News from Annapolis

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Transportation Trust Fund

Delegation Bill Hearing

December 15, 2011

Dear Friends,

The Governor and the Legislature should not be considering an increase in the gasoline tax until we put "trust" back in the Transportation Trust Fund. This has been a priority of mine since I first started serving you in Annapolis, and I wrote the following letter to the editor explaining why I feel so strongly on the issue:

No Gas Tax Increase - Put "Trust" Back in the Transportation Trust Fund

   Governor O'Malley's Blue Ribbon Commission on Transportation Funding has recommended significantly increasing the gasoline tax and doubling vehicle registration and inspection fees over $900 million per year. While I agree that we need to improve our congested and deteriorating roads, I strongly disagree that raising the gas tax should be the first order of business.

   Passing a Constitutional Amendment to put the "Trust" back in the Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) should be the first item on the Legislature's agenda. In the past, hundreds of millions of dollars have been taken from the TTF and used for non-transportation purposes.

   For six years, I have submitted a bill that would prohibit the transfer of funds out of the Transportation Trust Fund. This legislation would also restore the counties and municipal government's share of Highway User Revenues to historically agreed upon levels. I have also proposed legislation that would dedicate highway user fees and taxes solely for use of building and maintaining highways.

   We must ensure that among transportation projects, maximum value is obtained from those expenditures. In recent years, 45% of Maryland's transportation funding has been spent on mass transit, yet transit only accounts for approximately 3% of travel in Maryland. Fares barely cover 30% of our operating costs and the rest is subsidized by highway users through the taxes on motorists.

   If you look at the priorities in the Governor's Plan Maryland and Transportation Capital Improvement Plan, multi-billion dollar mass transit projects are his priority. I do not believe that mass transit is our priority. Marylanders want their transportation dollars going to improve roads.

   When the Governor decided to increase spending on health care, education for illegal aliens, and other expensive initiatives, he increased the state's budget well beyond our tax revenue. Now is not the time to raise this very regressive gas tax on Marylanders. Our state government needs to learn to live within its means and be honest with our taxpayers.

My bill to protect the TTF has repeatedly failed because the majority party, including the Governor, wants flexibility to spend as they please with every tax dollar collected from our citizens. The lack of transparency and accountability is the root of many of the problems we have at all levels of government spending.

The time is now to put a lockbox on the Transportation Trust Fund and direct those funds to improving our roads and highway system.

Why Obama's Stimulus Failed: A Case Study of Silver Spring, Maryland

Jim Epstein's article in Reason Magazine, "Why Obama's Stimulus Failed: A Case Study of Silver Spring, Maryland," explores how Maryland is a prime example of misusing federal stimulus dollars. One of the major issues that the article reveals is that "In Maryland, the 'specialty trades,' a subset of the construction industry that handles big infrastructure projects, has lost 8 percent of its total, which amounts to 8,000 jobs. Maryland's Department of Transportation says stimulus money for transit projects has steadily paid the salaries of only about 600 construction workers since the middle of 2009."

I recommend this article because it discusses many issues related to those I described in my letter to the editor. In particular, Mr. Epstein asks, "Why didn't Maryland's $771 million stimulus dollars for transit infrastructure have a bigger impact on the state's economy?"

The reason is the very problem that I seek to fix with my Transportation Trust Fund amendment: "Partly because Gov. Martin O'Malley cut infrastructure spending more than enough to offset any gains from the stimulus. Maryland's Transportation Trust Fund generally pays for highway repairs by collecting a special gas tax and other user fees. After the stimulus money was available, Governor O'Malley raided the trust fund by diverting $861 million over the next three years to help balance the state's budget, according to information provided by Maryland's Department of Legislative Services. After you account for the $771 million in stimulus money, state funding for transit infrastructure saw a net decrease of $90 million. That sort of scenario played out in all sorts of ways in all sorts of states: Stimulus dollars were used to cover general expenses rather than to increase overall spending."

You can read the full article by clicking here on this link.

Carroll Delegation Bill Hearing

I would like to thank everyone who attended the hearing on Tuesday, December 13 at the Carroll County Government Office Building when we heard from the community regarding proposed legislation from Carroll County for the 2012 session of the Maryland General Assembly.

If you have any questions or concerns about the proposed legislation, you can email me or call my office. We are currently trying to collect opinions on the proposed bills before the Carroll County Delegation decides on sponsoring these bills.

Interim Office Hours

Our office is open Mondays through Thursdays during the Legislative Interim.

Note from Susan:

I am dedicated to being your voice in Annapolis as we work toward better roads, schools and jobs, and also a reduced tax burden.
Please feel free to contact me with any concerns or ideas you may have. My legislative assistant, Jeffrey Peters, and I are always happy to help.