BY REP. TODD CARVER
Last week I voted against HB 948, which has been dubbed the PAVE Act. It was brought forward by a member of the Mecklenburg County legislative delegation. If it passes the Senate and is signed by Gov. Josh Stein, HB 948 would allow Mecklenburg County to place a referendum on the ballot this fall asking voters there to raise the sales tax in Mecklenburg County by 1 cent. The tax would only affect those sales in Mecklenburg County. So why would I oppose this measure?
It is estimated the additional 1-cent sales tax would generate approximately $1.3 billion for Mecklenburg County to spend on transportation projects. The funds would be divided between rail, bus and road projects. The referendum will have to be passed by the voters of Mecklenburg, which is not a sure thing due to a dispute over how to distribute the money.
I voted against the bill is because Iredell, Mecklenburg and other counties compete for state and federal transportation dollars through the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). In this program all needed transportation projects are ranked in a data-driven process called Strategic Prioritization. The fear I and other opponents of HB 948 have is that with the additional revenue stream Mecklenburg would be able to “spike the STIP.”
In fairness to the other side of this debate, there are provisions that would limit the amount of additional funding Mecklenburg County could add to a project to improve that project’s STIP score. There is a 5 percent limit on the added funding that be used to boost the STIP scoring model. This brings me to the heart of the problem. Local governments can contribute to an intersection or highway project to improve the STIP scoring the project receives, thereby bumping the project up in the “strategic prioritization.” This is also referred to as spiking the STIP, and it’s why I could not support the bill.
I am fully aware that we need to spend more on transportation in North Carolina and in Iredell County. The money is simply not there to spend without changes to the current funding formula. If the people of Mecklenburg vote to approve this measure, I will say more power to you. The problem is it will give them more power to compete against Iredell County for those much-needed transportation dollars. I am not opposed to Charlotte having nice roads; I just believe the playing field should be level for everyone when it comes to competing for those projects.
No doubt someone reading this will say something to the effect of “You could solve the transportation problem with impact fees on developers who bring traffic to our roads and children to our schools.” I want to preemptively say that impact fees have been passed in North Carolina and ruled unconstitutional by our courts. There are other solutions out there, but impact fees and giving one county an advantage over another are not the solutions that will improve transportation for all of us.
Rep. Todd Carver represents the 95th District in the N.C. House. Email him at todd.carver@ncleg.gov.