May 22, 2006
May 22, 2006
LANSING – Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today signed legislation that will create up to 7,100 jobs in Michigan by speeding up local transportation projects across the state. The Local Jobs Today program provides grants and loans to cities, counties and local transit agencies to allow them to fully take advantage of available federal transportation funding.
“This Local Jobs Today program will kick-start local transportation projects across the state and help cities, counties, and local transit agencies put federal transportation dollars to work in their communities,” Granholm said. “By putting shovels in the ground, we are improving our state’s infrastructure and creating thousands of jobs for Michigan residents in the next two years.”
The Local Jobs Today program will offer a combination of short-term and long-term grants to local agencies throughout the state:
• Under the Local Federal Fund Program, $80 million of the State Transportation Fund (STF) monies will be used to provide the 20 percent match for local projects required for federal funding. This will leverage $320 million in federal funds. The state will fund the program by issuing bonds to be repaid with STF funds.
• Under the Advanced Construct Local Loan Program, the state will issue short-term notes, backed by the STF, to accelerate the use of federal transportation dollars by creating a pool of funds local agencies can borrow from to construct federally eligible or designated local projects. These loans will be paid back with expected federal revenues coming to Michigan for local projects over the next three years. Local agencies will be responsible for repaying interest on the short-term loans. Cities, counties and local transit agencies must be able to identify sufficient total funding to complete the projects and bear any additional costs, including overruns.
Leveraging $87 million of state investment in local federal match grants will bring $347 million in federal funds, for a total of more than $420 million going toward local road projects.
Senate Bill 1132 amends a portion of the transportation funding law to allow the state to issue the bonds and use funds for transit projects. Equitable statewide distribution of the local match grants is a critical component of the program.
Granholm praised Senator Mike Prusi, the original sponsor of the Local Jobs Today legislation, for his leadership on the legislative package.
“Senator Prusi stood with us at the original announcement of this proposal, and he was a leader in the legislative process to ensure this idea became a reality,” Granholm said.
Senate Bill 1192 (Sen. Gilbert) requires reports on how many projects were funded and the geographic spread of those projects. House Bill 6003 (Rep. Casperson) also allows the state to issue bonds to fund the local federal match program.
Preliminary lists of locally selected projects will be submitted by the County Road Association of Michigan and the Michigan Municipal League. The MDOT will review the list to ensure that projects meet Local Jobs Today criteria and comply with federal funding requirements. Local Jobs Today funds are intended for actual construction and construction engineering for projects slated to begin in 2006 or 2007. To qualify, required non-construction activities such as preliminary engineering work, environmental clearances, or right-of-way acquisition must be at or near completion.
