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Sponsor Statement for HB 473
State Transportation Plan

An Act relating to transportation.

While efficient spending has long been a governing principle of state and federal highway law, it is not easy to apply this concept to existing projects. Without updated information, it is difficult for the Legislature to oversee planning costs and determine whether projects deserve continued appropriations.

The statute changes proposed in House Bill 473 will allow the Legislature to re-assess projects before they are built, to assure that Alaska gets the most benefit out of its federal and state transportation spending and to minimize the likelihood that the State will be committed to a project with significant construction and maintenance cost over-runs.

House Bill 473 addresses this problem by creating a mechanism that will trigger review when the projected costs for a project have increased by more than 50 percent since initial approval. When this occurs, the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities will provide additional information on the project in the annual state transportation plan update, including why the costs have significantly increased, if further increases are anticipated and an updated analysis of the project's costs-benefits ratio.

Since efficiency is a subjective term, this bill also provides a concrete definition for transportation projects. A project that creates more benefits than costs is efficient, while one that creates fewer benefits than costs is inefficient. This will help focus funds on transportation projects that are most worthy.

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