INFRASTRUCTURE/TAXES/TRANSPORTATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “States and cities that raise taxes and tolls will have a better chance at winning federal money for roads and bridges, part of a Trump administration strategy to have states carry a bigger portion of infrastructure spending. The move is a result of a Transportation Department overhaul to a popular infrastructure grant program, giving it a new name and tweaking the criteria that will determine which project applications will win federal funding. Under the overhaul, which was launched last week, applicants for grants this year will be judged in part on whether they can show that they have generated ‘new, non-Federal revenue’ to help cover project costs, according to a DOT document. That will mean local agencies that raise taxes or tolls to pay for bridges, transit lines or road improvements will be more likely to win some of the $1.5 billion pool of funding authorized for the program this year.”
–Ted Mann, “States That Raise Tolls and Taxes Will Have an Edge in Getting DOT Funds,” The Wall Street Journal, April 27, 2018 12:19 pm