FY 2015 Federal-Aid Highway Funding Update

On October 1, 2014, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued three notices to states on federal fiscal year (FY) 2015 funding for highway programs. It released partial FY 2015 apportionments for major highway programs based on Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21^st Century Act (MAP-21, P.L. 112-141), extended by the Highway and Transportation Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-159). FHWA also provided states with their FY 2015 obligation limitations under the Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2015 (CR, P.L. 113-164). While the apportionments inform states of their authorized amounts, the total amount of obligations that can be incurred in a given year is determined by the appropriations process. Since the CR runs until December 11, 2014, states have access to only a portion (19.7%) of their annual obligation limitation.

In addition, the FHWA notices identify states subject to highway safety penalties, which require them to transfer a portion of their funds to highway safety activities. Like last year, a special apportionment for the High Risk Rural Road (HRRR) safety program is required for some states. Under MAP-21, states whose fatality rate on rural roads increases over a two-year period must obligate a portion of their Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) funds to the HRRR program.

A separate notice informed states of their reductions in National Highway Performance Program (NHPP) funds as a result of Budget Control Act (BCA) sequestration effective on October 1, 2014, for FY 2015.