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Maine is long overdue for an update to its transportation funding. With a backlog of maintenance and improvement projects, and a reliance on nearly annual bonding, the current funding system is inadequate.
This isn’t, however, a conversation to have in the waning days of the Legislature. Instead, lawmakers should dust off — and complete the work of — a commission on transportation funding from a few years ago. In 2020, the commission identified new and better ways to pay for transportation infrastructure, but it punted on its task of picking specific recommendations for long-term fixes.
Completing that work should be a priority, but it can’t be thoughtfully done in a few days, amid other legislative priorities, and without formal public input.
Maine transportation funding comes from a mix of sources: the state’s highway fund, the federal government and bonding. The highway fund, in turn, gets most of its revenue from the state’s fuel taxes, along with vehicle registrations and other vehicle-related fees, thus tying funding to those who most use the state’s roads and bridges.
The highway fund has fallen far short of having enough money to pay for needed transportation projects. As a result, voters have, for years, approved bond issues, typically about $100 million, to pay for transportation work. Yet, a large transportation funding shortfall remains.
One reason is that the state has not raised fuel taxes since 2011, when they were unwisely de-indexed. The tax on gasoline is 30 cents per gallon, which is the national average.
The gas tax’s efficiency as a means of raising revenue from road users has also decreased as more and more people turn to more energy-efficient vehicles, including hybrid and electric vehicles — an otherwise encouraging trend.
Because of the ongoing shortfall, the largest single item in a budget revision that Gov. Janet Mills proposed last month is $400 million in state funding for transportation for the biennium, in hopes of drawing down $1 billion in federal funding. It is far from certain that this level of funding will be approved by lawmakers. Not all Democrats support this level of funding, as they seek funding for other priorities, such as child care and affordable housing.
Rather than this kind of one-time move, Republicans this week pushed for an ongoing $400 million in state funding to be dedicated to road and other transportation projects. Even Transportation Commissioner Bruce Van Note, who has long pushed for more highway funding, resisted this change.
As BDN reporter Billy Kobin explained: “The [Republican] party has some leverage as lawmakers aim to reach consensus on the Highway Fund, which is separate from the rest of the state budget, by a July 1 deadline. Putting a plan into place that quickly requires two-thirds votes in both legislative chambers.”
Republicans are raising an important issue, and have offered solutions. A better system of transportation funding is overdue. But, as the 2020 commission work pointed to, it should include a mix of funding sources, including an increase in the state’s fuel taxes and measures to capture the growing use of hybrid and electric vehicles.
The commission failed in its work when members said they didn’t have time to reach consensus on issues such as raising the gas tax, which is supported by some transportation and business groups.
An infusion of general funding money for needed transportation projects is likely part of the solution, but it shouldn’t be the only solution. As the commission tried to do, lawmakers need to seek ongoing ways to fund needed highway work with money raised from those who use that infrastructure the most.
