At a costly crossroads

We support the recommendations put forth by the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council (RIPEC) in its recent report, entitled “Rhode Island at the Crossroads.” The General Assembly should in fact begin addressing those recommendations during the 2003 legislative session.

RIPEC came up with two major findings.

“The state has inadequate resources to finance its transportation system, and there is a need for one integrated decision-making process,” said Garry Sasse, RIPEC’s executive director.

Those very factors potentially jeopardize several pending construction projects, including one of the most important such projects in the state’s history – the Route 195 relocation. There are also deep fiscal concerns for the state’s public bus service, with RIPTA facing cuts in service in the coming years.

According to RIPEC, several factors have contributed to the state getting into this mess. For example, while the state has borrowed about $30 million per year to pay for its share of federally subsidized highway projects, the state’s gasoline tax is not keeping up with those expenditures. And Rhode Island has relied far too heavily on federal aid for highway spending. The state gets 52 percent of its highway money from the federal government. The national average for such expenditures is 25 percent.

It’s simple, really. The state has used its vehicle taxes and fees for its general fund and relied on the federal government to bail us out when it comes to fixing our highways, bridges and other projects. But the costs are adding up and borrowing the money is no longer prudent.

By all accounts, these are desperate times for our transportation system. Whether RIPEC’s recommendations can be deemed desperate measures or not, is irrelevant. They seem to make a lot of sense.

First, according to RIPEC, the state needs to shift millions of dollars in revenue to transportation from other parts of the state budget – even if that means some tax increases or budget cuts in other programs. RIPEC suggests that $7 million come from the gasoline tax in the next fiscal year. RIPEC also proposes shifting $31 million in registration and drivers’ license fees to transportation over the next five years.

Finally, RIPEC recommends reorganizing the state’s six transportation agencies under a single transportation secretary to improve efficiency and accountability.

The RIPEC recommendations aren’t easy. They represent some tough choices. But the glaring needs they would address aren’t going away. And ignoring our transportation system will only cost more in the future.

Bad grades in Washington

The Small Business Survival Committee has released its annual scorecard rating how members of Congress voted during 2001 on key small business issues.

The SBSC scorecard rates lawmakers based on 12 key votes in the House and 12 votes in the Senate impacting small business. Included in the rating are votes on such issues as reducing taxes and regulations, death tax elimination, capital gains tax relief, expanding U.S. markets overseas, reducing dependence on foreign energy, and making health care more affordable.

The state averages ranged from a perfect 100 percent for Idaho to 0 percent for the Massachusetts’ delegation.

So how did Rhode Island fare? We finished 47 out of 50, edging out only Hawaii, North Dakota and the Bay State. Rhode Island’s congressional delegation took what the SBSC would consider pro-business positions on legislation only 6 percent of the time.

With a delegation composed of three Democrats and a Republican who votes like a Democrat, we are not entirely surprised at the SBSC scorecard. And we acknowledge that there is ample evidence to suggest that all four of our congressmen have lobbied on behalf of the small business community.

But 47 out of 50 – by any measurement – is a disappointment and only serves to fuel the perception that Rhode Island is not a business friendly state. Simply put, our congressional delegation can and should do a better job of supporting pro-business legislation.