Future Ready Transportation
February 24, 2020
The Chamber supports both revenue and reforms to improve our transportation system.
The Commonwealth’s transportation crisis desperately needs to be addressed and the House’s transportation funding bill starts us on that path by recognizing that a future ready transportation system requires substantial investments.
Read our testimony on the House’s Transportation Funding Package
Much of the House’s bill is forward looking and several aspects of the package align with what employers recognize is necessary: using pricing to influence behavior with the ultimate goal of getting cars off the road, improving public transit, and reducing emissions. In particular, the Chamber supports: the special commission on roadway and congestion pricing; TNC fee increases that use a tiered system, for shared, solo, and luxury riders; and a five-cent gas tax increase.
Although we appreciate the Legislature’s work in tackling the complex challenge of transportation funding, the legislation includes a problematic $150 million increase in corporate minimum taxes. This is a troubling signal to business in a time when cities and states around the country are competing for jobs and economic growth. The Chamber urges the Legislature to reconsider this proposal in its debate. Transportation revenue should be generated from sources that have the potential to influence behavior to help address the congestion crisis.
While some argue that levying corporate taxes to fund transportation is about fairness, the best way to ensure fairness in a transportation bill is to spread investment across the state and to make improvements that benefit low-income residents, whether it is improving public transportation systems, expanding broadband access, or repairing local roadways.
Read our Future Ready Transportation Revenue Proposal
The Chamber strongly supports the transportation project delivery reforms that are in Governor Baker’s Transportation Bond Bill. With a revenue infusion it will be even more important to get more projects underway and to leverage different types of contracting.
Read our testimony on the Transportation Bond Bill
Project Delivery considerations in the Bond Bill include: