The Massachusetts state legislature moved forward on July 24. Gov. Deval Patrick said he is now ready to do the same.
The two were at odds as to how to come up with funding for much needed road and bridge projects, but both the House and Senate had enough to cancel Patrick’s veto on an transportation bill that will raise the gas tax by three cents a gallon, slap a $1 charge on cigarettes and will establish a broad tax on computer software services. The package will generate $800 million per year by 2018.
Patrick was concerned about the future of tolls on the Massachusetts Turnpike, but lawmakers said current law does not put them in jeopardy.
“While it is no secret that today’s transportation finance package shortchanges our transportation needs, it still represents a step forward,” said Patrick. “Now, it’s time to put these resources to work.”
But exactly how the new money is used is still uncertain. The new bill calls for the creation of a Massachusetts DOT committee, which will be responsible for coming up with a long-term master plan of highway investments. However, politicians are eager to put the funds to work, and on July 25 the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization was planning on voting to approve work on I-95 in Canton.
“It feels like they are undermining this new system at the moment that it’s being launched,” Seth Kaplan, vice president for policy and climate advocacy at the Conservation Law Foundation, told the Boston Globe.
