Of the 1.5 million miles that New Hampshire employees drove state cars for Non-Business Use last year, 1.1 million were in the Department of Transportation. The agency responsible for the Granite State’s roads and bridges has the largest number of vehicles in the state’s fleet, and by far the most of those cars and trucks outside of official business. But DOT officials insist that letting workers take state vehicles home at night can ultimately save taxpayers money.

Odd as it may sound, in the next big budget battle the state government could learn a lesson from Washington in how to balance our books. In transportation spending, the state government regularly plans on spending much more than it has available. The state should reverse this practice and turn the highway plan from a wish list back into a plan.

The federal government may make significant cutbacks to the gas taxes it sends back to New Hampshire but who can blame them? Last year, like most years, the Highway Trust Fund took in $35 billion of revenue but authorized spending of $50 billion. That tells you just about all you need to know about how Washington works.

January 2011 Charlie Arlinghaus on Understanding the State Budget and Current Shortfall. Grant Bosse presented on Growing State Debt Shortfall. Rep. David Campbell outlined State Transportation Spending . and Rep. Ken Hawkins explained The State Retirement System.   Please note that each file is a large pdf file and may take a few moments to [...]

Fewer New Hampshire drivers are paying a premium to customize their license plates, following a 60% increase in the fee. The New Hampshire Legislature increased the annual surcharge for customized plates from $25 to $40 as part of the 2009-2010 budget. The higher rate went into effect on August 1, 2009. One year after the fee increase, there were nearly 10,000 fewer vehicles with premium New Hampshire license plates. This drop-off represents a small fraction of car owners, as the percentage of vehicles with vanity plates has fallen from 14.8% to 14.3% of all cars on the road.

The transportation plan endorsed by the Senate budget writers and the governor is a radical scheme that ends the requirement to spend toll revenue maintaining toll roads so they can transfer tens of millions of dollars each year out of the turnpike fund. It is the most cynical of public policies and the worst of the three options currently before policymakers.

With a little luck, President Obama will save us from ourselves and derail the train project we can’t afford but are eager to pursue.

This is the 400 line spreadsheet explaining the stimulus compromise put out by Sen. Nelson (D-Neb). The Washington Post chart graphically illustrating the details can be accessed here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2009/02/01/GR2009020100154.html

The department of transportation’s list of potential projects to be paid for with the potential federal bailout is compared to the the state’s ten year transportation plan and the “redlist” of bridges to be repaired. Author also suggests two alternatives that would align with already established state priorities.

Four hundred forty million dollars will consume, for a decade or more, practically every bit of highway money in the state of New Hampshire. Dozens of other projects, equally needed to accommodate growth and enhance safety, will be pushed aside. Most disturbing, a widened I-93 will bring rapid growth to 50 or 60 communities in southern and central New Hampshire, but the $440 million price tag will preclude or delay dozens of local highway improvements needed to accommodate the growth. The result, once you leave the interstate, will be more congestion, more delays, and less safety. If widening I-93 is necessary but dumb as proposed, is there a better alternative?