Oddly, this major news story appeared only in the Frederick News-Post as far as I know:
Maryland needs to increase its gas tax to pay for transportation projects across the state, the Senate president told assembled business leaders Tuesday.
Sen. Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. acknowledged that could take an act of political will by lawmakers, but pledged it as a major order of business if he is re-elected in 2011 to his Senate seat and the highest position in the Senate chamber.
If Gov. Martin O'Malley is re-elected, Miller predicted that a gas tax hike would be in effect in the first year of the new term. Miller did not specify how much of an increase. Both men are Democrats in a Democratically dominated state house.The environmentally sound but regressive gas tax would need to go up by around twenty-five cents--more than doubling the current tax--to pay for the Corridor Cities Transitway, the Purple Line, and Baltimore Red Line. The plan is to wait until after the elections as it is easier to do tough things at the beginning of a four-year term. Of course, it may be even more difficult than now if the economy and gas prices recover between now and then.
"We're paving (I-)270 with stimulus money," Miller told an invited audience of about 80 Frederick County Chamber of Commerce trustees and board members. "All we're doing is repaving. All we're doing is maintenance. . . .
Federal stimulus money is limited to projects that can be ready within 120 days and directly result in jobs, Miller said.
Meanwhile, almost all of the state's major road improvement projects are on hold, as well as plans for Metro's red, purple and green lines.
Politics may well require an even higher tax hike. In order to get to the numbers needed to pass the tax increase, the General Assembly will need to fund other costly projects in other areas of the State. Why should Sen. Middleton (D-Charles) want to vote for a big tax hike on his constituents who already have long and expensive commutes?
Of course, the State increase in the gas tax doesn't help Montgomery answer the question of how to fund its share of these two projects. If anything, it makes it harder by making it even more difficult to levy new taxes at the local level.
7 comments:
I don't think anyone has proposed raising the gas tax by a quarter. Senator Rich Madaleno (D-18) has proposed raising it by a nickel. Delegate Charles Barkley (D-39) has proposed raising it by a dime. Delegate Bill Bronrott (D-16) has proposed indexing it, as did the Governor in 2007. None of those proposals made it out of committee.
The only way to make any kind of a dent in our transportation funding crisis is to impose a really big gas tax increase. If that's what he said, Miller is definitely on the right "track" - at least if you want the transit everyone's talking about. Is there the political backbone there? Now that's the question. Speaking of which, on the federal front, we talked to Congressman Bartlett yesterday and he was very supportive of a "revenue neutral" gas tax increase.
Besides being regressive, my concern about reliance on the gas tax is that it is not sustainable in a world where we know we need to move away from getting around in single occupancy vehicles.
Other jurisdictions in our region have come up with creative ways to fund transportation. Washington DC was able to tap the incremental property value created around the station to fund the infill New York Avenue station on the Red Line.
And rather than gas taxes, Fairfax and Arlington are enjoying about $100M in extra transportation revenue from a small differential on commercial property. The presence of this mechanism did not hinder Hilton Hotels from locating in Fairfax.
At last week's regional priority bus conference, Councilmember Elrich spoke about creating a special taxing area around commercial areas surrounding BRT corridors.
http://www.mwcog.org/news/press/detail.asp?NEWS_ID=384
I appreciate the thoughtful comments. Adam, the figure of a quarter is from the official State Department of Transportation estimates to pay the state share for the three new transit lines. And that wouldn't cover any other much desired transportation improvements, including those at BRAC and the Forest Glen Georgia Ave. tunnel in our area.
It is ALL about the money. We continue to have huge needs, apart from transit. Not everyone appreciates the current amount of transportation impact taxes and transportation -related costs that Montgomery County assesses against new projects now. The numbers are extremely large. Various development district or front foot benefit-type charges are being discussed, but it is not clear whether thay are in addition to, or in lieu of what is currently the charge. In addition, those fees are only intended to pay for the private sector contribution, which is not intended to be the only source of revenue. The question is where is the public sector contribution to come from? And if you have a special taxing district, is Montgomery county willing to allow the amount of development that would have to be approved to generate the necessary income? Just a few thoughts.
A gas tax has the advantage of being seen clearly for what it is – a tax to pay for the maintenance of our transportation infrastructure. If you want that system to work, you have to pay for it. If you want less crowding, you have to pay for mass transit to reduce road congestion.
We had no trouble paying for both highways and mass transit in the 50’s and 60’s. It was Prop 13 in California in 1978 and the Republican attack on the public sector that has skewed the debate over the past thirty years and left us now with crumbling infrastructure, from highway bridges to broken water mains to mass transit disasters. You get what you pay for in the private sector; the same holds true for the public one as well.
The same problem looms in the debate between “cap and trade” and a carbon tax. Most Americans have no idea what “cap and trade” is, nor do they care. It might work, but it is hard to sell something that is so complicated. Making the connection between global warming and a carbon tax is much easier, and has the added benefit of making each taxpayer a part of the solution. When we’re in it all together, we have a much easier time achieving the results we desire, with Social Security and Medicare being prime examples.
We have a $4.4 billion county budget. And a much larger state budget. There is plenty of money to transportation. But little will. Those who want to raise the gasoline tax in a recession should put, "Raise the gas tax!" on their campaign signs. Let the voters know how you feel before the election, instead of giving them a costly surprise after the election.
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