The Federal Council is calling for improvements to the Infrastructure Future Act.

The Federal Council has issued a critical assessment of the Federal Government's draft Infrastructure Future Act. The law on state modernization falls short of the states' expectations.

The German Federal Council criticizes the draft for the Infrastructure Future Act of the Federal governmentThe aim is to significantly simplify, digitize, and accelerate the planning and approval of construction projects. The states generally welcome the government's objective. However, the draft legislation only addresses four of the 52 measures from the catalog of the federal-state process for public sector modernization and thus falls short of the states' expectations. The draft primarily serves a political and clarifying purpose but would not noticeably speed up the procedures. Significantly more new regulations and amendments are needed for that.

Stellungnahme. detailed statement by the Federal Council.The states are missing measures to simplify and accelerate replacement construction projects, especially for bridges, for which the draft only declares a special public interest. It is also important to consider state-owned port infrastructure and its relevance to military logistics. Many planned projects lack sufficient funding. This applies to both the amount of budgetary resources and their allocation. Since infrastructure projects typically take several years, but budgetary resources are subject to the annual principle, long-term planning certainty is often lacking.

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Budget cuts or reallocations during the budget process led to adjustments in ongoing projects or delays in new initiatives. Therefore, the Federal Council is calling for a cross-modal infrastructure fund. In their detailed statement, comprising well over 100 points, the states also identify areas where technical amendments and additions are needed to the planned regulations. The Federal Government can now respond to the proposed amendments and the states' criticisms. The draft legislation will then go to the Bundestag. If the Bundestag passes the law, it will return to the Federal Council.

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