By Roland Murphy for AZBEX
The Maricopa Association of Governments has released the 2022 Annual Report on the Status of the Implementation of Proposition 400, a comprehensive review of the progress made on transportation projects funded under the half-cent sales tax most recently approved by Maricopa County voters in 2004.
According to the announcement on MAG’s website, “Valley residents have seen 410 new corridor miles of freeways, 252 miles of street projects, and millions of additional miles of bus service since the implementation of Proposition 400.”
MAG is required by law to produce the annual report and does so in cooperation with various transportation partners, including its member agencies, the Arizona Department of Transportation and Valley Metro.
Fiscal Year 2022 was a busy one for the group, which lists 11 Prop 400-funded projects as completed over the reporting cycle. “Notable Proposition 400 projects that were completed last year include the Loop 303 (Estrella Freeway) Happy Valley Road to Lake Pleasant Parkway freeway widening in the West Valley, reconstruction of the I-17 (Maricopa) at Central Avenue bridge in Phoenix, and Tempe Streetcar in the East Valley,” the announcement says.
Along with a detailed introduction and program overview, the report breaks out five primary areas of focus:
- The Regional Transportation Plan,
- The Half-cent Sales Tax and Other Regional Revenues,
- The Freeway Life Cycle Program,
- The Arterial Life Cycle Program, and
- The Transit Life Cycle Program.
We will leave it to the reader to delve into the deep content of the report and just summarize some of the major highlights here.
- FY 2022 Prop 400 receipts totaled approximately $664.8M, an increase of $107.3M over 2021.
- Because of retail sector growth FY2023-FY2026 Prop 400 revenues are expected to end up $362.3M higher than 2021 projections, with the latest estimate reaching $2.5B.
- ADOT revenues that are not part of the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act are expected to fall $14.5M below earlier projections for the same period, reaching just $1.6B.
- The Freeway Life Cycle Program is funded through Prop. 400, ADOT federal funds and state Highway User Revenue Funds. There were 10 FLCP projects completed, underway or advertised for bid in FY2022.
- The Arterial Life Cycle Program gets major funding from Prop. 400, federal highway programs and local matching funds. Projects are constructed by the various local agencies with MAG distributing reimbursements, which totaled $81.9M in reimbursements or obligations in FY2022.
- The Transit Life Cycle is maintained by the Regional Public Transportation Authority/Valley Metro and implements the transit projects included in the Regional Transportation Plan. According to the report summary, “Estimated future costs for the period of FY 2023–FY 2026 are in balance with project future funds available with a remainder of approximately $152M.” Much of the light rail and high-capacity transit project funding relies on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s discretionary Capital Investment Grants Program. Because the CIG funding is highly competitive, funding timelines and amounts are uncertain.
The Path to Renewal
As AZBEX readers will (hopefully) recall, we ran an extensive Special Coverage edition on Prop 400’s history, its impacts and its future back in October, dedicating more than 4,500 words – around half the total length of an average issue – to try to provide a comprehensive overview of one of the most important economic and infrastructure development efforts in Arizona history. Those columns are available here, here, here and here. (AZBEX, Oct. 14)
While we won’t spend nearly that volume here recycling what we produced a couple of months ago, here’s a quick recap in the interest of refreshing memories.
The current Prop 400 measure is due to expire at the end of 2025. MAG, agency partners, other stakeholders and the Arizona Legislature worked for years to put together renewal legislation that would extend the funding for another 25 years, an effort that resulted in a renewal proposition known as Prop 400E. Polls showed the Regional Transportation Plan had extensive public support, and the Legislature passed House Bill 2685 at the end of the regular session to put the measure on the ballot for voter approval in a special election next spring.
Gov. Doug Ducey’s approval was expected to be a mere formality, but he surprised nearly everyone who follows legislative and transportation activity by vetoing the bill. The governor’s stated reasons added little clarification. In his letter to the Secretary of State’s Office, he called the measure “a tax increase” because it sought a 25-year timeline instead of the previous 20, opposed the updated plan’s reduced focus on freeway projects, and implied it was unnecessary given the recent federal expansion of infrastructure funding.
Federal funding comes with local matching funds requirements, which Prop 400 would have provided.
The veto left MAG and its partners scrambling to find a new path forward to secure a renewal before the deadline. Projects with timelines extending beyond 2025 – such as the State Route 30 – Tres Rios freeway project in the West Valley – have already experienced billions of dollars in added cost estimates and extensive timeline delays because of the veto. (AZBEX, Oct. 11)
In announcing the annual report’s release, MAG Chair and Avondale Mayor Ken Weise said, “Maricopa County is one of the fastest growing areas of the country – both in terms of population and jobs. We need to build on the successes of Proposition 400 to ensure the Valley remains attractive to new residents, tourists and business interests looking to relocate to Arizona.”
We reached out to MAG Transportation Funding Policy Program Manager John Bullen for comment on the report and the current state of affairs concerning Prop 400E. Responding by email, Bullen said, “The Prop 400 report demonstrates all the progress that’s been made since 2005 through the dedicated half-cent sales tax. We’ve built 410 corridor miles of freeway, 252 miles of new or improved arterial roads, and funded millions of miles of bus transit service.”
He continued, “However, we need continued investment. The recent Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company expansion announcement is the perfect illustration: It’s going to be one of the largest foreign investments in United States history, but the only way we can support that economic activity is through the completion of needed transportation infrastructure improvements along Loop 303 and I-17 funded through an extension of Proposition 400.”
As we promised back in October, AZBEX will continue to monitor Prop 400 project activity and renewal efforts and continue our coverage as the situation advances.