Massachusetts Governor Says No to Vehicle Mileage Traveled Fee Pilot

Planetizen reported just over a year ago that Massachusetts could be among the next states to adopt a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) fee. State Sen. Jason Lewis, D-Winchester, had sponsored S.1851: "An Act to explore alternative funding sources to ensure safe and reliable transportation." 

"As we add more fuel-efficient vehicles to the roads, the gas tax is going to be declining, and that will exacerbate our revenue shortfalls," said Lewis. "We need to come up with a more reliable funding source."

Lewis had it right. Fuel-efficiency in vehicles continues to increase, notwithstanding the lowest gas prices since 2004 and a surge in SUV purchases.

The result: gas tax revenues, the main source of state funding for transportation projects, particularly road and bridge maintenance, are not keeping pace with demand.

S.1851 stalled last year in the state legislature according to its legislative history.

On July 23, mileage fee advocates added a provision to a to an "otherwise uncontroversial road and bridge bond bill" that would allow Massachusetts to "apply for federal funding to test whether to implement a tax on vehicle miles traveled," reported Shira Schoenberg for The Republican/ MassLive.com on July 28.

The idea is to look to the future to figure out a more stable way of collecting revenue for transportation infrastructure," said state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, D-Pittsfield, one of the major proponents of the pilot program.

Readers may recall that in June the Connecticut DOT joined four other Northeastern states in the "I-95 Corridor Coalition" in applying for $2.1 million of the $15 million in federal funding available for states to implement pilot projects to showcase "user-based alternative revenue mechanisms."

However, Gov. Charlie Baker was none to pleased with that provision.

"Baker, a Republican, also criticized the Democratic-controlled Legislature for making the proposal with only days left before the end of the legislative session," reported Schoenberg on July 29. The legislative season ended on July 30.