LYNN — Despite some apprehension from Gov. Charlie Baker over a 5-cent gas tax increase, state Rep. Dan Cahill (D-Lynn) is confident there is wide public support for the House’s recent transportation bill, which seeks to raise $600 million annually.
The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed the transportation bill last week, with 113 votes in favor and 40 opposed. Besides raising the gas tax, the bill imposes fees for ride-sharing services, and gets rid of a tax exemption for rental car companies.
If the bill were ever to be signed into law, the revenue raised would be funneled back into the state’s transportation systems, fixing roads and bridges, and improving crumbling infrastructure, Cahill said.
“The vast majority of constituents want this,” Cahill said. “They are fed up with traffic, and with the condition of roads and bridges. The level of anger is very high.”
According to the Boston Herald, Gov. Charlie Baker intends to veto any gas tax that comes before him.
While there is always at least some opposition to new or increased taxes, Cahill said the bill’s gas tax is a “user tax” paid by those who use the roads, and the money will go back into fixing or improving the roads.
The House legislation proposes to raise the state’s gas tax by 5 cents, to 29 cents per gallon. Diesel fuel gets a 4-cent tax increase, to 28 cents per gallon. Also, rental car companies would no longer be exempt from sales taxes when buying cars for their fleets.
Services like Uber and Lyft are also affected under the House legislation. Non-shared rides using these services get a $1.20 fee, up from 20 cents. Fees for shared rides are unaffected and remain 20 cents. However, a legislative provision would prevent companies from passing these fee increases on to riders.
Regarding businesses, companies with more than $1 billion in sales also have to pay at least $150,000 in taxes under the legislation.
According to Cahill, House Speaker Robert DeLeo “took a very, very collaborative effort” in getting the bill passed, talking with legislators from different regions and taking feedback from constituents. Some of the revenue the bill proposes to raise would be diverted to rural communities, which lack the public transit options of their urban counterparts.
The Senate must now come up with its version of the bill, and state Sen. Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn) said he would like to see the Senate version raise at least as much money.
“I support the bar level of what they ended up at, if not more,” Crighton said.
Senate leaders have not given a timetable for their legislation. Crighton did not specifically oppose any portion of the House bill when asked, but emphasized it’s early in the process.
“I’m supportive of looking at all revenue options,” Crighton said. “We’ve been underfunding transportation for nearly $1 billion a year.”
