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U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

N 4510.448

Notice
Subject
ALLOCATION OF FISCAL YEAR (FY) 2001 FUNDS FOR HIGHWAY USE TAX EVASION PROJECTS
Classification Code Date Office of Primary Interest
N 4510.448 November 22, 2000 HPTS

 

EXPIRATION DATE: June 30, 2001
  1. What is the purpose of this Notice? This Notice allocates funds to the States for highway use tax evasion projects authorized for FY 2001 pursuant to Title 23, U.S.C. Section 143 and Section 1101 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) (Pub. L. 105-178), and provides obligation authority for these funds. See Attachment 1.
  2. What is the availability of these funds?
    1. The funds resulting from this allocation, as shown in Attachment 2, are available, up to the limitation amount, for obligation until June 30, 2001, at which time any amounts not obligated will be withdrawn. The funds are being made available to the States that have expended and billed the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for all but 1 year's allocation of Tax Evasion Project funds, $100,000 for task force lead States, and $50,000 for the member States.
    2. Obligation authority is provided for 100 percent of the amount allocated to the States by this Notice. The obligation authority being distributed by this Notice is to support the obligation of "nonformula" funds. Division Administrators should ensure that this obligation authority is included in any required notification of the status of funds obligated in FY 2001.
    3. The Federal share for projects authorized with these funds is 100 percent.
    4. The program code for these funds is Q96, and the project prefix is TCP.
  3. What is the authority for these funds? Section 1101(a)(14) of TEA-21 authorized $5,000,000 to be obligated for Highway Use Tax Evasion Projects under 23 U.S.C. Section 143 for FY 2001. Most of the funds authorized are reserved for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for the development and operation of an automated fuel tracking system. The balance of the funds is being allocated to the States, primarily to support continued participation in regional motor fuel tax enforcement task forces.
  4. What is the background concerning these funds? Nine regional motor fuel tax enforcement task forces have been created under the coordination and leadership of the IRS District Offices and State revenue agencies in the lead States of California, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, and Texas. FHWA Notice N 4510.427 allocated FY 2000 funds at $30,088 to the lead States and $15,044 to other States that had expended and billed FHWA for all but 1 year's allocation of prior funds. All States receiving FY 2000 funds under this Act obligated these available funds by September 30, 2000.
  5. What are the project requirements?
    1. All FY 2001 funds allocated with this Notice shall be identified under program code Q96 and will follow the same Form FHWA-37 reporting procedures previously established for appropriation code 94C in the February 7, 1991, memorandum to the Chief of the Program Analysis Division, subject: "FMIS Manual Prepublication Notification." Funds are available at 100 percent Federal share to the State agency responsible for enforcement of motor fuel taxes. However, as specified in 23 U.S.C. 143(b)(5), States wishing to receive funds for tax evasion projects must certify that the aggregate expenditure of funds of the State, exclusive of Federal funds, for motor fuel tax enforcement activities will be maintained at a level that does not fall below the average level of such expenditures for the last 2 fiscal years. To receive funding under this program, the State revenue agency responsible for enforcing State motor fuel taxes shall comply with the procedures established for this program published in the Federal Register, dated October 9, 1998, (Attachment 3). This includes signing the Memorandum of Understanding agreeing to participate in at least one of the regional motor fuel tax enforcement task forces, preparing a project budget, complying with intergovernmental review requirements, and signing the Project Agreement.
    2. Payments to the States will follow normal Federal-aid procedures. These projects will use normal accounting codes for State projects, that is, object code 4105.
  6. What action is required? The Division Administrator may approve projects by signing the Project Agreement, Form FHWA-1548, Rev. 8/25/99 (Attachment 4), for those States that have not received tax compliance funds under TEA-21. States that have already signed a Project Agreement to include project funds in FYs 1998, 1999, or 2000, allocated by FHWA Notices N 4501.401, N 4510.414, or N 4510.427, respectively, shall sign the revised Amended Project Agreement, Form FHWA-1549, Rev. 11/25/98 (Attachment 5). In each case, one copy, with original signatures, shall be returned to the State, and one copy, with original signatures, shall be retained in the Division Office. The period of performance may also be extended, as needed, when the State and Division Offices sign the Amended Project Agreement.

 

Wykle signature

Kenneth R. Wykle
Federal Highway Administrator