(1) The general assembly hereby finds and declares that: (a) The continued prosperity of the state and its citizens requires a safe, well-maintained, integrated, multimodal, and sustainable surface transportation system that is accessible in all parts of the state and that allows efficient movement of people, goods, and information; (b) The primary funding sources dedicated for surface transportation, state and federal motor fuel taxes, are flat rate per gallon taxes that have lost and will continue to lose much of their purchasing power because they are not indexed to inflation, have not been increased in nearly two decades, and generate less revenue per vehicle mile traveled as motor vehicles become more fuel efficient; (c) Due to the decline in the purchasing power of the revenues generated by the state and federal motor fuel taxes, the state and local governments have been unable to maintain, repair, reconstruct, operate, and improve surface transportation infrastructure in a strategic, timely, and efficient manner, which has already caused many bridges in the state to become structurally deficient or functionally obsolete and worsened the condition of road surfaces, delayed capacity expansion projects, and increased traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions; and (d) Because this decline in purchasing power is ongoing and becomes more severe with each passing year, the state and local governments will continue to be unable to maintain, repair, reconstruct, operate, and improve surface transportation infrastructure in a strategic, timely, and efficient manner, and the safety, efficiency, and environmental impact of the state's surface transportation system will worsen more quickly in the future if sufficient and sustainable funding sources for surface transportation cannot be found. (2) The general assembly further finds and declares that: (a) The national and state economic recession and attendant rise in unemployment represent additional short- to medium-term challenges for the state and all Coloradans; (b) There is an urgent present need to repair and replace structurally deficient and functionally obsolete bridges and improve highway safety in the state; (c) Increasing funding for designated bridge projects, preventative maintenance bridge projects, tunnel projects, and road safety projects in the short- and medium-term through the imposition of bridge and road safety surcharges, a bridge and tunnel impact fee, and other new fees at rates reasonably calculated based on the benefits received by the persons paying the fees will not only provide funding to complete the projects but will also accelerate the state's economic recovery by increasing bridge, tunnel, and road construction, repair, reconstruction, and maintenance activity, as well as related economic activity, and by employing significant numbers of Coloradans; (d) The creation of a statewide bridge and tunnel enterprise authorized to complete designated bridge projects, preventative maintenance bridge projects, and tunnel projects, to impose a bridge safety surcharge and a bridge and tunnel impact fee and issue revenue bonds, and, if required approvals are obtained, to contract with the state to receive one or more loans of money received by the state under the terms of one or more financed purchase of an asset or certificate of participation agreements authorized by this part 8 and to use the revenues generated by the bridge safety surcharge and the bridge and tunnel impact fee to repay any such loan or loans, will improve the safety and efficiency of the state transportation system by allowing the state to accelerate the repair, reconstruction, and replacement of structurally deficient, functionally obsolete, and rated as poor bridges, to perform preventative maintenance on bridges rated as fair and good, and to repair, maintain, and more safely operate tunnels; (e) The creation of a high-performance transportation enterprise with the authority and mission to seek out opportunities for innovative and efficient means of financing other important surface transportation infrastructure projects will ensure that such projects are also properly prioritized and accelerated; and (f) Granting the bridge enterprise and the transportation enterprise both responsibility for the completion, respectively, of designated bridge projects, preventative maintenance bridge projects, and tunnel projects and other important surface transportation projects and the flexibility to execute their respective missions in a variety of innovative ways will ensure that available resources for such projects are efficiently and effectively leveraged so that both the projects and the state's economic recovery can be completed as quickly as possible. (3) The general assembly further finds and declares that: (a) While it is necessary, appropriate, and in the best interests of the state to fund designated bridge projects, preventative maintenance bridge projects, tunnel projects, and highway safety projects and stimulate economic recovery in the short- and medium-term, the state must also develop a long-term strategy to provide sustainable long-term revenue streams dedicated for the construction of important surface transportation infrastructure projects and the continuing maintenance, repair, and reconstruction of the statewide surface transportation system that will: (I) Allow both the state and local governments to maintain, repair, reconstruct, and improve their transportation infrastructure in a strategic, timely, and efficient manner; and (II) Provide the state and local governments with the resources and flexibility to explore and invest in modern multimodal and demand-side transportation solutions that will help reduce traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions; (b) The specification of additional policies to be considered at all stages of the statewide transportation planning process and the establishment of an efficiency and accountability committee within the department of transportation will help to ensure that transportation planning is thorough, integrated, and strategic and that all funding dedicated for surface transportation is expended effectively.
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