Special Briefing: State and Local Infrastructure Spending Cutbacks Amid the COVID-19 Recession

Penn IUR and the Volcker Alliance will host an online briefing to discuss the outlook for state and local infrastructure spending as governments seek to balance budgets amid the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic and recession. Congressional inability to agree on further federal stimulus aid following passage of the $2 trillion Cares Act in March means states and municipalities are unlikely to see budgetary relief that would free up dollars for infrastructure at least until after the presidential election in November. So far in 2020, $9.6 billion in state and local transportation projects were delayed or cancelled as of August 11, while $141 billion worth of funding initiatives or ballot measures were vetoed, cancelled, or postponed, according to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association. More such actions appear imminent. In one recent survey of top local, state, and tribal officials, 70 percent said capital spending for new projects and maintenance face spending cuts. With states and municipalities providing 80 percent of US public infrastructure investment, our expert panel will discuss how the slowdown may affect the economy, jobs, and the municipal market.

Moderated by William Glasgall, Senior Vice President and Director of State and Local Initiatives, Volcker Alliance, and Penn IUR Co-Director Susan Wachter, this briefing will be the 14th in a series of 60-minute online conversations featuring experts from the Volcker Alliance’s national research network and Penn IUR, along with other leading academics, economists, and fiscal policy leaders from around the U.S.

This special briefing will feature presentations by Alison Premo Black, PhD, senior vice president and chief economist for the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA); Norman E. Brown, nonvoting member, Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors and legislative director, New York State Council of Machinists, Howard Cure, director of municipal bond research, Evercore Wealth Management; and Robert Poole, director of transportation policy and Searle Freedom Trust Transportation Fellow, Reason Foundation.