Bipartisan Law on Transportation Infrastructure

The Senate Finance Committee reviewed the impact of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) on rural and urban infrastructure projects.

By Charlie Bordenave July 24, 2024

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SUBJECT: Examining the Impact of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law on Transportation Infrastructure

DATE: July 23, 2024

OVERVIEW: The Senate Committee convened to examine and testify to the constructive impact of the newly passed Bipartisan Infrastructure Law across multiple policy departments within Michigan. The boards represented by the committee witnesses addressed the economic benefits and advancements of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, along with an extensive evaluation of certain policies' efficacy when being adapted for financing or resourcing communal infrastructure projects.

HEARING RECORDING LINK: https://www.commerce.senate.gov/2024/7/field-hearing-examining-the-impact-of-the-bipartisan-infrastructure-law-on-transportation-infrastructure

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Witnesses

  • The Honorable Brad Wieferich, Director, Michigan Department of Transportation
  • The Honorable Paul LaMarre, Director, Port of Monroe and President, American Great Lakes Ports Association
  • The Honorable Marty Fittante, Chief Executive Officer, InvestUP 
  • The Honorable Amy O’Leary, Executive Director, SEMCOG
  • The Honorable Mike Aaron, Business Manager, Michigan Laborers, Local 1191

Key Themes & Highlights

  • Republican Concerns:
    • Balanced Resource Allocation: Republicans emphasized the need for a more balanced system to allocate funds for local and communal infrastructure projects, ensuring advanced planning and data-driven approaches supervised by the Michigan Department of Infrastructure.
    • Discretionary Funding: Concerns were raised about competition for discretionary funds and the unequal allotment of resources to rural communities for infrastructure development.
    • Preservation of Seaports: Highlighted the need for investments in seaports and domestic trade hubs like the Great Lakes to ensure their long-term viability and economic prosperity.
  • Democratic Concerns:
    • Equitable Distribution of Infrastructure Funds: Democrats stressed the need for equitable allocation of formula and discretionary funding to underserved communities. They emphasized the transformative potential of discretionary grants to boost local economies and mitigate past harms like redlining.
    • Investment in Rural Infrastructure: Vocalized the necessity of ensuring that rural areas benefit from infrastructure improvements, focusing on expanding transportation access, enhancing essential services, and modernizing transit corridors.
    • Job Creation and Trade Careers: Democrats also highlighted the importance of funding training facilities to support skilled trade careers and ensure the long-term sustainability of well-paying jobs, particularly in minority and underrepresented communities.
  • Witness Testimonies:
    • The Honorable Brad Wieferich: Emphasized cooperation across public transit sectors to enhance general mobility through sustainable means. He reviewed the role of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in maintaining planning and reinvestment, noting that $2.2 billion of the $8 billion allocated for the next five fiscal years will go toward public transit construction. Wieferich also discussed the impact of the BIL in streamlining funding and offsetting inflation in materials and labor.
    • The Honorable Paul LaMarre: Focused on the importance of seaports as critical to U.S. economic prosperity and domestic trade, emphasizing investment in Great Lakes infrastructure. LaMarre detailed how PIDP funding for the Port of Monroe has supported rural and urban infrastructure development and created jobs within local communities. 
    • The Honorable Marty Fittante: Highlighted the transformative effect of RAISE grants on rural infrastructure, such as Chippewa County’s airport renewal project. Fittante also stressed the need for future rural investments in essential services and modernized corridors and discussed the challenges rural areas face in securing discretionary funding.
    • The Honorable Amy O’Leary: Addressed the vital role of discretionary grants in supporting large statewide infrastructure projects. O’Leary emphasized how these funds support transportation and housing initiatives, especially in underserved areas, and help address issues of congestion and poor planning in minority neighborhoods. She advocated for the BIL’s continued use of formula funding to ensure balanced and effective financial distribution.
    • The Honorable Mike Aaron: Recognized the significant contributions of the BIL in promoting well-paying jobs and union-supported trade careers. He noted that the law has led to the creation of educational and trade facilities, expanding the demographic of skilled laborers and supporting sustainable, energy-efficient technologies.
  • Key Discussions:
    • Extending Infrastructure Project Outreach: Focus on balancing discretionary and formula funding allocations for infrastructure projects, ensuring that rural and underserved communities benefit.
    • Preserving Critical Infrastructure: Emphasis on preserving the infrastructure of U.S. seaports, particularly in the Great Lakes, as vital economic and domestic trade hubs.
    • Rural Developments: Acknowledgement of the transformative role RAISE grants play in boosting rural infrastructure projects.
    • Investments in the Workforce: Continuing investments in training facilities to ensure a growing workforce for trade careers, with a focus on minority communities.
    • Sustainable Planning: Calls for further development of sustainable infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and public transit, under the guidance of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

In-Depth Notes

  • Amy O’Leary advised that the Department of Infrastructure utilize formula funding through the initiative of the BIL to effectively allocate funds and create a balanced approach for the financing of state-wide projects/programs. Suggested that regulatory upkeep and supervision by the BIL be implemented in communities to ensure they know the opportunities for applying for discretionary funding and how it can become available to local regions.
  • Marty Fittante imposed the idea that the BIL acquit certain liberties to local governments and business partners to trust they understand the capabilities and vulnerabilities of their communities instead of leaving the money with the higher senate and money-holding officials- entailing a cost-effective way to provide for the technical and ground support needed for the funding of such large projects.
  • Brad Wieferich projected the necessity of streamlining funding of the BIL to better take advantage of financial policies/opportunities and preserve the functionality of the law.
  • Brad Wieferich examined the IIJA highway funding initiative and how it has promoted critical new jobs annually, along with helping offset inflation with the materials/labor that was spurred within the last decade. States that $2.2 billion of the BIL’s $8 billion in funding for the next five fiscal years will be allocated towards public transit construction such as that of roads and bridges. Offers that other implications of the BIL have included the stretching of grant programs, mitigating the impact of climate/weather damage on highways, and helping enforce a more in-depth branch of operations dedicated to the financial implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law- the Michigan Infrastructure Office.
  • Paul LeMarre strains the need for the preservation of seaport infrastructure and the need for investments in the enterprises of Great Lakes ports. LeMarre also explains how implementation has enhanced funding for projects such as PIDP funding for the Port of Monroe. He also stresses the rural and urban benefits of having both discretionary and formula funding to improve infrastructure in commonly challenged cities and areas. LaMarre also displays how the movement of infrastructure projects funded by this law created numerous operational jobs within those communities.
  • Marty Fittante: Discusses how rural areas such as Chippewa County were able to implement federal funds for the construction and renewal of the Chippewa Country International Airport, paving the way for upper-peninsula flight transportation. Fittante also vocalizes the legal challenges of obtaining discretionary funds and how legislative applications are usually deeply vetted in resource and financial allocation. Fittante then mentions the three priorities to be focused on for rural investments in the future, which are the reconstruction of essential services, modernized corridors to effectively provide access to those resources, and finally, the utilization of RAISE grants to support local transportation businesses.
  • Amy O’Leary:  Discusses the impact of discretionary grants in the assembly of large state-wide projects and the support of roadway and housing projects regarding issues of transit. Discretionary grants also allow for the opportunity for community reimmersion- effectively eliminating the disapproving consequences of redlining in minority neighborhoods and eliminating poorly planned areas of traffic congestion on highways, roads, and bridges running through these neighborhoods.
  • Mike Aaron: Emphasizes the fact that the BIL promotes surface transportation investments, promoting well-paying jobs and labor unity as a direct result. Acknowledges that the BIL has funded the adoption of thousands of well-paying jobs and opportunities to minority institutions along with installing educational/trade facilities to expand the demographic of skilled laborers with the knowledge of establishing sustainable and energy-efficient technologies.