| Budgeting and Appropriations | Annual budget for large state agencies (such as ADOT), biennial enactment of two 12-month budgets for all others; fiscal year begins July 1. |
| Bonding or Pay-as-You-Go | The State Transportation Board has exclusive authority to issue revenue bonds for financing needed transportation improvements in the state. |
| State-Level Funding Provided for DOT Budgets | FY |
| Allocation of Federal Transportation Funds to the DOT | Federal transportation funds flow directly to ADOT from the U.S. DOT with no state legislative involvement. |
| Allocation of State Transportation Funds to the DOT | State transportation funds are allocated to ADOT as a legislative appropriation at the agency level. |
| Traditional State Funding and Finance for Highways | Fuel taxes; motor vehicle/rental car sales taxes; vehicle registration/license/title fees; truck weight fees; interest income; transportation excise tax in Maricopa County, some of the proceeds of which are deposited to the ADOT-administered Maricopa County Regional Area Road Fund; revenue bonds. |
| State Funding and Finance for Other Modes | Aviation: Aviation fuel tax; flight property tax; aircraft registration fees; interest income; miscellaneous other income. Bridges: Highway User Revenue Fund (HURF) funds to match federal funds. Transit: General funds; lottery. ADOT receives only very limited general funds for transit (around $50,000 per year) and none for other transportation purposes. |
| Innovative Transportation Funding and Finance | GARVEE bonds; state infrastructure bank (federally capitalized); PPPs (authorized in statute); design-build (authorized in statute through Dec. 31, 2025; used as a component of at least two projects); impact fees; advance construction; board funding obligations. Traffic camera fees were eliminated in 2010. |
| Dedicated/Restricted State Funds and Revenues | The state constitution dedicates revenues from vehicle-related or fuel taxes and fees-but not the automobile license tax-to highway and street purposes, including state enforcement of traffic laws, state administration of traffic safety programs and publication of Arizona Highways magazine (Ariz. Const, art. IX, §14). These revenues are deposited into the Highway User Revenue Fund (HURF) (Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. §28-6533). In recent years, however, HURF funds have been diverted to the general fund. ADOT receives its main state highway funding from the HURF via the State Highway Fund, distribution of which is governed by Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§28-6534 et seq. Use of the Aviation Fund is restricted to publicly owned and operated airports (Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. §28-8202). Maricopa County transportation excise tax revenues are dedicated to freeways, arterials and transit (Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. §42-6105(E)). |
| DOT Authorized to Retain Surplus Funds | Yes. Unspent operating budget appropriations revert to the State Highway Fund or Aviation Fund, each of which is administered by ADOT. |
| Legislative Approval Required to Move Funds Between Projects | No legislative approval required. |
| Transportation Funding Allocations through Local Aid | ADOT allocates State Highway Fund discretionary funds (state and federal) to counties based on established percentages. The state treasurer distributes a portion of the Highway User Revenue Fund (HURF) to counties, cities and towns by statutory formulas based on population and fuel sales (Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§28-6534 et seq.). The ADOT director distributes a portion of the Vehicle License Tax to cities, counties and towns by a statutory formula based on population (Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. §28-5808). The state also distributes slightly more than $10 million per year to cities, towns and counties for public or special needs transit. |