Local Assistance Federal-Aid Funds

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Local Assistance Federal-Aid Funds

• John Flores
• Division of Local Assistance
• Office of Resource Management and STIP
• Subvention Management Branch
• [phone]
• John_T_Flores_at_dot.ca.gov

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Overview

• Borrowing Apportionments from other MPOs
• Rescissions
• Obligation Authority (OA) vs. Apportionments
• Tools Available for Managing OA Apportionments
• Obligation Authority Management Policy

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Borrowing Apportionments from other MPOs

• Regions can loan/transfer unobligated
  apportionments to other Regions via Memorandums
  of Understanding (MOUs).
• Can provide a Region with needed apportionments
  to deliver a project in a current year that
  otherwise would have to wait.
• Can reduce a Regions unobligated balances until a
  future year payback when the funds are expected
  to be needed.
• AB 1012
• Rescission

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Borrowing Apportionments from other MPOs
(Continued)

• Key components of MOUs
• Names of Regions involved
• Specific amount of Loan/Transfer and effective
  date
• Fund type(s)/program(s)
• If known, amount of current federal fiscal year
  (FFY) funds
• Repayment information what FFY(s) how much
  what fund type.
• Paragraph stating the Regions responsibility to
  initiate repayment by contacting the Caltrans
  Division of Local Assistance (DLA)
• Signed by participating Regional Directors

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Borrowing Apportionments from other MPOs
(Continued)

• Issues
• If Loan/Transfer includes any current FFY funds,
  then the MOU should address the Programming
  capacity and the transfer of Programming
  capacity.
• If the FTIP is affected, the FTIP needs to be
  adjusted to maintain financial constraint.

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Rescission of Federal-Aid Funds(for this
discussion these are NOT the off-the-top
adjustments/rescissions)

• FHWA can issue a rescission notice(s) during the
  FFY.
• Typically we have one or two rescissions of
  unobligated apportionments per FFY.
• The amount of the rescission can vary
  significantly depending on the authority for the
  specific rescission.
• Rescissions to the unobligated apportionments are
  not to the OA and typically those apportionments
  are in excess of the current OA limitation.
• FHWA typically requires California to respond to
  the rescission request within 10 to 30 days of
  the date of the FHWA rescission notice.

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Rescission of Federal-Aid Funds(Continued)

• Rescission Methodologies
• FHWA can take the rescission off the top with
  little to no discretion by California and/or DLA.
  However, for this discussion we are addressing
  the rescission of unobligated apportionments
  where FHWA gives the States some discretion in
  applying the rescissions.
• FHWA can exempt programs as provided in law.
• Which means the remaining eligible programs
  would make up the rescission.

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Rescission of Federal-Aid Funds(Continued)

• Rescission Methodologies (Continued)
• Caltrans DLA works with the Division of Budgets
  to determine the DLA share of the rescission.
• DLA Establishes methodology to implement
  rescission based on DLA share and the FHWA notice
  instructions.
• DLA We have a rescission workgroup tasked with
  addressing rescission issues/implementation.
• DLA favors a methodology that is consistent with
  a priority of 100 DLA delivery of the
  federal-aid funds each year.

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Rescission of Federal-Aid Funds(Continued)

• For the DLA Federal-Aid unobligated apportionment
  rescissions since FFY 2003 the majority has come
  from the Bridge and CMAQ programs.
• The RSTP Urban, Safety, and Safe Routes to School
  Program have been excluded from the rescissions.

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Obligation Authority (OA) vs. Apportionment
Both are necessary to obligate a federal-aid
project

• Apportionment - The statutorily prescribed
  division or assignment of funds
• Current Year apportionments are added to any
  unused, unobligated balances from prior year
• Subject to timely use of funds (AB 1012) and
  federal lapse requirements
• Does not reflect actual, expendable funds.

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Obligation Authority (OA) vs. Apportionment
(Continued)

• Obligation Authority - A federal limitation
  placed on the amount of funds that a state can
  obligate within a given fiscal year.
• Applies to total funds that can be obligated
  regardless of FFY they were received.
• Does not carry forward to subsequent years
  (however, see DLA OA management policy).

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Tools Available for Managing OA Apportionments

• Chapter 2 Local Assistance Program Guidelines
  (Financing the Federal-Aid Highway Program)
• http//www.dot.ca.gov/hq/LocalPrograms/lam/lapg.ht
  m
• Internet AB 1012 Monthly Balance Reports
• http//www.dot.ca.gov/hq/LocalPrograms/AB1012/ab10
  12.htm
• Internet RSTP and CMAQ Monthly Activity Reports
• http//www.dot.ca.gov/hq/LocalPrograms/CMAQ_RSTP_R
  _TEA/MARS.html
• Internet OA Monthly Delivery Balance Reports
• http//www.dot.ca.gov/hq/LocalPrograms/DROAF.htm
• District Local Assistance Engineers, HQ Area
  Engineers, Subvention Management staff

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Obligation Authority Management Policy

• The Policy and Procedures for Managing Local
  Assistance Obligation Authority (OA) was
  implemented on April 12, 2005, effective for the
  2004-05 FFY.
• The latest revision to the OA management policy
  was January 26, 2009 to change the annual release
  of OA to the local OA Pool from June 1 to May 1.
• link to document http//www.dot.ca.gov/hq/LocalP
  rograms/AB1012/PDFS/memo.pdf
• Provides that Regions/Programs can carry-over
  OA to next FFY. But only if DLA delivers 100 in
  current FFY. At the federal level OA is ONLY
  available for the current FFY.

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QUESTIONS?????????