News You Can Use || Local Politics Alert: Maryland Senate votes to raise gas tax
More Maryland News this week...
Spotted on the Washington Post
Maryland lawmakers gave final approval Friday to the first increase in the state’s gas tax in 20 years, acting to replenish a transportation fund that is rapidly running out of money for highway construction and long-planned mass-transit projects.
Under the bill, which passed the Senate 27-20, motorists could expect to pay between 13 and 20 cents more per gallon by mid-2016, according to legislative analysts. The increase would be phased in, with the first bump of about 4 cents a gallon coming in July.
The legislation, which transportation officials say would yield $4.4 billion for new projects over the next six years, was passed by the House of Delegates last week. It now goes to Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) for his promised signature.
The Senate also passed a so-called “lockbox” bill Friday that would make it more difficult for future General Assemblies to divert transportation funds to other programs — a strategy that has been used by governors and lawmakers from both parties to balance the state’s operating budget.
Supporters of the tax bill argued that it would help Maryland better cope with some of the worst traffic congestion in the country.
“With this measure, we are going to be taking a large step toward addressing that problem,” said Sen. Richard J. Madaleno Jr. (D-Montgomery).
Opponents — many who represent rural districts — protested that the plan places too much of a burden on motorists to help pay for mass-transit projects they won’t use and argued that many residents can’t afford a tax increase right now.
“This is a regressive tax that hurts the poor,” said Minority Leader E. J. Pipkin (R-Cecil). “This is going to cause tremendous pain for everybody.”
Based on current projections, state analysts say that after 2017, Maryland will have only enough revenue for maintenance of its existing transportation network and not for new highway construction or planned mass-transit projects, including the Purple Line rail link in the Washington area and the Corridor Cities Transitway rapid bus line along Interstate 270 in Montgomery County.
There is also a backlog of other unfunded projects sought by local leaders, such as improvements to Route 210 that Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D) has said have become more urgent with a casino expected to open in his county in 2016.
Recent attempts to raise more revenue, including one last year by O’Malley, have been met with stiff resistance in the legislature. Polls have shown raising the gas tax is a particularly unpopular idea.
But the dynamic changed after a sweeping transportation plan passed last month in Virginia, a state led by a Republican governor that competes for jobs with Maryland and suffers from similar traffic congestion.
The plan passed Friday adds another layer of taxes to purchases of gasoline, which are now subject to a 23.5-cent-a-gallon flat tax, a levy unchanged since 1992.
As of January, Maryland’s gas tax ranked 29th highest among states, according to an analysis by the Tax Foundation, a non-partisan tax research group based in Washington.
Once fully phased in, the bill passed Friday would catapult the state into the Top 10, if projections by state legislative analysts prove true.
Under the bill, a new sales tax of 3 percent also would be imposed on gas. That tax would be phased in over three years, starting in July.
Another 2 percent could later be tacked onto the sales tax on gas if Congress doesn’t take action on a separate issue related to Internet sales.
Maryland and other states are lobbying the federal government to adopt a long-stalled plan that would ensure states can collect sales taxes when their residents make purchases from out-of-state Internet retailers.
If Congress acts on that by 2015, that revenue would be earmarked for transportation in Maryland. Otherwise, the additional 2 percent sales tax on gas would take effect.
Virginia has a similar provision in the transportation bill passed last month that was championed by Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R).
Some of the most vocal Republican opposition to the Maryland bill has focused on a provision that automatically increases the flat tax on gas in coming years to reflect inflation.
Pipkin said the automatic increases were a way for future legislatures to avoid having to find the “courage” to vote for more tax increases.
“We shouldn’t be putting taxes on cruise control,” he said. “This is horrible public policy.”
The projections by state legislative analysts seek to gauge the effect of the various increases on a gallon of gas and involve several assumptions, including the price of gas in the future.
Under their projections, motorists could expect to pay an additional 13 cents per gallon by July 2016 if the Internet tax becomes law. If not, that amount would raise to 20 cents per gallon.
All 27 senators who voted for the tax bill were Democrats. They included all 16 who represents parts of Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.
All 12 Republicans voted against the bill, and they were joined by eight Democrats.
The so-called “lockbox” bill passed the Senate 45-2. Under the legislation, diverting transportation money to other programs would require a declaration of a “fiscal emergency” by the governor and three-fifths votes by both the House and Senate.
To take effect, the House would have to pass the legislation by April 8, the legislature’s scheduled adjournment date. The measure would then be place on the ballot next year as a constitutional amendment.
In the House of Delegates, meanwhile, O’Malley’s ambitious gun-control package appeared likely to clear a major hurdle largely intact.
The House Judiciary Committee and the chamber’s Health and Government Operations Committee, which have joint jurisdiction over the bill, began voting Friday afternoon on as many as 90 proposed amendments to O’Malley’s bill.
A set of 10 changes were already agreed to in principle by committee members in private meetings on Thursday night. Those changes would strip out nearly all restrictions on current gun owners in Maryland. But those changes would not include any weakening of O’Malley’s proposed assault weapons ban.
Disagreement over the ban has left the gun-control bill languishing for over a month in the House, with even some key Democrats on the two committees saying an all-out ban seemed unneeded given how rarely the weapons are used in Maryland killings.
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| This Pic is from 2008 |
Spotted on the Washington Post
Maryland lawmakers gave final approval Friday to the first increase in the state’s gas tax in 20 years, acting to replenish a transportation fund that is rapidly running out of money for highway construction and long-planned mass-transit projects.
Under the bill, which passed the Senate 27-20, motorists could expect to pay between 13 and 20 cents more per gallon by mid-2016, according to legislative analysts. The increase would be phased in, with the first bump of about 4 cents a gallon coming in July.
The legislation, which transportation officials say would yield $4.4 billion for new projects over the next six years, was passed by the House of Delegates last week. It now goes to Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) for his promised signature.
The Senate also passed a so-called “lockbox” bill Friday that would make it more difficult for future General Assemblies to divert transportation funds to other programs — a strategy that has been used by governors and lawmakers from both parties to balance the state’s operating budget.
Supporters of the tax bill argued that it would help Maryland better cope with some of the worst traffic congestion in the country.
“With this measure, we are going to be taking a large step toward addressing that problem,” said Sen. Richard J. Madaleno Jr. (D-Montgomery).
Opponents — many who represent rural districts — protested that the plan places too much of a burden on motorists to help pay for mass-transit projects they won’t use and argued that many residents can’t afford a tax increase right now.
“This is a regressive tax that hurts the poor,” said Minority Leader E. J. Pipkin (R-Cecil). “This is going to cause tremendous pain for everybody.”
Based on current projections, state analysts say that after 2017, Maryland will have only enough revenue for maintenance of its existing transportation network and not for new highway construction or planned mass-transit projects, including the Purple Line rail link in the Washington area and the Corridor Cities Transitway rapid bus line along Interstate 270 in Montgomery County.
There is also a backlog of other unfunded projects sought by local leaders, such as improvements to Route 210 that Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D) has said have become more urgent with a casino expected to open in his county in 2016.
Recent attempts to raise more revenue, including one last year by O’Malley, have been met with stiff resistance in the legislature. Polls have shown raising the gas tax is a particularly unpopular idea.
But the dynamic changed after a sweeping transportation plan passed last month in Virginia, a state led by a Republican governor that competes for jobs with Maryland and suffers from similar traffic congestion.
The plan passed Friday adds another layer of taxes to purchases of gasoline, which are now subject to a 23.5-cent-a-gallon flat tax, a levy unchanged since 1992.
As of January, Maryland’s gas tax ranked 29th highest among states, according to an analysis by the Tax Foundation, a non-partisan tax research group based in Washington.
Once fully phased in, the bill passed Friday would catapult the state into the Top 10, if projections by state legislative analysts prove true.
Under the bill, a new sales tax of 3 percent also would be imposed on gas. That tax would be phased in over three years, starting in July.
Another 2 percent could later be tacked onto the sales tax on gas if Congress doesn’t take action on a separate issue related to Internet sales.
Maryland and other states are lobbying the federal government to adopt a long-stalled plan that would ensure states can collect sales taxes when their residents make purchases from out-of-state Internet retailers.
If Congress acts on that by 2015, that revenue would be earmarked for transportation in Maryland. Otherwise, the additional 2 percent sales tax on gas would take effect.
Virginia has a similar provision in the transportation bill passed last month that was championed by Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R).
Some of the most vocal Republican opposition to the Maryland bill has focused on a provision that automatically increases the flat tax on gas in coming years to reflect inflation.
Pipkin said the automatic increases were a way for future legislatures to avoid having to find the “courage” to vote for more tax increases.
“We shouldn’t be putting taxes on cruise control,” he said. “This is horrible public policy.”
The projections by state legislative analysts seek to gauge the effect of the various increases on a gallon of gas and involve several assumptions, including the price of gas in the future.
Under their projections, motorists could expect to pay an additional 13 cents per gallon by July 2016 if the Internet tax becomes law. If not, that amount would raise to 20 cents per gallon.
All 27 senators who voted for the tax bill were Democrats. They included all 16 who represents parts of Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.
All 12 Republicans voted against the bill, and they were joined by eight Democrats.
The so-called “lockbox” bill passed the Senate 45-2. Under the legislation, diverting transportation money to other programs would require a declaration of a “fiscal emergency” by the governor and three-fifths votes by both the House and Senate.
To take effect, the House would have to pass the legislation by April 8, the legislature’s scheduled adjournment date. The measure would then be place on the ballot next year as a constitutional amendment.
In the House of Delegates, meanwhile, O’Malley’s ambitious gun-control package appeared likely to clear a major hurdle largely intact.
The House Judiciary Committee and the chamber’s Health and Government Operations Committee, which have joint jurisdiction over the bill, began voting Friday afternoon on as many as 90 proposed amendments to O’Malley’s bill.
A set of 10 changes were already agreed to in principle by committee members in private meetings on Thursday night. Those changes would strip out nearly all restrictions on current gun owners in Maryland. But those changes would not include any weakening of O’Malley’s proposed assault weapons ban.
Disagreement over the ban has left the gun-control bill languishing for over a month in the House, with even some key Democrats on the two committees saying an all-out ban seemed unneeded given how rarely the weapons are used in Maryland killings.
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