Chamber's Position on Gas Tax
Letter to legislation from Russell Denver, ACCGS President
On behalf of the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield, representing 1400 businesses in the Greater Springfield area I am writing to express our position on transportation reforms and the funding of our infrastructure as voted on by the board of directors.
First and foremost, we applaud Senate President Therese Murray and Governor Deval Patrick for the reforms found in their bills, SB 13 and HB 107. Many of the reforms mentioned in these bills, if not all of them, can be found in a well received study on the transportation systems in Massachusetts released some two years ago. Those reforms should have been adopted then and must be adopted now. With these reforms comes savings through consolidations, changes in workplace benefits, and efficiencies. These reforms should take place immediately and we believe their impact on the bottom line will be seen in the very near future.
Once that is done, a more meaningful and targeted discussion can take place to address the needs in providing the business community and residents alike a properly built and maintained infrastructure.
On behalf of the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield, representing 1400 businesses in the Greater Springfield area I am writing to express our position on transportation reforms and the funding of our infrastructure as voted on by the board of directors.
First and foremost, we applaud Senate President Therese Murray and Governor Deval Patrick for the reforms found in their bills, SB 13 and HB 107. Many of the reforms mentioned in these bills, if not all of them, can be found in a well received study on the transportation systems in Massachusetts released some two years ago. Those reforms should have been adopted then and must be adopted now. With these reforms comes savings through consolidations, changes in workplace benefits, and efficiencies. These reforms should take place immediately and we believe their impact on the bottom line will be seen in the very near future.
Once that is done, a more meaningful and targeted discussion can take place to address the needs in providing the business community and residents alike a properly built and maintained infrastructure.
We believe the 19 cent increase called for in HB 107 is an inappropriate tax hike in what is a regressive tax and one that will be felt in the cost of many other goods. The proposed increase will be harmful to Massachusetts competitiveness within New England and beyond. Rural areas of the Commonwealth will be heavily impacted by this tax increase.
We are also concerned about the equity aspects of the bill, believing that for many years that equity did not occur and that our area of the state was called upon to support eastern projects more than it should have. We believe that the savings from implementing the proposed reforms should be allocated directly to the fare structure of those entities. While we appreciate the sections of HB 107 dedicating a fixed and steady percentage of the gas tax to the regions in which it is produced, we believe that the inequities of the past should be considered. For instance, it is clear that our Regional Transit Authority has been greatly underfunded for years, has not been approved for forward funding, and has not had a dedicated revenue stream such as the MBTA has enjoyed.
We sincerely believe that most of the reforms mentioned in both SB 13 and HB 107 can and should be adopted immediately and once done, we stand ready to help in addressing the unmet needs in our transportation system.
We are also concerned about the equity aspects of the bill, believing that for many years that equity did not occur and that our area of the state was called upon to support eastern projects more than it should have. We believe that the savings from implementing the proposed reforms should be allocated directly to the fare structure of those entities. While we appreciate the sections of HB 107 dedicating a fixed and steady percentage of the gas tax to the regions in which it is produced, we believe that the inequities of the past should be considered. For instance, it is clear that our Regional Transit Authority has been greatly underfunded for years, has not been approved for forward funding, and has not had a dedicated revenue stream such as the MBTA has enjoyed.
We sincerely believe that most of the reforms mentioned in both SB 13 and HB 107 can and should be adopted immediately and once done, we stand ready to help in addressing the unmet needs in our transportation system.