HF 2215 (LSB 5267YH (5) 86)

HOUSE FILE 2215

BY  WILLS

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the manner in which federal and state moneys are used for road and bridge construction projects.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 313.4, subsection 1, Code 2016, is amended by adding the following new paragraph:
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  c.  The commission, after consultation with the department of workforce development and stakeholders, including regional planning affiliations, metropolitan planning organizations, the Iowa state association of counties, and the Iowa league of cities, may periodically allocate road use tax fund moneys from the primary road fund for the establishment, construction, and maintenance of the secondary road system and municipal street system in counties and cities where the local average wage for a construction worker is lower than or equal to the statewide average wage for a construction worker in exchange for retaining all or a portion of federal aid road funds that would otherwise be allocated to those counties and cities.
    Sec. 2.  Section 313.4, Code 2016, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  5A.  a.  Subject to the requirements of this chapter, and to the extent possible, the commission and the department, in consultation with the department of workforce development, shall prioritize the use of federal aid primary and urban road moneys in the fund for primary road and bridge construction projects in areas of the state where the local average wage for a construction worker is higher than the statewide average wage for a construction worker, and shall prioritize the use of road use tax fund moneys in the fund for primary road and bridge construction projects in areas of the state where the local average wage for a construction worker is lower than the statewide average wage for a construction worker. 
   b.  This subsection shall not apply to federal aid primary and urban road moneys appropriated for a purpose inconsistent with this subsection.
   c.  A project that receives additional federal aid primary and urban road moneys from the fund pursuant to this subsection shall have its allocation of road use tax fund moneys from the fund reduced by the same amount, and a project that receives additional road use tax fund moneys from the fund pursuant to this subsection shall have its allocation of federal aid primary and urban road moneys from the fund reduced by the same amount, such that no project receives more or less moneys as a result of this subsection. This paragraph “c” shall not apply to the receipt of more or less moneys to account for the difference in the cost of labor due to the addition or absence of wage requirements imposed as a condition of receiving the moneys used for the project. 
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with

the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill allows the state transportation commission (STC), after consultation with the department of workforce development (DWD) and stakeholders, including regional planning affiliations, metropolitan planning organizations, the Iowa state association of counties, and the Iowa league of cities, to allocate moneys from the primary road fund (PRF) for the establishment, construction, and maintenance of the secondary road system and municipal street system in counties and cities where the local average wage for a construction worker is lower than or equal to the statewide average wage for a construction worker in exchange for retaining all or a portion of federal aid road funds that would otherwise be allocated to those counties and cities.
   In addition, the bill requires the STC and the department of transportation, in consultation with the DWD, to prioritize the use of federal aid primary and urban road moneys in the PRF for primary road and bridge construction projects in areas of the state where the local average wage for a construction worker is higher than the statewide average wage for a construction worker, and to prioritize the use of road use tax fund moneys in the PRF for primary road and bridge construction projects in areas of the state where the local average wage for a construction worker is lower than the statewide average wage for a construction worker.
   The bill does not apply to federal aid primary and urban road moneys appropriated for a purpose inconsistent with the provisions of the bill.
   The bill requires a project that receives additional federal aid primary and urban road moneys from the PRF to have its allocation of road use tax fund moneys from the PRF reduced by the same amount, and a project that receives additional road use tax fund moneys from the PRF to have its allocation of federal aid primary and urban road moneys from the PRF reduced by the same amount, such that no project receives more or less moneys as a result of the bill. This provision does not apply to the receipt of more or less moneys to account for the difference in the cost of labor due to the addition or absence of wage requirements imposed as a condition of receiving the moneys used for the project.