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CLT UPDATE
Friday, June 20, 2014
Congratulations Tank The Gas
Tax!
|
Seeking a place on the November ballot, backers
of the ballot initiative to repeal the law indexing the gas tax to
inflation on Thursday said they submitted 26,000 signatures to city
and town election officials. The deadline to turn in the final round
of signatures, with 11,485 signatures required, was Wednesday at 5
p.m.
Rep. Geoff Diehl (R-Whitman) said after the
second-round signatures are handed over to Secretary of State Bill
Galvin in early July, the campaign will be “moving into the
education phase.”
State House News Service
Thursday, June 18, 2014
Gas tax indexing opponents say they have 26,000 signatures
I cannot begin to tell you the pressure behind
the scenes I got when I announced the ballot question to repeal the
gas tax being linked to inflation.
I was told it was a career ender. I was told I
would be targeted for defeat. I was told that it was an impossible
mission.
I am proud to report to you today that we got
enough signatures in the second round of collections to place the
repeal of the linkage of the gas tax to inflation on the ballot.
We did it!
Excerpt of message from State Rep. Geoff Diehl
(R-Whitman)
Thursday, June 19, 2014
With just over ten days left until the start
of the new fiscal year, a six-member conference committee
charged with hammering out an annual budget has not yet come to
an agreement.
“Every dot, every comma has to be reconciled
between the House and the Senate,” Senate Ways and Means
Committee Chairman Stephen Brewer told the News Service
Thursday. “All little policies, and big policies, outside
sections and numbers, all have to be. But everybody’s working
cooperatively, professionally and with a sense of the timeliness
of this.”
State House News Service
Thursday, June 18, 2014
No budget yet, but Brewer says talks are professional
A compromise bill reforming the state’s
welfare system was delayed a week on Thursday when a South Shore
senator objected to the short time lawmakers were given to look
over the final version hammered out by a Democrat-controlled
conference committee.
Sen. Robert Hedlund, a Weymouth Republican,
said he was a member of the panel that met formally only once
last November, where they voted to close the negotiations to the
public. Hedlund complained that advocates lobbying lawmakers
seemed to have more input in the negotiations than committee
members....
Hedlund argued that legislation of “this
magnitude” should have more time for review, and said the
conference committee’s version of the legislation is weaker than
what the Senate passed. He particularly mentioned a section that
passed the Senate, but was left out of the final bill
stipulating that that no one would be eligible for public
housing unless they were a legal citizen.
The Brockton Enterprise
Friday, June 20, 2014
Weymouth Senator Robert Hedlund holds up vote on welfare reform
When the state makes its much-anticipated
switch to all-electronic tolling on the Massachusetts Turnpike
in two years, drivers will encounter not just an overhauled
collection system, but also new rates, with collections at new
locations. And some residents unaccustomed to paying tolls, such
as in Newton, are getting used to the idea they’ll have to fork
over a little extra to make trips between exits within their
community.
But the biggest impact of electronic tolling
could be a rethinking of how and where tolls are collected
throughout the state in the future — and not just on the
turnpike.
Plans have been in the works to eliminate
cash tollbooths on the turnpike, a switch that would require all
drivers to pay with an E-ZPass, or pay a bill that arrives in
the mail. It’s an effort that officials have said would save
millions of dollars in the long run....
And no-cash tolling on the turnpike could be
a first step toward probing the opportunities for tolling in
other parts of the state — a possible solution to the complaints
that many residents lodge about the lack of equity between
commuters in different regions....
The Boston Globe
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
For highway tolls, a new era is dawning
Mass. Pike’s electronic system spurs rethinking of where they’re
used
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Chip Ford's CLT
Commentary
Congratulations to the Tank The Gas Tax
grassroots group and all the volunteers who helped collect
signatures — this round turning in
more than twice the required number by Wednesday! According to a
news report today in the Newburyport Daily News:
A coalition of groups called
Transportation for Massachusetts is expected to launch a
major campaign to defeat the repeal referendum. The group
says the increased gas tax would cost the average family
only $5 a year.
“That’s really not a lot of money to
spend to make sure that we have safe highways, roads and
bridges,” said coalition director
Kristina Egan.
Note that every time the tax-borrow-and-spenders
want more of our money, the first argument they offer is that it's
"only $5 a year," or "only a slice of pizza a week," or "only a cup
of coffee a day." Don't they realize how much they've
cumulatively 'nickeled-and-dimed'
us into
the fifth-highest tax burden in the nation?
There's just over a week remaining before the end
of this fiscal year (June 30) and the beginning of the next fiscal
year on July 1. The budget conference committee has yet to report
out its House-Senate compromise budget —
how over
$36 billion of our tax money will be spent in the coming fiscal
year. This is how it goes, time after time. When it's finally
revealed like a puff of white smoke rising over the Vatican, there
will be a day, two if rank-and-file legislators are lucky, to read
it over and decide how they'll vote, whether or not to accept the
compromise budget.
Look at the House-Senate conference committee on
Welfare Reform as another example. It has met once since
November to work out a compromise. It released its final report
on Wednesday evening and the Senate planned to vote on it the next
day, Thursday. Since nobody in that body could possibly have the
time to read and digest it, Sen. Bob Hedlund (R-Weymouth) was able
to get the Senate to agree to postpone a vote until next week.
Sit on it until the eleventh hour, then expect a
lightening vote of ignorance. Remember the "Tech Tax" in last
year's massive Transportation (tax hikes) bill and how many
legislators later claimed they didn't know what was in it, what the
consequences of passage would be? Remember how quickly they had to
reverse themselves and vote to repeal it?
The battle over the automatic increases in the
gas tax will be on the ballot, where it stands a good chance of
being repealed — but look!
— already they're scheming for a new
way to pick motorists' pockets. The latest plan is to start
automatically tolling drivers, gas tax or not, for the use of
our roads and highways.
All that's needed for this scheme to work is
installation of "all-electronic toll gantries," first on the
Turnpike then around the state. Don't have an
E-ZPass transponder in your vehicle? No problem: the gantry-mounted
camera overhead will take a photo of your license plate as you drive
beneath and, like magic, the bill will arrive in your mail. Fail to
pay that bill, no problem either: they can always suspend your
driver's license or refuse to renew it until you pay it
—
just as they already do with unpaid parking tickets, excise taxes,
etc.
It begins on the Turnpike in two years. How many
more years before
electronic toll gantries start spreading over a road or highway near
you?
The Boston Globe reported:
Patrick Jones, executive director and chief executive of the
International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association — it’s
an organization that represents owners and operators of toll
facilities — said that switching to all-electronic tolling
could also open the door to new ways of thinking about
tolling: congestion pricing, for instance. Under it, tolls
fluctuate, based on the time of day or the number of cars on
the road.
“All-electronic tolling allows for a more nuanced, more
precise tolling based on a number of factors,” Jones said.
If this is the future, the only question is: will
it be in-place-of the gas tax
— or in-addition-to
the gas tax?
This being Taxachusetts, I believe we all know
the answer. When the state needs more "revenue" they'll just
erect a few more toll gantries.
Watch for incremental mission creep, until toll
gantries blot out the sky!
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Chip Ford |
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State House News Service
Thursday, June 18, 2014
Gas tax indexing opponents say they have 26,000 signatures
By Gintautas Dumcius
Seeking a place on the November ballot, backers of the ballot
initiative to repeal the law indexing the gas tax to inflation on
Thursday said they submitted 26,000 signatures to city and town
election officials. The deadline to turn in the final round of
signatures, with 11,485 signatures required, was Wednesday at 5 p.m.
Rep. Geoff Diehl (R-Whitman) said after the second-round signatures
are handed over to Secretary of State Bill Galvin in early July, the
campaign will be “moving into the education phase.”
Lawmakers voted last year to increase the gas tax by 3 cents to 24
cents per gallon and tie future increases to inflation.
“Honestly, some people didn’t know the indexing was happening,”
Diehl said of people who signed the petition. “They just thought the
three cents was passed.”
Proponents of the gas tax hike and indexing it to inflation say the
funds are needed for transportation infrastructure improvements. But
opponents, including Republican lawmakers and activists, say
lawmakers should have to vote on future increases, and indexing
amounts to “taxation without representation.” Former U.S. Attorney
Michael Sullivan is serving as the ballot group’s attorney.
State House News Service
Thursday, June 18, 2014
No budget yet, but Brewer says talks are professional
By Gintautas Dumcius and Michael Norton
With just over ten days left until the start of the new fiscal year,
a six-member conference committee charged with hammering out an
annual budget has not yet come to an agreement.
“Every dot, every comma has to be reconciled between the House and
the Senate,” Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairman Stephen Brewer
told the News Service Thursday. “All little policies, and big
policies, outside sections and numbers, all have to be. But
everybody’s working cooperatively, professionally and with a sense
of the timeliness of this.”
The timing of the budget’s release this year could influence other
legislative affairs, since budget amendments and vetoes from Gov.
Deval Patrick will be lumped in with other pressing matters in the
weeks and days leading up to the end of formal sessions for the year
on July 31.
During non-election years, the Legislature takes a summer break and
returns for formal sessions in the fall. But during election years,
formal sessions and the opportunity to advance controversial matters
or bills requiring roll call votes ends when August arrives. Next
year’s budget is expected to weigh in around the $36.4 billion mark.
The Brockton Enterprise
Friday, June 20, 2014
Weymouth Senator Robert Hedlund holds up vote on welfare reform
By Enterprise staff
A compromise bill reforming the state’s welfare system was delayed a
week on Thursday when a South Shore senator objected to the short
time lawmakers were given to look over the final version hammered
out by a Democrat-controlled conference committee.
Sen. Robert Hedlund, a Weymouth Republican, said he was a member of
the panel that met formally only once last November, where they
voted to close the negotiations to the public. Hedlund complained
that advocates lobbying lawmakers seemed to have more input in the
negotiations than committee members.
Throughout 2013, lawmakers in both the House and Senate spent months
discussing, debating and working out details to come up with a
wide-ranging package of reforms to the state’s welfare system aimed
at preventing fraud and abuse, while finding ways to get people off
public benefits and into a job.
“However, the manner in which the bill is presented to us today was
abrupt to say the least,” Hedlund said before making a motion to
delay action on the bill until June 26. The compromise bill was
filed Wednesday evening.
After 15 minutes of debate, the Senate voted to delay, on a voice
vote.
Hedlund argued that legislation of “this magnitude” should have more
time for review, and said the conference committee’s version of the
legislation is weaker than what the Senate passed. He particularly
mentioned a section that passed the Senate, but was left out of the
final bill stipulating that that no one would be eligible for public
housing unless they were a legal citizen.
Sen. Michael Barrett, a Lexington Democrat, said that section raised
concerns for the conference committee because the state has agreed
to allow victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake to seek shelter in
Massachusetts.
Sen. Jennifer Flanagan (D-Leominster), another member of the
conference committee, said lawmakers have debated reforms for years.
“The bill before us is a true compromise,” she said.
Sen. Stephen Brewer, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, said
a conference committee’s job is to blend the two versions of
legislation.
“No one gets everything they want,” he said.
Brewer said welfare will “never be a perfect system, but I believe
this system, these reforms are going to make a huge difference of
accountability, transparency, and have people go back to work as
best as possible.”
The legislation includes $18.5 million for job training programs,
and creates a program to connect “able-bodied” individuals with
full-time jobs before they start receiving benefits. It revives a
full employment program aimed at placing benefit recipients in
full-time jobs. Employers who hire individuals from the full
employment program would be eligible for a health care subsidy for
one year followed by a tax credit of $100 per month up to $1,200.
“We want them to be able to take care of their families. We also
provide job training to make sure people are educated in the field,”
Flanagan said. “We require applicants to seek employment. We don’t
want them simply staying home collecting their benefits.”
The Department of Transitional Assistance would be required to have
specialists assigned to help high-risk recipients. It also
establishes a program to allow welfare recipients to save money,
above the asset limit of $2,500 toward first, last and security rent
payments and for education as they transition off public assistance.
The bill also reduces the period for benefit extensions, requires
self-declarations of residency to be signed under the penalties of
perjury, bans self-declarations from being used as the only
verification form of eligibility, and increases penalties for store
owners who knowingly allow the purchase of prohibited products or
services, such as Lottery tickets, with an EBT card. Store owners
could face license suspensions.
The Boston Globe
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
For highway tolls, a new era is dawning
Mass. Pike’s electronic system spurs rethinking of where they’re
used
By Martine Powers
When the state makes its much-anticipated switch to all-electronic
tolling on the Massachusetts Turnpike in two years, drivers will
encounter not just an overhauled collection system, but also new
rates, with collections at new locations. And some residents
unaccustomed to paying tolls, such as in Newton, are getting used to
the idea they’ll have to fork over a little extra to make trips
between exits within their community.
But the biggest impact of electronic tolling could be a rethinking
of how and where tolls are collected throughout the state in the
future — and not just on the turnpike.
Plans have been in the works to eliminate cash tollbooths on the
turnpike, a switch that would require all drivers to pay with an E-ZPass,
or pay a bill that arrives in the mail. It’s an effort that
officials have said would save millions of dollars in the long run.
In summer 2016, Massachusetts Department of Transportation officials
will eliminate the existing rate structure, a complex system that
charges drivers based on where they enter and exit the turnpike.
Instead, the highway will be divided into sections, with each
section bookended by a toll gantry outfitted with an E-ZPass
detector and license plate reader. Each time a driver passes beneath
a gantry, a charge of 40 cents will be levied. If the driver passes
under four gantries in one journey, the total charge will be $1.60.
For drivers who typically travel between Interstate 95 and Exit 17,
in Newton Corner, the change won’t be a good one: Currently, no
tollbooths exist on that stretch of road, but with all-electronic
tolling, drivers will be charged a 40-cent fee.
Ted Hess-Mahan, a Newton alderman, said he’s generally a fan of
all-electronic tolling — it makes driving through New Hampshire a
breeze, he said. But he worries the new toll in Newton could cause
more people to take local roads to bypass the toll.
That could be particularly problematic at the perilous roundabout at
Exit 17, an intersection that residents have dubbed “the Circle of
Death.”
“What I am concerned about is whether anyone has looked at the
traffic impact from putting a toll collector right there,” he said.
“It could make the Circle of Death even more dangerous than it
already is.”
But Highway Administrator Frank DePaola contends the new system will
ease congestion on local roads — especially along Routes 16 and 30,
which are currently used as shortcuts by people seeking to avoid the
toll at Exit 15. With electronic tolling, those shortcuts won’t save
them any money.
As for increasing congestion between exits 16 and 17, as toll-averse
drivers opt for local roads: not likely, DePaola said. Using the
side streets would simply take too long to make it worthwhile for
most drivers.
“I don’t see anyone purposely driving through that traffic circle to
get on the Pike there just to save 40 cents,” he said.
In some cases, such as journeys from West Newton to downtown Boston,
the new toll rates will be cheaper: Currently, traveling from West
Newton’s Exit 16 to Copley Square’s Exit 22 costs $1.25; under the
new toll structure, it will cost $1.20.
And there will be no tolls for travel between exits 4 and 6 near
Springfield, and exits 10, 10A, and 11 around Worcester.
“The decision will benefit residents of these areas by allowing them
to move freely through their cities to access employment, education,
and health care opportunities,” MassDOT spokesman Sara Lavoie said
in a statement.
Transportation officials are considering other spots to make
changes. One idea is lowering the $3.50 toll incurred leaving East
Boston and Logan Airport to get to downtown Boston. That fee could
be split, with drivers paying smaller tolls in each direction.
And no-cash tolling on the turnpike could be a first step toward
probing the opportunities for tolling in other parts of the state —
a possible solution to the complaints that many residents lodge
about the lack of equity between commuters in different regions.
“Ever since the Big Dig, there has been a huge amount of frustration
from people who live west of Boston and commute on the Mass. Pike
that there isn’t a toll on Route 93 and the Central Artery,” said
Hess-Mahan.
“Now they want to add another toll at West Newton, and there’s no
consideration that we’re paying for the Central Artery, benefitting
people living north and south of Boston.”
MassDOT officials cannot expand tolls to new stretches of road
without the help of state and federal legislators, who would have to
enact new laws to allow for more tolling.
But state transportation officials may be able to better make their
case if they have evidence that all-electronic toll gantries are
cost-effective, easy to install, and simple to manage. That could
help shore up some pie-in-the-sky proposals, such as building a new
bridge to Cape Cod, one with tolls, or instituting premium-price
express lanes on Route 3, DePaola said.
“It’s something we’d be interested in talking to the Legislature
about,” DePaola said.
Patrick Jones, executive director and chief executive of the
International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association — it’s an
organization that represents owners and operators of toll facilities
— said that switching to all-electronic tolling could also open the
door to new ways of thinking about tolling: congestion pricing, for
instance. Under it, tolls fluctuate, based on the time of day or the
number of cars on the road.
“All-electronic tolling allows for a more nuanced, more precise
tolling based on a number of factors,” Jones said.
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NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this
material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes
only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
Citizens for Limited Taxation ▪
PO Box 1147 ▪ Marblehead, MA 01945
▪ 508-915-3665
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