in on, includes $1.66 billion of federal funds, $1.6 billion of state funds, and $343 million of anticipated funding from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
The Transportation Trust Fund helps finance road, bridge, and mass-transit infrastructure needs throughout the state. It will run out of bonding capacity on June 30, the end of fiscal 2011, as its entire $895 million annual allocation will pay down outstanding TTFA bonds.
To revive the trust, Christie proposes allocating another $140 million of dedicated revenues, which the authority will then leverage to generate $1.18 billion of borrowing in fiscal 2012, said DOT spokesman Joe Dee. The $140 million currently flows into New Jersey’s general fund.
“There will be an increase of $140 million in the TTFA capital appropriation and that will be obtained by increasing the amount generated by the constitutional dedications,” Dee said.
The $140 million includes $65.8 million of sales tax receipts generated from new-vehicle sales, $52 million of motor fuel revenue, and $22.5 million of petroleum gross receipts, according to Dee.
On top of the $1.18 billion of borrowing, the state will use $76 million of pay-go funding by tapping into New Jersey Turnpike Authority toll revenue.
The $343 million of proposed Port Authority spending requires approval from that bi-state agency’s board and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The fiscal 2012 capital plan is part of Christie’s $8 billion five-year transportation financing proposal that he unveiled in early January.
The governor’s spending plan includes $4.4 billion of bonding from fiscal 2012 through fiscal 2016.
