Transportation finance package heads to conference

In an effort to iron out the differences between House and Senate transportation finance legislation, both branches have named their representatives to a conference committee.

The House appointed House Ways and Means Committee Chair Brian Dempsey, House Transportation Committee Chair William Straus, and Transportation Committee member Rep. Steven Howitt to the conference committee. The Senate appointed Senate Ways and Means Chair Stephen Brewer, Senate Transportation Chair Thomas McGee, and Transportation Committee member Sen. Robert Hedlund.

The conference committee will attempt to reconcile two bills, H. 3415 and S. 1770, both of which would raise approximately $500 million in tax increases to fund transportation programs.

Both revenue bills would increase the gas tax by 3 cents per gallon, increase taxes on tobacco products (including a $1 per pack increase on cigarettes), and impose new taxes on utility companies, software services and out-of-state corporations doing business in Massachusetts. The state’s gas tax would automatically increase each year at the rate of inflation.

In addition to the House’s tax increases, the Senate bill, passed on April 13, would redirect funds from other areas of state government in order to increase the size of the package. The Senate bill would raise $40 million by requiring utilities with infrastructure on state rights-of-way to pay fair market value for their use and would redirect a 2.5-cent underground storage tank gas tax to the Commonwealth Transportation Fund, and index it to inflation, raising approximately $85 million in additional funds for transportation by 2018.

The Senate also voted to require transportation and MBTA officials to issue a request for proposals for licensing the naming rights to subway, bus and commuter rail stations.

The transportation finance package is the Legislature’s response to a $13.7 billion, 10-year transportation bond bill filed by the governor in March. While the governor initially criticized the Legislature’s transportation finance proposal, released on April 2, as insufficient, he appeared more receptive to the Senate’s bill.

The revenue package is intended to shore up financing of the state’s transportation and transit systems and fund certain infrastructure projects. Among the goals is a 50 percent increase in funding for the Chapter 90 local road and bridge program.

The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation announced that both the Senate and House bills would increase transportation spending in fiscal 2014 by $265 million, virtually identical to the governor’s proposal, which would provide for an increase of $269 million.