Linsky, MetroWest Legislators Sponsor Transportation Finance Bill to Eliminate Tolls

BOSTON ¡V Representative David Linsky (D-Natick) announced today that he, along with Representative Alice Peisch (D-Wellesley) and several other MetroWest lawmakers, has filed a bill which would eliminate all tolls on the Massachusetts Turnpike, eliminate the tolls at the Ted Williams and Sumner tunnels, and eliminate the toll on the Tobin Bridge as part of a comprehensive transportation finance bill. Linsky¡¦s bill would raise the state gas tax by 29 cents per gallon, bringing the total state gas tax to 50 cents per gallon. The bill would allocate the revenue to five different transportation accounts for debt service, operation and maintenance, and infrastructure repair. The gas tax revenue under Linsky¡¦s bill would fund the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), Regional Transit Authorities, local road and bridge projects, and the Massachusetts Highway Department. Additionally, the bill would allow construction of tolls on the Massachusetts Turnpike at the New York and Connecticut borders. Currently, the state¡¦s 21-cent gas tax is allocated to the Massachusetts Highway Department for its road and bridge program. ¡§Massachusetts¡¦ bridges and roads are crumbling and need to be fixed,¡¨ said Linsky. ¡§This bill, combined with reform and cost-saving efficiencies, like combining our transportation agencies under one roof, will save taxpayer dollars and create a better, more efficient transportation system.¡¨

Linsky¡¦s bill was filed in response to the Mass Turnpike Authority Board¡¦s proposal to implement substantial toll hikes in spring of 2009 as a way to mitigate Big Dig debt and salvage the Authority¡¦s bond credit rating. The bill was also filed as a result of ongoing discussions with lawmakers from across the state who have collectively emphasized the need for a comprehensive transportation finance plan that addresses all components of the state¡¦s transportation funding needs.

Linsky projects that a one cent per gallon increase in the gasoline excise tax will generate approximately $32M per year based on annual consumption statistics. With that figure in mind, Linsky¡¦s bill calls for the following distribution:

„« 11 cents (or $352 million annually) to the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority for funding the repayment of the bonds on the Central Artery Project/Third Harbor Tunnel and the operation and maintenance of the Metropolitan Highway System and the Massachusetts Turnpike;

„« 3 cents (or $96 million annually) to Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs);

„« 4 cents (or $128 million annually) to the MBTA to pay their share of Big Dig debt;

„« 5 cents (or $150 million annually) to cities and towns for local road projects; and

„« 27 cents (or $864 million annually) to the Massachusetts Highway Department for its statewide road and bridge program.

Linsky said the support for a gas tax increase among his colleagues in the Legislature and most recently the Governor has been very encouraging. According to Linsky, ¡§a comprehensive transportation finance plan that incorporates the debt of the Mass Turnpike Authority and the MBTA has been a top priority for many of us in the Legislature. Relying on an unfair and unsustainable tolling system that disproportionately affects those in MetroWest, the North Shore, and the greater Boston region is simply intolerable. It is time we implement a statewide funding solution that will prevent our transportation system from falling through the cracks,¡¨ Linsky stated.

Representative Alice Peisch commented, ¡§The Commonwealth has ignored for too long its transportation infrastructure. An increase in the gas tax is the most equitable way to pay for the enormous debt attributable to the construction of the Big Dig and to address the need for additional revenue that the Transportation Finance Commission identified last year. There finally seems to be a recognition of this beyond those who have been paying the tolls on the Turnpike, so I am hopeful that we will see this solution come to pass.¡¨

Currently, the national average of the gasoline excise tax is 30 cents per gallon.