A state-appointed panel is recommending that Maryland shore up an estimated $800 million shortfall in transportation funding next year by raising a host of vehicle fees, public transportation fares and the gasoline tax by 15 cents per gallon. Vehicle registration fees would increase by 50 percent — generating roughly $165 million — and the $14 fee for emissions inspections would double under the recommendations, which were finalized on Tuesday by the Blue Ribbon Commission on Transportation Funding.
The recommendations, which will go to Gov. Martin O’Malley and the General Assembly, also would increase Maryland’s 23.5-cent-per-gallon gas tax by 5 cents a year over the next three years, generating an additional $491 million each year of the increase. The state would stop increasing the tax once it reaches 38.5 cents per gallon, or 15 cents above its current level.
Some business activists say the tax unfairly charges the bulk of Maryland’s transportation needs to its residents, while supporters of the increase point out the tax hasn’t been raised since 1992.
“Unfortunately, the commission has neglected out-of-the box thinking that truly addresses Maryland’s long term fiscal issues,” said Kimberly Burns, president of the conservative Maryland Business for Responsive Government. “The report proposes an unbalanced approach that falls disproportionately on the shoulders of Maryland motorists, truckers, delivery services, transportation providers, and ultimately, Maryland’s working families.”
Under the panel’s recommendations, another $25 million would be generated by requiring the Maryland Transportation Authority to raise its rates on buses, light rail and Baltimore’s Metro system.
The panel additionally proposed that the state adopt a constitutional amendment preventing elected officials from dipping into Maryland’s transportation coffers to pay for projects unrelated to transportation needs.
Sen. Rob Garagiola, D-Gaithersburg, proposed a similar amendment during the last legislative session, but his bill failed.
Gov. Martin O’Malley has raided more than $700 million over the past three years from local governments’ share of transportation funding to help plug annual state budget deficits. As a result, local governments are now sharing $148 million to repair and maintain roads and bridges, compared with the $467 million they shared in fiscal 2009.
With another $1 billion budget deficit estimated in fiscal 2013 and local transportation needs pushing $12 billion, budget analysts have said Maryland lawmakers have no choice but to raise new revenues.
