In this article the Purple Line was misidentified as a proposed Metro line. It is a project being considered by the Maryland Transit Administration.
| Page 2 of 2 < |
O'Malley Pledges Roads Funding
"Roads and bridges will not wait until the right political timing," O'Malley, shown in July, said Saturday.
(By Mark Gail -- The Washington Post)
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
Maryland is spending about $1.8 billion this year on transportation projects, but funding for new projects is expected to fall sharply in coming years as maintenance costs increase.
In his speech, O'Malley did not offer specific proposals to raise additional revenue for the transportation trust fund. Increasing the state's gas tax, which is now 23.5 cents a gallon, is among the options widely acknowledged by aides to the governor.
Maryland's gas tax falls in the middle of the range of levies in the region. Virginia's tax is 17.5 cents a gallon, and Pennsylvania imposes a tax of 31.2 cents a gallon, according to legislative analysts.
Maryland transportation officials are pushing, at a minimum, to start raising the tax on a periodic basis to reflect rising construction costs.
A bill introduced by Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) during the past legislative session would have yielded about $400 million a year by raising the gas tax by 12 cents a gallon, according to legislative analysts. O'Malley did not take a position on that bill, which Miller said he filed only for discussion purposes.
In May, O'Malley also floated the idea of directing a greater portion of the state's corporate income-tax collections to transportation projects. Other ideas suggested by lawmakers have included raising the tax on vehicle titles.
In his speech, O'Malley criticized President Bush for opposing an increase in gas taxes and supporting a cut in corporate taxes after the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis. By doing so, O'Malley said, Bush was "leading us backwards, not forward."
O'Malley said he was certain many in the audience wondered after the collapse if something similar could happen in Maryland. "It can happen here," he said, pausing for effect. State transportation officials have said in recent weeks that they are confident about the reliability of state bridges.
Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D), who called for an increase in the state gas tax during last year's campaign, credited O'Malley with offering "a realistic, sobering message" about the status of Maryland's transportation fund. "I'm proud that he said that," said Leggett, who was in the audience.
House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel), who also attended, said he believes that lawmakers should address transportation needs at the same time they balance the general fund budget.
"I believe once you get in there to deal with it, you deal with it all at one time," Busch said.
Busch said he has concerns about the impact of raising the gas tax on working-class families but said he is willing to discuss specific proposals.
The state legislature is scheduled to reconvene in January, although there has been talk of a special session before then to address the budget.
