Jan 12, 2009 7:53 pm US/Eastern
Gov. Patrick Outlines Goals Of Any Gas Tax Hike
BOSTON (AP) ―
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Gov. Deval Patrick (File Image)
WBZ
The drive to increase Massachusetts'
gas tax is gaining momentum on Beacon Hill, with
Gov. Deval Patrick saying the tax hike could be a "serious alternative" to dramatic toll increases on the Massachusetts Turnpike.
In comments made online and to reporters outside his office Monday, Patrick outlined a set of three conditions under which a gas tax hike would be acceptable to him -- although he did not say exactly how much the increase should be.
First, Patrick said, the gas tax would have to be high enough not just to avoid the latest round of Turnpike toll hikes, but to remove the toll booths altogether or avoid other dramatic toll increases in the future.
"If all we are talking about is a gas tax that enables us to avoid this round of toll increases, we're just asking people to pay more money for the status quo," he said.
Patrick said any extra gas tax revenues should be dedicated solely for transportation needs, including putting the MBTA on more solid financial footing, "so it doesn't get diverted to some other good idea that comes along later."
He also said any increase in the gas tax should also be part of a larger transportation reform effort designed to simplify and consolidate the state's various transportation agencies.
"If the gas tax has a role in making that all work and we can get consensus in the building then we may be there, but we'll have to see," Patrick said.
The administration has already floated one plan to dismantle the Turnpike Authority.
The plan would eliminate tolls west of Route 128 except at two state border crossings, raise tolls closer to Boston to pay off Big Dig debt and turn over operations of the Turnpike within Route 128, the so-called Metropolitan Highway System, to the Massachusetts Port Authority.
Consensus behind a gas tax hike appears to be growing.
In November, House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi endorsed the idea of raising the gas tax, calling it "a fairer way to share our costs" than nearly doubling tolls on the Massachusetts Turnpike and the tunnels leading to Logan International Airport.
DiMasi echoed those comments Monday.
"I think a gas tax is necessary instead of tolls and I understand that the governor said something similar today so hopefully we're riding in the same car now," DiMasi said.
The current state gas tax of 23.5 cents a gallon has not changed since 1991. The national average is 30 cents.
Part of the momentum driving talk of a gas tax hike is the proposal to dramatically increase tolls.
The Turnpike board voted in November to nearly double most tolls -- from $3.50 in Boston tunnels to $7, for example -- to generate about $100 million in additional annual revenue to cover the pike's debt, most of it related to the Big Dig.
A final vote is needed before the tolls take effect.
Opponents of the toll increase have ramped up pressure on lawmakers, arguing that the gas tax is a fairer way to spread out the cost of the Big Dig rather than saddling Turnpike drivers with skyrocketing tolls.
Turnpike board member Mary Connaughton said any gas tax hike should go hand-in-hand with the elimination of toll booths, which she said would prove too tempting for future lawmakers and governors.
"As long as there are toll booths, state leaders will look at them as sources of revenue," she said. "The gas tax should go up, the tolls should go down and the Big Dig burden should be shared by all residents of the Commonwealth."
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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