Transportation impact fees are now being considered in communities throughout Florida and have recently been enacted in four Florida counties. In view of its obvious appeal, this new tax is expected to be the subject of experiment by communities throughout the country. The purpose of this paper was to exploi: e this new source of transportation revenue by using the Florida experience as a point of departure. Judicial standards on which impact fees are based are discussed, and a fee system that has become a model in Florida, having survived judicial challenge, is examined in some detail. A means to estimate the economic incidence of an impact fee is demonstrated and the use of the impact fee as a growth management tool is examined.

Government at all levels faces financial uncertainties. During the 1970s, the r1s1ng cost of government was attributed to a combination of general inflation and rapid increases in the cost of energy. Although the pressure of these factors has abated in recent years, it remains, particularly in urban areas experiencing rapid growth. The Reagan administration shift to federalism has reduced revenue pass through for state and local governments. At the same time, pressure to further relieve the property tax has intensified as controls like Proposition 13 abound throughout the country. This has resulted in a search by local government for alternative revenue sources. In response to this search, local governments