Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
On March 4 and 5, the House voted to pass two landmark transportation finance bills just days before Gov. Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The related bills would make substantial investments in transportation systems and infrastructure across the Commonwealth, including a boost for the Chapter 90 local road and bridge program.
By vote of 150-1, the House approved an $18 billion bond bill authorizing targeted spending on state and local transportation needs over 10 years. The House also passed, 113-40, a major tax bill projected to generate more than half a billion dollars per year in new revenue for transportation.
The House’s bond bill would provide a 50% increase for Chapter 90, to $300 million for a one-year authorization, a provision that was added by House leadership. Earlier versions of the bill, including the transportation bond bill filed by the governor last summer and those released subsequently by various legislative committees, would have level-funded Chapter 90 at $200 million. An increase in state aid for local roads and bridges has been a top priority of the MMA for many years.
Before COVID-19 hit Massachusetts, Senate leaders had been planning to unveil their own transportation package. With state leaders now focused on the public health emergency, however, it is unclear when legislators will be able to return to transportation finance.
On March 5, members of the MMA Policy Committee on Public Works, Transportation and Public Utilities visited the State House to speak with legislators about the importance of Chapter 90 funding to maintaining and improving the 30,000 miles of roads and thousands of bridges that are the responsibility of local governments. During the visit, the State House News Service interviewed the policy committee’s chair, Mount Washington Selectboard Member Jim Lovejoy, and committee member and North Adams Mayor Tom Bernard.
“Bernard said at the current funding levels, it would take 73 years to repave every road in North Adams,” State House News reported, “[while] Mount Washington, according to Lovejoy, receives about $70,000 per year, according to the reimbursement formula, but faces costs of up to $1 million to repave a single mile of roadway. ‘For most communities, it’s a lifeblood of funding for their municipal roads, Lovejoy said.’”
The single largest revenue source in the House’s bill is a 5-cent increase in the state’s gas tax, expected to raise between $150 million and $175 million. A 9-cent increase in the tax on diesel fuel would raise another $32 million.
The bill would also raise revenue through changes to the minimum corporate income tax, fee increases for ride-hailing services, and elimination of a sales tax exemption for car rental companies.
A new special commission would study and make recommendations on the development and deployment of possible congestion pricing and variable tolling in the Commonwealth.
The revenue bill earmarks not less than $160 million for the MBTA, $15 million for regional transit authorities, and $10 million for new rural transit assistance.
Gov. Baker has stated his opposition to proposals to raise taxes to fund transportation, specifically the gas tax, going so far as to say that he would decline to sign such a bill.
At the MMA Annual Business Meeting on Jan. 25, municipal leaders from across the state overwhelmingly approved a policy resolution on transportation that included support for an increase to the state gas tax.
The MMA resolution also aligns with other components of the House transportation package.
Around the time of the House vote, State House News reported that Senate leadership was planning to take a different approach, with an emphasis on policy over revenue and taxes. Senate Ways and Means Committee Chair Michael Rodrigues said, “We will let the policies dictate the revenues rather than let the revenues dictate the policy.”
Despite a common understanding of the need to invest significantly in the Commonwealth’s transportation systems and infrastructure, policy differences between the House and Senate, and uncertainty surrounding the economic condition of Massachusetts due to the COVID-19 crisis could result in a long negotiation process between the two branches before the July 31 end to the current legislative session.