Idaho law limits how infrastructure bill can aid transit, leaves future riders waiting

The federal infrastructure bill that is a centerpiece of President Joe Biden’s economic agenda was back in focus as the U.S. House returned to session this week, but still with measured hopes among Idaho transit advocates that the trillion-dollar proposal would significantly upgrade the state’s public transportation system.

If the funding package passes and becomes law, it would guarantee Idaho billions of dollars over the next five years toward roads, bridges and other major infrastructure projects. Tens of millions of dollars for expansions of the state’s broadband internet and electric vehicle charging networks are also part of the hefty package, as is almost $200 million toward public transit improvements, according to a White House fact sheet.

Through the federal earmark process, Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson was already able to secure $2 million for bus enhancements along the 11-mile State Street route as part of nearly $17 million in federal commitments toward other major roadway needs in the state. The Treasure Valley improvement project imagines installing passenger shelters and bus pullouts, as well as real-time electronic route information at stops, to help build upon Valley Regional Transit’s ridership.

“Many of these projects are long overdue and have been on city and statewide plans for decades, and their completion will have a huge economic impact in their respective communities,” Simpson said in a June statement announcing the federal approval.

Other substantial public transit projects, however, would largely remain off the table across the state’s denser urban areas because of the lack of a devoted local revenue source. Unlike the majority of states throughout the country, Idaho restricts voters from choosing to tax themselves on local retail sales to fund services, including public transportation.

Matt Stoll, executive director of COMPASS, the region’s transportation planning agency, said this factor is the primary reason why expansions of the Treasure Valley’s public transit network remain stuck in neutral. The statewide shortcoming also prevents agencies such as VRT from applying for grants and other competitive pots of federal money to support the system, because the agency does not have the matching funds — from 20% up to 50% of the award — it needs to qualify.

Valley Regional Transit operates about two-dozen routes between Ada and Canyon counties, with an overall budget of about $24 million per year. Jurisdictions with bus service voluntarily contribute funds to VRT, with the city of Boise providing the largest sum at roughly $8.5 million each of the past two years, according to city staff.

“Without a dedicated funding mechanism, which at this point in time it seems to be local option taxing authority is the one that works in other states — both across the nation and the West — we’re not going to see a significant change,” Stoll said in an interview with the Idaho Statesman. “We have to have the local funds or state funds to match those federal dollars from the capital expenditures. It’s not going to happen, unless there’s a radical shift that occurs from the local government.”

‘A less desirable place to live’

The strain and congestion on local roadways, in addition to state and federal highways, are only expected to intensify as the state population increases at a clip that made it among the fastest growing in the country, according to 2020 U.S. Census data. With more than 17% growth in population over the past decade to nearly 1.84 million residents, Idaho was second only to neighboring Utah in the rankings.

Such population expansion will require a more robust infrastructure network to get people about, as well as a more thoughtful plan for meeting the housing needs of new Idahoans, said Vanessa Fry, a Boise State University professor who also acts as interim director of the school’s Idaho Policy Institute. The days of simply planning to widen the roadways are essentially over, she said.

“We know that’s not a long-term solution. It becomes prohibitively expensive to move a growing population around more efficiently and effectively,” Fry said by phone. “More people in cars means they’re less productive, spending less time at work, less time with family, and less healthy, and it becomes a less desirable place to live. And more vehicles on the road means more wear and tear on the road, so it certainly adds more costs to maintaining the system that we have.”

Nevertheless, the infusion of new federal transit dollars due to Idaho would still be welcome and put to use, she said. But the additional money in the infrastructure package, which the U.S. Senate approved last month with bipartisan support by a 69-30 vote, is unlikely to offer opportunities for transit system expansion, if it even fully addresses refurbishing Idaho’s current network.

As it stands, the House, which maintains a narrow Democratic majority, has its work cut out trying to pass the bill by month’s end and deliver it to Biden’s desk. The party is facing internal strife over a push to also approve a second spending package toward the president’s climate change, education and health care goals currently slotted at $3.5 trillion — with limited margin for error without any Republican backers. Failure to pass one bill could doom them both.

An earlier version of the infrastructure bill passed the House in July with just two Republicans supporting it, and the update is expected to garner fewer than a dozen GOP representatives, according to Politico. Simpson joined the vast majority of his Republican colleagues at that time against the bill, while fellow Idaho Republican U.S. Rep. Russ Fulcher did not cast a vote.

“I am closely monitoring the infrastructure proposals and the highly suspect potential for Democratic changes as we approach the end of September deadline,” Fulcher said Tuesday in a written statement provided by a spokesperson to the Statesman.

A Simpson spokesperson did not respond to a Statesman reporter’s emailed request for comment.