Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. said Tuesday he thinks Gov. Martin O’Malley’s yet-to-be-revealed transportation proposal would raise enough money to spend on roads, bridges and other transportation projects.

Miller wouldn’t disclose what the governor will propose, but has said that he and the chief executive have discussed the plan.

“We’ve talked about the numbers back and forth,” said Miller, D-Calvert and Prince George’s. “I’m going to meet with him at noon and I’m going to meet with him at four to discuss votes.”

Miller has expressed support in recent interviews for raising less new money for transportation than the Blue Ribbon Commission on Maryland Transportation Funding recommended.

Miller has said the 15-cent gas tax hike proposal is “too much” and said a plan to raise $500 million more a year is more likely than one to raise $800 million.

Business leaders have also tempered their expectations for a transportation revenue package.

Miller also indicated O’Malley has backed off a trial balloon the governor lifted last week as the General Assembly reconvened.

“I’m glad he’s abandoned the sales tax,” the Senate president said.

Miller said the governor is likely to propose a flush tax increase and a shift of teacher pension costs to the counties.

“It’s not what I would like. It’s a compromise,” said Miller. “Compromise is not a dirty word in politics. The governor gives something to the counties, he takes something away. He makes the counties happy, he makes them sad. Not everyone can be happy in these very difficult times.”

State procurement law prevents the Maryland Transit Administration from disclosing proposal details, dollar figures or any other facets of bids to run a pair of MARC lines now operated by CSX Transportation Inc.

There’s no timetable set by MTA to get the deal to the Board of Public Works, where members of the public — come on, I know you’re all interested — will be able to see who wins as well as who else was in the running.

According to the state code — section 21.06.01.02 — “Before a procurement officer makes a recommendation for award of the contract, a procurement officer may not disclose the name of any person who has submitted a proposal.”

That may take awhile. The board approved a two-year, $118 million extension for CSX in June 2010, but CSX wants out of that business. Later that summer, the Department of Transportation decided to start the bidding process over and only received bids Monday.

While a 15-cent bump in the state’s gas tax may seem steep —  the increase would amount to nearly 64 percent — members of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Maryland Transportation Funding were divided on how much of the burden the state’s drivers would bear.

The state’s 23.5-cent gas tax is assessed at the wholesale level. (This is, incidentally, why a local gas tax would be problematic, because gas stations in one jurisdiction may buy fuel from dealers in another county.) And the 15-cent increase per gallon recommended by the commission would also go to the wholesale price in 5-cent bumps over three years.

“Fifteen cents added on to the price at the wholesale level may translate to 5 or 6 cents at the pump because retailers take in a whole variety of factors,” said Del. Tawanna P. Gaines, D-Prince George’s.

Beverley K. Swaim-Staley, the state’s transportation secretary, agreed. She added that her department monitors fuel costs in Maryland and elsewhere and sees fluctuations that go beyond the difference in state’s gasoline taxes. (Here’s a map of state gas taxes with the 18.4-cent federal tax added in. And here are the diesel taxes.)

Some commission members said the gas tax hike would be eaten by oil companies, but others expressed doubt that the Exxons of the world would eagerly shoulder the burden.

“There’s not a direct pass through … but over a long period of time it’s definitely reflected at the pump,” said Lon Anderson, director of public and government information for AAA Mid-Atlantic.

Don Bowman, founder of D.M. Bowman Inc. near Hagerstown, agreed.

“There’s no [fuel] dealer in this state that can absorb a 15-cent, or even a 5-cent cut to his margin,” said Bowman.

Now, more on those big, bottom-line numbers:

The commission’s goal was to suggest a funding package to bring in $870 million more a year to meet state and county transportation needs. What the commission will actually recommend, however, totals only $808 million.

The difference, according to Department of Transportation Spokeswoman Erin Henson, will come from the gas tax. After three years of 5-cent hikes, the gas tax would be indexed to inflation and eventually climb high enough to meet the commission’s goal.

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake was in Annapolis on Tuesday to press lawmakers to restore funding for the city’s road and transit networks after years of budget state raids that have sapped local transportation funds.

During a hearing on that topic, she was asked by a Republican delegate what Baltimore was doing to expand its tax base.

The mayor spoke of easing permitting and regulations and working to attract high-tech companies to the city.

“We just had a business relocate from Prince George’s County…” Rawlings-Blake said, trailing off as many in the hearing room started to laugh.

Sitting two seats to the mayor’s left was Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker. Read the rest of this entry »

A Baltimore County senator’s effort to get the General Assembly involved in the planned, statewide toll increases during the special redistricting session this week will likely have to wait.

Sen. Norman Stone, D-Baltimore County, said Monday the legislature should hold hearings on the issue that has riled lawmakers and drivers of all stripes.

“By the time we get to the regular session, it’ll be etched in stone, no pun intended,” he said.

The Maryland Transportation Authority approved the toll increases last month that will hit in two waves — the first Nov. 1 and the second, July 1, 2013.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. said MdTA needs the toll revenue to maintain its bridges, tunnels and highways. He said the toll issue could be raised during the regular session, but that it would likely be overshadowed by debate over an increase to the state’s gasoline tax.

“The issue of tolls will look like  a flea compared to an elephant,” said Miller.

Sen. Ed Kasemeyer, the chairman of the powerful Budget and Taxation Committee, had a frank assessment Wednesday of the General Assembly’s record on the gasoline tax.

“We just didn’t do our job,” he said.

The excise tax on gasoline has been 23.5 cents per gallon since 1992, and before that, gas tax hikes were a regular occurrence in Annapolis as lawmakers tried to keep the revenue stream growing with inflation. (The tax isn’t indexed.)

Kasemeyer expanded on his statement after the hearing Wednesday on transportation revenue options. He said the legislature has avoided many “unpleasant” tax and fee increases over the years, a pattern that backs lawmakers into a corner and forces big increases on the public. The alternative — steady, regular increases — would be better, he said.

“These kinds of fees and taxes and tolling, as long as you know what’s going to happen, when it’s going to happen, there’s an acceptance,” Kasemeyer said.

Some other tidbits I couldn’t shoehorn into my story on the hearing…
Read the rest of this entry »

An engineering executive said Wednesday his firm saw no problem with a State Highway Administration bidding process that yielded his firm a $16 million contract in 2008, and has since come under the scrutiny of state auditors.

“I think some of these things are unfair and create a pretty poor perception of some public officials who are doing a pretty good job for the public,” said Steve Zentz, a partner with Rummel, Klepper & Kahl.

RK&K and KCI Technologies won the contract Oct. 15, 2008. Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson Inc. was awarded a similar five-year, $16 million contract for construction management and inspection services in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties about two months later.

The Department of Legislative Services report found SHA did not follow its normal procurement process in awarding the contracts.

They were awarded just months before the winning bidders made donations to a charity golf event promoted by a company part-owned by an SHA official. And other former SHA employees took jobs in the private sector that positioned them to work on contracts they helped craft during their time with the state.

Read the rest of this entry »

The State Highway Administration has provided a little post-holiday clarity after Tuesday’s story on the wacky diverging diamond traffic pattern that some planners think will alleviate congestion at the interchange at Arundel Mills Boulevard and Maryland 295.

SHA has approved the concept of the design, according to spokesman Charlie Gischaler.

“SHA ’s Office of Access Management engineers are still awaiting receipt of the plans for the design and will review the plans to ensure that the additional traffic is safely mitigated,” he wrote in an email.

SHA couldn’t track down that information late last week as state offices were closed Friday as part of a budget-balancing move, and many workers took off Thursday as well to extend their already extended holiday weekend to five days.

For more background, Gischlar added:

It is worth noting that commercial or residential developers are required to submit a traffic impact study to SHA if our roads (the state-numbered routes) will be impacted by a development. Engineers from SHA ’s Office of Access Management evaluate the impact study for the safest and most effective improvement to mitigate the traffic increase due to the development , as well as storm water management, materials and many other functions involved in road improvements. The developer is responsible for construction of the improvement. SHA will then inspect the traffic improvement, whether its a new stop sign, turn lanes, etc) to make sure it was built according to our requirements.

The diverging diamond at the Arundel Mills exit would be Maryland’s first intersection of that design. The basic idea is to eliminate left turns across traffic, a factor traffic consultants blame for much of the congestion and accidents at conventional intersections. (Check out a youtube video of the diverging diamond concept here.)

Planners hope to have the work completed in time to open the revamped intersection along with the Maryland Live! Casino being built next to Arundel Mills shopping mall by developer David Cordish.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. said Friday he doesn’t think lawmakers can round up the votes to raise the state’s gas tax during a special session this fall.

Miller, the most powerful advocate of raising the fuel levy in the General Assembly, told Brucy DePuyt on NewsChannel 8 that “we’re not going to be able to get the votes to raise the gas tax in October.”

More from Miller: “The problem is gas hovering almost to $5 a gallon. I don’t think public sentiment is going to be there in terms of the population, it’s not going to be there in terms of the legislature, especially with the uncertainty in the Middle East. So… somewhere in the near future we’re going to have to deal with it. But my prediction is with the current uncertainty, and the high cost of gas, we’re not going to be able to get the votes to raise the gas tax in October.”

That came just days after Miller sent a letter to Gov. Martin O’Malley and other lawmakers pressing for the gas tax and other mechanisms to raise transportation dollars to be on the agenda when the General Assembly returns in the fall for a special session on congressional redistricting.

Transportation funding has been a top issue for O’Malley since the legislature wrapped up its session last month. He has lobbied for the business community’s support on the issue, but the question of raising the gas tax has split traditional allies in the private sector.

The Blue Ribbon Commission on Maryland Transportation Funding has recommended the state seek $800 million in new transportation revenues every year.  Raising the gas tax — which has been at 23.5 cents per gallon since 1992 — would likely be a part of any revenue package put forth by O’Malley or legislative leaders.

Bumping the tax to 33.5 cents and indexing it to inflation would bring in an additional $385 million, the commission estimated. Applying the 6 percent sales tax to gasoline and diesel sales would yield $580 million.

Other options include raising driver license fees by $10 to yield $15 million, bumping transit fares by 25 percent, for $30 million, and raising emissions inspection fees by $10, to bring in $15 million.

Pining for those good ol’ days when standard-issue Maryland license plates came in that stately black-on-white? Well, some lawmakers apparently are.

Four Baltimore City delegates, led by Kieffer J. Mitchell Jr., have sponsored a bill that would bring back the classic look. The only catch — drivers who want to slap the old school plates on their cars will have to shell out an extra fee to the Motor Vehicle Administration to get one.

The state began issuing the War of 1812 commemorative plates in June 2010, and will continue to do so through June 2015. The state is gearing up for the first event in its celebration of the 200th anniversary of the war this summer.

The bill would only let the MVA charge enough to cover the costs of producing the special plates.It’s not clear from the bill or legislative analysis what the fee would be, but it appears it wouldn’t amount to more than $15 or $20.

The administration assumes about 12,000 drivers will choose to take the white and black plates every year, and another 3,200 drivers will switch from the 1812 plates to the older versions in 2012. That year, they expect the program would bring in $189,400, or less than $13 per plate. Take out the drivers who switch, and it comes to about $16 per plate.