Secretary of Transportation Jim Aloisi was kind enough to chat with us last night for about 45 minutes explaining the ins and outs of Governor Patrick's transportation reform bill. We believe these are Secretary Aloisi's first on-the-record comments regarding the bill.
Overview
Aloisi was emphatic about how important it is to achieve sweeping transportation reform immediately.
No one's going to vote for net new revenue, a gas tax or any other approach, in 2010. That's an election year. It isn't going to happen. We can't afford to wait until 2011. Not with a $165 million deficit at the T, not with the Turnpike near bankruptcy, not with the regional transit authorities underfunded, and not with the need to bring new revenue into the rest of the system. We just can't do it.... At some point, we've just got to talk the honest truth to each other....
I can't say I'm a regular viewer of Blue Mass. Group, but I know that people had some opinions about me. And if you want to know about me, you're going to know ... that I didn't take a pay cut to take this job to lie to you, or to anybody else. I believe sincerely in what we're doing, so I'm going to use that passion when we're talking to the Senate and to the House.... It's not merely well-intentioned and it's not just the right thing to do. It's the essential, the necessary thing to do....
There's an opportunity to get the future right.... This is the moment. It's not going to happen next year. It's going to happen now, or it's not going to happen. And if it doesn't happen, we're in big trouble.
Gas tax and tolls
On the details, Aloisi confirmed today's Globe headline: the Governor proposes a 19-cent increase in the gas tax (from 23.5 to 42.5, which with the 18.4 cent federal tax will total 60.9 cents a gallon). Aloisi explained that the 19 cents will be dedicated as follows:
6 cents "to save the T from imminent budget disaster";
4 cents "to save the Turnpike and its toll payers from the imminent toll increases that you've read about in the paper that are really sky-high and are going to be very harmful to people";
1.5 cents for "regional transit authorities, to both forward fund them and to fund them in addition to their current level of funding";
2 cents to "moving people in the highway department off of the capital budget, freeing up capital dollars" (apparently many highway department employees' salaries are now paid from the capital budget -- i.e., the money is borrowed -- instead of from the operating budget);
1.5 cents for targeted regional road projects;
3 cents for rail projects outside of Boston;
1 cent for innovative gas and toll solutions.
[UPDATED -- the Secretary misspoke last night on the precise breakdown.]
Aloisi explained that when the Turnpike Authority meets next week, it "will have to vote a toll increase," but if the legislature acts on the gas tax proposal in time, the toll increase would never be implemented. The Governor's proposal, if adopted, is to "enable tolls to come down west of 128, and it will enable us to hold the current level of tolls in the urban system steady." He confirmed that, under the Governor's plan, the toll increase that will be voted next week would never be implemented.
Aloisi also confirmed that the Turnpike Authority will be eliminated, and that all of the state's transportation agencies will be reorganized under the control of the Governor.
Pension and benefits reform
Aloisi told us that many of the more extravagant perks and benefits that now run through the transportation system -- Exhibit A being the T's "23 and out" pension where a worker can retire on a full pension after 23 years of service, regardless of age -- will come to an end.
We're not anti-labor. There will be people downsized when we merge the Turnpike and the Highway Department, and we want to offer people workforce retraining and other initiatives, because we care about people. But at the same time, the practice at the MBTA of 23-and-out in terms of pension, or the practice of not having the same health care plan as everyone else in state government, those things have to come to an end. And we're going to make sure that in this bill, we're not going to be unfriendly to people, but we're going to be clear that the perks and the special deals of the past are over.
Aloisi said that they have looked at legal and collective bargaining issues regarding the benefits at the T, and that they see no legal obstacles to the changes. Collective bargaining agreements currently in effect would be honored until they expire.
In response to Charley's follow-up on the T issues, Aloisi said that the new rule will be
Fifty-five.... We're not going to disturb 23, but you won't be able to retire until you're 55 years old. And new employees, we're going to move to the chapter 32 system like everybody else. So we're going to try to phase out the T's current approach.... With new employees, and with employees at the Pike as well, everyone will be under the state pension chapter 32 system.
"Vehicle miles traveled" system
Of interest to many on this site, Aloisi confirmed that the Governor will propose a pilot program to adopt a "vehicle miles traveled" system, along the lines of what is currently underway in Oregon. According to Aloisi, a pilot program could be started as soon as a bill is passed that would begin testing the plan, including strategies like peak pricing. He believes that "you can do this is a way that is completely clean with respect to people's concerns about privacy." He also explained that a system like this is necessary because as cars become more fuel efficient, the value of the gas tax will plummet.
If we don't act now to anticipate a very soon-to-come greener vehicular fuel efficiency environment, we're dead. There's no alternative. The best solution is to say to people, you pay for what you use. It's transparent, it's fair, and it's fungible, and I'm really excited about it....
Aloisi confirmed that there will be a credit for vehicle-miles-traveled against the gas tax, so that drivers will not be double-taxed.
Hummer tax and people with disabilities
I asked Aloisi about billxi's concern that the "Hummer tax" would adversely affect the disability community. He responded:
Maybe we need to think about that. It's a point I haven't thought about until this minute, but I think the answer is we've got to be open to understanding how normative approaches to things often do discriminate against various categories of people. I'll think about it, and we'll see what we can do.... I'm sensitive to it, and you can always figure out, I think, how to create appropriate exceptions to rules.
We also understand that the RMV would be authorized to create regulations with respect to the "Hummer tax," so RMV should have the ability to carve out exceptions for situations like billxi's.
A new website
Finally (for now), part of the reform is to increase interactivity with the public. And to that end, they've set up a new website that is designed to improve transparency and to enhance the ability to interact directly with the state transportation agencies. I haven't had a chance to explore it yet -- if you do, let us know what you think.
