Shant Boyajian Comments on What to Watch in 2024

Shant Boyajian was quoted in the Law360 article, “Transportation Regulation & Legislation To Watch In 2024” (subscription required). The piece examines several of the transportation industry's top priorities to watch in 2024, including infrastructure funding, electric vehicle initiatives, emissions-curbing measures and a number of new safety regulations.

Addressing infrastructure investment, Law360 cites the Biden administration in noting that nearly $400 billion in project funds and awards have been announced in the two years since the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) was signed. Law360 writes that the IIJA “...provided $550 billion over fiscal years 2022 through 2026 in new federal investments in roads, bridges, mass transit, water infrastructure, climate resilience and broadband.” And, “...with 2024 serving as the halfway point, it's likely that infrastructure again will be a topic of discussion during the high-stakes election year.”

Commenting for the article, Shant noted, “While the IIJA provides funding through fiscal year 2026, policymakers in Congress are likely to begin preparing for reauthorization of the federal infrastructure programs in 2024.”  He continued, “Congress is unlikely to take overt action on reauthorization in 2024, particularly given the election, but policymakers will begin to lay the groundwork for reauthorization, which will be a key priority in 2025.”

Shant also addressed the issue of defining “infrastructure” for the purposes of the next reauthorization. He noted, “The IIJA expanded the categories of infrastructure funded, so a big question will be whether the next reauthorization takes the broad view and provides funding for broadband, water and grid infrastructure, for example, in addition to transportation infrastructure, or whether Congress takes a more constrained approach.”