Mica, R-Florida, told The Journal of Commerce that his top priority is to complete legislation to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration. Congress has passed 17 FAA extensions since Sept. 30, 2007, pending passage of a new aviation bill, "so I've got to get that out first," he said.

"But running parallel will be the surface and transit bill," said Mica. "The first thing I plan to do is a series of hearings around the country, and listening sessions, and we're going to start that probably about the 18th of February."

Federal highway and transit programs are continuing under their sixth short-term extension by Congress since the 2005 surface transportation authorization known as "SAFETEA-LU" expired Sept. 30, 2009. Current authority expires March 4. As the new House T&I Committee chairman, Mica will take the lead in crafting a reauthorization measure this year in the House.

While he did not give a target period for getting a bill through his committee or the House, Mica has previously said he wants to move legislation as early as possible in 2011 to prevent major initiatives getting caught up in the 2012 presidential election campaign.

Mica described his goals for surface transportation reauthorization: retool some current highway, bridge, and transit programs to save money; speed up projects to release funds already approved; spur greater use of infrastructure loans from existing federal government programs; and give more incentives to private firms to invest in transportation projects.

However, he said that "rather than me scribble out my ideas ... we're going to be listening; we're going to be soliciting good ideas" from others. "So we're going to take the effort on the road."

The T&I Committee has not yet announced the total number of and locations for the field hearings.

"I hope to have a whole list of new financing ideas and how we can cut some of the red tape, learning from people first-hand and also educating members" of the committee, Mica said.

He added that 19 of the T&I committee's 33 Republicans are new to the panel, "so we'll be in some of those districts and then we'll be around the country. And then we'll come back, we'll draft it -- in hopefully a bipartisan manner," then try to move the bill through Congress.

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold its first surface transportation reauthorization hearing this Congress on Jan. 26. American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials President Susan Martinovich, Nevada transportation director, is scheduled to testify. (see related story)