Transportation: Funding & Alternative Bills
June 5, 2009 -
There has been a lot of press coverage in Maine around our transportation needs and how to pay for them. Many of Maine's roads and bridges are in a degraded state. Meanwhile, we have huge deficits in our highway fund and a largely underfunded paving program.
To deal with the shortfalls in the State's highway fund and paving programs, on Monday the Transportation Committee passed a bill to institute a 5 cent per gallon temporary surcharge on gas effective July 1, 2009 (the surcharge ends June 30, 2011). The surcharge would generate $78 million over two years. What does this mean for you? If you drove 15,000 miles per year in a vehicle that averages 22 miles per gallon, you would purchase 682 gallons of gas and pay an additional $34.09 per year.
What will this 5 cent tax do?
* Fund 1,200 miles of maintenance paving
* Provide transportation revenue to rural and urban municipalities
* Provide funding for highway and bridge improvements
Before ending, I cannot emphasize enough Maine's under-reliance on alternate forms of transportation. However, I want to highlight two bills that will help greater Portland. The legislature already passed into law "An Act To Include the Town of Falmouth as a Member of the Greater Portland Transit District," (LD 452), and on Wednesday, we passed "An Act To Promote Economic Development and Reduce Reliance on Automobiles through Transit-oriented Tax Increment Financing Districts" (LD 1392). Both of these bills are smart alternative transit bills that I supported fully.
