Amendment to Senate Version of Highway Bill Contains Water Infrastructure Bonding Provision

During the markup of the Senate Finance Committee’s portion of the Surface Transportation bill, Sen. Menendez (D-NJ) offered a version of the AGC-supported legislation exempting water and wastewater infrastructure from the private activity bond volume cap as an amendment. The amendment was accepted on a voice vote, because it wasn’t controversial enough to require a roll call vote and AGC is hopeful that the bill will pass.  The Menendez amendment lifts the volume cap – the amount of tax-exempt financing available for certain projects – on private activity bonds for water and wastewater projects and permits Indian tribes to issue tax-exempt private activity bonds for water infrastructure.  This move is projected to open up $2-5 billion annually in private capital for water infrastructure projects, often in the form of public-private partnerships. AGC supports this policy as a critical element in securing access to all available funding for water infrastructure. For more information, contact Scott Berry at (703) 837-5321 or berrys@agc.org