ANOTHER EXTENSION FOR TEA-21 RENEWAL
An extension to July 19 of the current TEA-21 federal transportation program has passed Congress and was signed by President Bush. It is the eighth consecutive extension since TEA-21 expired in September 2003. The Senate/House Conference Committee apparently is making progress, including a $286.5 billion funding level. However, it is not clear if the White House will sign off since it is slightly higher than the $284 billion the Bush Administration has supported thus far.

NEW TRANSPORTATION REVENUE NEEDS SET AT $2.69 BILLION
The Regional Plan Association estimates that $2.69 billion in new revenues is needed in Fiscal 2007 to meet New Jersey’s capital and operating transportation needs. The study released in Trenton on July 11th says that new revenue needs for transportation will increase to $2.99 billion in Fiscal 2016. The report calls for full funding of DOT and NJ Transit operating budgets, regular increases in Transit fares, Constitutional dedication of intended resources to the Transportation Trust Fund, creation of an independent five-person Financial Policy Review Committee and six-month reports to the state Division of Taxation. Cooperating in the study were AAA Clubs of New Jersey, Bloustein School and Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers and Tri-State Transportation Campaign.

WISNIEWSKI ATTACKS TOLL ROAD LEASE PROPOSAL
Assembly Transportation Committee Chairman John Wisniewski has labeled as a “car wreck waiting to happen” a proposal to lease the New Jersey Turnpike or Garden State Parkway to replenish the State Transportation Trust Fund. He asserted that privatizing either road is a “risky venture that should be abandoned for the sake of New Jersey’s motorists and taxpayers.”

PORT IMPROVEMENT PLAN AVAILABLE ONLINE
Information is now available online about the draft Comprehensive Port Improvement Plan for the Port of New York and New Jersey. Materials include a slide presentation, rail and highway fact sheets, the CPIP newsletter and the draft plan. Visit http://www.cpiponline.org/plan/whatsnew.html.

CORPS OF ENGINEERS SEEKS COMMENTS ON NY/NJ HARBOR DEEPENING
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that a copy of the Draft Environmental Assessment for the Newark Bay Study Area of the New York and New Jersey Harbor Deepening Project (50 ft.) is available for review and comments by August 1, 2005. Copies of this document can be found on the NY District’s website at www.nanusace.army.mil.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
Anthony Cosica was recently reappointed as Chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Thomas A. Bracken, President and CEO of Sun Bancorp, Inc., has been installed as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. Bracken is Chairman of The Foundation of the New Jersey Alliance for Action.
Bill Mullen, President of the New Jersey Building & Construction Trades Council, has been selected by the Building Contractors Association of New Jersey as “Construction Man of the Year.”
John Ballantyne was named by the New Jersey Regional Council of Carpenters as the Northern Region’s District Manager.
Philip K. Beachem, Alliance for Action President, was recently reappointed as a member of the New Jersey Institute of Technology Board of Trustees.

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