The General Assembly is considering legislation that would provide dedicated funding for mass transit. The proposals would dedicate a portion of the current sales tax to mass transit funding. The Maryland Chamber supports the concept of dedicated transit funding, but given the state’s long-term budget deficit, drawing funds away from existing revenue sources will only undermine multiple, competing needs throughout the State.

The Chamber will continue to work to address its concerns, while advocating the need for dedicated transit funding. To guide the staff’s efforts, the Chamber adopted the following transit policy statement earlier this week:

Transit Policy Statement, adopted March 6, 2006 Mass transit is an important daily mode of transportation for thousands of Marylanders. The cost to provide this service, however, cannot be fully recovered from farebox revenue and must, therefore, be heavily subsidized from the Transportation Trust Fund (“TTF”). The TTF will not have sufficient revenues to adequately address the State’s transportation needs as well as its obligation to subsidize two major mass transit systems in the urban areas of Baltimore and Washington DC. One solution is to find a new source of funds to help offset the cost of transit.

The Maryland Chamber of Commerce supports the concept of identifying a new source of dedicated funding for mass transit with the following stipulations:

• Any reallocation from existing revenue sources cannot undermine other priority needs in transportation, including support for existing and planned transit projects in the Baltimore and Washington D.C. regions, education, health care and public safety;
• Within the Washington, D.C. region, Virginia and D.C. must be committed to paying their share of the transit capital and operating cost subsidies; and
• A statewide perspective is maintained to ensure that all regions, including those that do not have transit service, are treated fairly.

For more information, contact Heather Hamilton at hhamilton@mdchamber.org.