In a letter hand-delivered to the Governor’s office on
Monday afternoon, the Caucus warned Patrick that “Your conditional release of
only half of the funds not only puts our communities in an untenable position
of choosing what projects to fund and whether to build half a bridge in the
hopes that you will authorize the full amount, but it further delays projects
that need to begin if they are to be completed this season.” The letter was
signed by Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester), Assistant Minority
Leader Robert Hedlund (R-Weymouth), Minority Whip Richard Ross (R-Wenham) and
Senator Michael Knapik (R-Westfield), the Ranking Republican on the Senate
Committee on Ways and Means.
Last month, Governor Patrick informed municipalities that he
would be authorizing the release of only $150 million of the $300 million in
Chapter 90 funding approved by the Legislature. Senate Republicans are asking
Patrick to communicate any remaining concerns he has “so that we can address
those specific concerns and get this money to municipalities without any
further costly delay.”
“Municipal officials have repeatedly heard the message that
$300 million is coming to fund critical repairs to roads and bridges, only to
now receive half that amount in the middle of the construction season,” noted
Senator Tarr. “The Governor filed a bill containing $300 million and the
Legislature approved that bill. Now it’s time to honor those terms and move
forward on the one funding item everyone has agreed on, and continue debate, discussion
and negotiations on the things on which we haven’t agreed.”
“There’s no practical reason our cities and towns should not
receive these funds now, which are desperately needed to fix our area roads,” added
Senator Hedlund. “The only reason to withhold these funds appears politically
motivated and I do not believe cities and towns should suffer from the
political games being played on Beacon Hill.”
Based on the Patrick Administration’s own recommendations,
the House of Representatives and the Senate unanimously approved $300 million
for the Chapter 90 program, an increase of $100 million over last year’s
allocation for local road and bridge repairs. Patrick signed the Chapter 90
bill into law on May 24, and just last week the Legislature finalized an
accompanying terms bill dictating how the funds will be distributed.
“The release of these funds is extremely important to our
cities and towns as the construction season is already underway,” said Senator
Knapik. “We must deliver on the full $300 million allocation to help maintain
an efficient and functional transportation infrastructure, one that is so
critical to the local economy.”
“This funding is crucial for communities across the
Commonwealth as construction season has begun and municipalities are addressing
their current transportation needs and projects,” added Senator Ross. “Not only
will this funding enable cities and towns to maintain the safety and repair of
local roads and bridges, it will provide a necessary economic boost to the
construction industry and the Commonwealth’s economy as a whole.”
In their letter, Senate Republicans called on Patrick to
fulfill the state’s commitment to assisting cities and towns in meeting their
infrastructure needs.
“You recognized in The Way Forward: A 21st Century
Transportation Plan, that previous commitments to road and bridge funding have
led to ‘safer roads, less congestion, and more comfortable commutes for
residents of every community in the Commonwealth,’” the Caucus letter notes.
“Arbitrarily abandoning that commitment now jeopardizes those gains and will
turn today’s cost-efficient repairs into tomorrow’s unnecessary and unduly
expensive roadway replacements.”
A copy of the Caucus letter to Governor Patrick is posted
below.
His Excellency Deval L. Patrick
Office of the Governor State House Room 360
Boston, MA 02133
Dear Governor Patrick,
We are writing to respectfully request the release of the
full $300 million allocated for Chapter 90 funding that was unanimously
approved by the Legislature in House Bill 3379 and which you signed into law on
May 24, 2013. The House and Senate’s prompt passage of the Chapter 90 Terms
Bill last week demonstrates our commitment to getting these needed funds out to
our communities as soon as possible. With construction season fully underway,
and the April 1 deadline to get notice to municipalities of the amount
allocated long past, we believe it is imperative that $300 million be
immediately released.
Your decision thus far to withhold $150 million in Chapter
90 funding causes us great concern. The Senate and House Ways and Means
Committees have both determined that the $300 million outlay is affordable.
This figure has been debated on both the House and Senate floors, with its
prudence and sustainability attested to by the members of the committee and the
entire Legislature. The $300 million figure had its genesis in the bond bill
filed by your Administration on March 13, 2013, and you signified your assent
to H.3379 when you signed it into law on May 24, 2013. Given the totality of
these approvals, cities and towns have an understandable expectation they will
receive the full $300 million. If now you believe it was unwise to approve that
funding, please communicate with us immediately your remaining concerns so that
we can address those specific concerns and get this money to municipalities
without any further costly delay.
We firmly believe that a 25 percent cut to road and bridge
construction projects is both unnecessary and imprudent. The spring
construction season is already well in progress, and municipalities are
counting on the timely release of this funding to begin and complete important
road and bridge projects. Your conditional release of only half of the funds
not only puts our communities in an untenable position of choosing what
projects to fund and whether to build half a bridge in the hopes that you will
authorize the full amount, but it further delays projects that need to begin if
they are to be completed this season.
We certainly hope that the withholding of half the Chapter
90 funding is not attributable to an effort to expand upon the tax increases
contained in transportation finance bills approved by the House and the Senate.
Clearly any further increase in taxation is beyond the scope of what the
Legislature has approved and is in the realm of what the Legislature has
overwhelmingly rejected. The timing of events demonstrates that no tax increase
had been approved when you signed the Chapter 90 bill into law, and the release
of those funds should not now be contingent upon a tax increase. Moreover,
while we believe the tax increases that have been approved will have serious
adverse impacts on the commonwealth and our uncertain economic recovery, it is
clear that additional increases, beyond what the House and Senate have
approved, will imperil our economic stability exponentially further. Each
branch of the Legislature has passed a transportation financing proposal that
raises over $500 million in new tax revenue. Those proposals are the only
viable plans that are now on the table, and any new revenues now approved by
the Legislature could be applied to even further address the cost of the
Chapter 90 program.
You recognized in The Way Forward: A 21st Century
Transportation Plan, that previous commitments to road and bridge funding have
led to “safer roads, less congestion, and more comfortable commutes for
residents of every community in the Commonwealth.” Arbitrarily abandoning that
commitment now jeopardizes those gains and will turn today’s cost-efficient
repairs into tomorrow’s unnecessary and unduly expensive roadway replacements.
We believe the $300 million funding allocation prudently
respects the dramatic need for transportation improvements in our cities and
towns, the requests from our residents for the funding to complete them, and
the commitment implied by our actions to date on this legislation.
Additionally, the funding will provide a needed economic stimulus to those in
the construction industry and the overall economy of the Commonwealth.
Accordingly, we respectfully ask that you authorize the release of the full
$300 million of Chapter 90 road and bridge funding.
Sincerely,
Bruce Tarr
State Senator
Robert Hedlund
State Senator
Michael Knapik
State Senator
Richard Ross
State Senator
cc: Senate President Therese Murray
Speaker of the House Robert A. DeLeo
