Write Up:

State and federal revenue budgets help MoDOT staff do a better job of budgeting limited funds for its operations and capital program. The target is for actual revenue to match budgets with no variance.

The actual state revenue for roads and bridges from motor fuel taxes, motor vehicle sales taxes, motor vehicle driver’s licensing fees and miscellaneous fees was 5.5% more than budgeted through the first quarter of fiscal year 2021. Most of the variance is related to higher-than-projected revenue from motor vehicle sales taxes. The negative variance of 0.9% for non-highway modes is attributed to lower than projected revenue from jet fuel sales tax.

The actual federal revenue for roads and bridges was 6.1% more than budgeted for federal FY 2020. The negative variance of 53.5% for non-highway modes is attributable to the timing of project expenditures.

The largest source of transportation revenue is from the federal government. Funding is received through various federal transportation agencies including Federal Highway, Transit, Aviation and Railroad Administrations. In December 2015, Congress passed a five-year federal transportation reauthorization act entitled Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act. The FAST Act increases the amount of road and bridge funding for all state departments of transportation. Federal revenue for other modes is reliant on the timing of project expenditures.

The primary source of federal and state revenue is motor fuel tax. The motor fuel tax rates have not changed in more than 20 years, while the cost for materials and labor have doubled or even tripled in the same time frame.

Purpose of the Measure:

This measure shows the precision of state and federal revenue budgets.

Measurement and Data Collection:

State revenue for roads and bridges include motor fuel taxes, motor vehicle and driver licensing fees, motor vehicle sales taxes paid by highway users, interest earnings and miscellaneous revenues. State revenue for other modes includes motor vehicle sales taxes, aviation fuel taxes, jet fuel sales taxes, motor vehicle licensing fees, railroad assessments and appropriations from General Revenue and interest earnings. The measure provides the cumulative, year-to-date percent variance of actual state revenue versus budgeted state revenue by state fiscal year. Federal revenue for roads and bridges is the amount of federal funds available to commit in a federal fiscal year. Federal funds are distributed to states in accordance with federal law. Federal revenue for other modes is the amount reimbursed to MoDOT for expenses incurred in a state fiscal year.

The targets set for this measure are set by internal policy and will not change unless policy changes, regardless of performance.