Gov. files bond bill with $200M for Ch. 90

Six weeks after the original announcement during the MMA’s Annual Meeting in January, Gov. Deval Patrick yesterday filed a $1.5 billion transportation bond bill that includes $200 million for the Chapter 90 local road and bridge program for fiscal 2013.

The House and Senate have less than a month to complete hearings and votes on the legislation if the state is to meet the statutory April 1 deadline for notifying cities and towns of their Chapter 90 authorizations.

“Swift passage of Chapter 90 legislation is vital, because the authorization amount remaining from the last transportation bond bill is nearly depleted,” said MMA Executive Director Geoff Beckwith. “Timely release of Chapter 90 authorizations is critically important because without this notice cities and towns would be unable to make full use of New England’s notoriously short construction season, and communities need adequate time to plan for the best and most efficient use of the funds.”

Cities and towns are responsible for maintaining, building and rebuilding 90 percent of the roadways in Massachusetts. The governor’s bond bill would fund the Chapter 90 program at the same level as in fiscal 2012.

According to a comprehensive MMA survey of cities and towns, the actual annual Chapter 90 need to maintain existing roadways is at least $300 million a year. Hundreds of local officials unanimously voted to advocate for an increase in Chapter 90 funding, up to the $300 million level, at the MMA’s Annual Meeting in January.

In addition to Chapter 90 funding, the governor’s bond bill would authorize the state’s first infrastructure bank, which would make loans for energy, transportation and municipal development projects to leverage private investment and create jobs. U.S. Sen. John Kerry has proposed a similar strategy at the national level.

The State House News Service is reporting that the one-year bond bill is aimed at keeping transportation investments flowing until next year, when the governor plans to file a five-year bond bill addressing long-term needs of the state’s roads, bridges, highways, subways, buses and airports. Public transportation advocates are calling for new sources of revenue for transportation, a message that Gov. Patrick has said that he agrees with.

The bond bill does not address the fiscal problems of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, which is evaluating steep fare hikes and service reductions and plans to make budget decisions this spring.