Budgeting and Appropriations | Biennial enactment of two 12-month budgets; fiscal year begins July 1. The budget of the Highway Fund is recommended by the governor and goes through the full legislative process. The distribution of the Highway Trust Fund is determined by statute, the Board of Transportation and NCDOT. |
Bonding or Pay-as-You-Go | Combination of bonding and pay-as-you-go financing. |
State-Level Funding Provided for DOT Budgets | FY 2011 (approved): $2.72 billion |
Allocation of Federal Transportation Funds to the DOT | Federal transportation funds flow directly to NCDOT from the U.S. DOT, with no state legislative involvement. These funds generally are project specific, and individual projects typically have no legislative involvement. |
Allocation of State Transportation Funds to the DOT | All state spending must be authorized by appropriation as part of the budget approved by the General Assembly, either at the agency, program or category, or project-specific level. Highway projects are selected by NCDOT, while many transit and rail projects or programs are approved as part of the legislative appropriation process. |
Traditional State Funding and Finance for Highways | Fuel taxes; motor vehicle/rental car sales taxes; vehicle registration/license/title fees; truck weight fees; tolls; interest income; general obligation bonds. The motor fuel excise tax includes a variable component based on average wholesale price (see N.C. Gen. Stat. §105-449.80). The first toll road project of the North Carolina Turnpike Authority-which operates as a separate business unit within NCDOT-is set to open in 2011. |
State Funding and Finance for Other Modes | Transit, rail, aviation and bridges: Funded by the same revenue sources as certain highways through the multimodal Highway Fund, which is fed by fuel taxes, vehicle registration/license/title fees, truck weight fees and interest income. Ports: General funds (not under NCDOT). |
Innovative Transportation Funding and Finance | GARVEE bonds; federal credit assistance (TIFIA); state infrastructure bank (federally capitalized); PPPs (authorized in statute with legislative approval requirements); design-build (authorized in statute, used as a component of at least three projects); traffic camera fees; tapered matching; advance construction. |
Dedicated/Restricted State Funds and Revenues | The state has two transportation funds: The multimodal Highway Fund and the Highway Trust Fund. The Highway Fund receives revenues from various transportation-related sources-including fuel taxes-and is used for maintenance, transit and rail, aviation, ferries, the Division of Motor Vehicles, the State Highway Patrol, local aid and secondary road improvement. The budget of the Highway Fund is recommended by the governor and goes through the full legislative process. Some continuing appropriations from this fund, however, are determined by statute (see N.C. Gen. Stat. §§136-16.4 et seq.). The second fund, the Highway Trust Fund, receives funds from fuel taxes, motor vehicle use taxes, titling fees and interest. It is a construction budget for certain highways, local aid, secondary road improvement and toll road construction. Distribution of the Highway Trust Fund is determined by statute (N.C. Gen. Stat. §136-176), although the General Assembly sometimes overrides the statutes during the appropriations process. Specific projects for the trust fund are selected by the Board of Transportation and NCDOT. |
DOT Authorized to Retain Surplus Funds | Excess funds revert to the funds from which they came-the Highway Fund or the Highway Trust Fund-and are available for expenditure. |
Legislative Approval Required to Move Funds Between Projects | Yes and no. Generally, legislative approval is required for transit and rail projects that have specific appropriations, but not for highway projects that are selected by NCDOT |
Transportation Funding Allocations through Local Aid | The state provides aid to eligible municipalities from the Highway Fund and the Highway Trust Fund. These so-called Powell Bill funds are appropriated by statutory formula based on population and road mileage (N.C. Gen. Stat. §§136-41.1 et seq., §136-176 and §136-181). The funds must be used for streets, bikeways or sidewalks (N.C. Gen. Stat. §136-41.3). North Carolina has a centralized transportation funding system, and secondary roads are built and maintained by NCDOT; there are no county road departments. |