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RESOLUTION OPPOSING THE WHITE HOUSE�S PROPOSED FISCAL YEAR 2018 BUDGET CUTS AND ELIGIBILITY LIMITATIONS TO THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION�S CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRANT PROGRAM FOR NEW STARTS PROJECTS; AND URGING PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS, AND THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO PRESERVE THE CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRANT PROGRAM FOR NEW STARTS PROJECTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018 AND SUBSEQUENT FISCAL YEARS AT HISTORICAL AVERAGE YEARLY APPROPRIATIONS, AND TO PRESERVE GRANT ELIGIBILITY BEYOND JUST THOSE JURISDICTIONS WITH EXISTING FULL FUNDING AGREEMENTS

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WHEREAS, the Federal Transit Administration�s Capital Investment Grant (�CIG�) program provides funding for fixed guideway investments such as new and expanded rapid rail, commuter rail, light rail, streetcars, bus rapid transit, and ferries, as well as corridor-based bus rapid transit investments that emulate the features of rail; and
WHEREAS, New Starts projects are a category of CIG eligible projects; and
WHEREAS, New Starts projects are defined as new fixed guideway projects or extensions to existing fixed guideway systems with a total estimated capital cost of $300 million or more, or that are seeking $100 million or more in CIG program funds; and
WHEREAS, the cost of design and construction of new fixed-guideways or extensions to fixed guideways (projects that operate on a separate right-of-way exclusively for public transportation, or that include a rail or a catenary system) are eligible for New Starts funding; and
WHEREAS, on March 16, 2017, the White House released the Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Blueprint (�Budget�); and
WHEREAS, the proposed Budget would cut the United States Department of Transportation�s budget by $2.4 billion, or 13 percent, to $16.2 billion; and
WHEREAS, the proposed Budget would also limit future New Starts funding to projects with already existing full funding grant agreements; and
WHEREAS, no new mass transit projects would be eligible for New Starts funding; and
WHEREAS, funding the development of transit infrastructure is critical to improving the chronic traffic congestion in Miami-Dade County; and
WHEREAS, the proposed budget cuts, if adopted could jeopardize the Strategic Miami Area Rapid Transit (�SMART�) Plan, an initiative to advance six rapid transit corridors in order to implement critical mass transit projects in Miami-Dade County; and
WHEREAS, this Board wishes to express the importance of investing in mass transit projects in Miami-Dade County and throughout the country and urges that New Starts funding projects be persevered and not limited to local governments with existing full funding agreements as proposed,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that this Board:
Section 1. Approves the foregoing recitals, which are incorporated herein by reference.
Section 2. Opposes the White House�s proposed Fiscal Year 2018 Budget cuts and eligibility limitations to the Federal Transit Administration�s Capital Investment Grant Program for New Starts projects.
Section 3. Urges President Donald Trump, the United States Congress, and the United States Department of Transportation to preserve the Capital Investment Grant Program for New Starts projects for Fiscal Year 2018 and subsequent Fiscal Years at historical average yearly appropriations, and to preserve grant eligibility beyond just those jurisdictions with existing full funding agreements.
Section 4. Directs the Clerk of this Board to send a certified copy of this resolution to the President of the United States, the Florida Congressional Delegation, the United States Secretary of Transportation, and the Executive Director of the Federal Transit Administration.
Section 5. Directs the County�s federal lobbyists to advocate for the actions set forth in Sections 2 and 3 above, and authorizes and directs the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs to amend the 2017 Federal Legislative Package to include this item.