Senate committee reports 5-year bond bill with $300M per year for Ch. 90

Last night, the Senate Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets responded to calls from municipal officials for a multi-year Chapter 90 program, reporting out a transportation bond bill that would authorize $300 million for the local roads program every year for the next five years.
 
“This bill will allow our municipalities to plan long-term improvements and repairs to their infrastructure and make our communities more attractive to businesses,” said Sen. Brain Joyce, the committee chair.
 
The legislation also would require the administration to release the final allocation letters by March 1 each year to ensure that communities can make use of the full construction season.
 
Although the legislation would authorize the administration to fund Chapter 90 at $300 million, the administration must still release the funds. Transportation Secretary Richard Davey has said that without a new source of revenue the administration would only release $200 million for Chapter 90. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s $12.4 billion, five-year capital plan level-funds the Chapter 90 program at $200 million per year over the next five years.
 
For the current fiscal year, both the House and Senate unanimously passed a $300 million, stand-alone Chapter 90 bond bill, and Gov. Deval Patrick signed it into law, but the governor decided to withhold $100 million, as is his prerogative.
 
Sen. Joyce said the Legislature provided a revenue package last year that was just shy of the amount the governor had sought and is sufficient to support the $300 million funding level for Chapter 90.
 
The transportation bond bill now heads to the Senate Committee on Ways and Means.
 
The MMA is in the process of carefully reviewing the specific language of the bill.