Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Chamber Urges Lawmakers to Protect Transportation Trust Fund
Maryland Chamber Vice President of Government Affairs Allyson Black urged members of the House Appropriations Committee to pass legislation to prohibit the transfer of funds from Maryland’s Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) to the State’s General Fund (HB 140).
“A healthy Transportation Trust Fund is essential to the productivity of Maryland’s infrastructure, roads, bridges, highways, ports, and rail system,” Black said.
The legislation would prohibit the transfer of money in the TTF to the general fund unless the Governor declares the transfer necessary due to extraordinary financial conditions and legislation enacted prior to the transfer provides for repayment of the funds within five years after the diversion, with repayment commencing immediately.
Maryland has a $40 billion backlog of transportation projects, yet in recent years, hundreds of millions of dollars have been transferred out of the TTF. Given recent revenue reductions, the Maryland Chamber believes that the preservation of existing transportation dollars is essential to meeting the State’s transportation needs.
Maryland’s transportation network is the lifeblood of our economy. Every day, Maryland’s use the State’s transportation network to get to and from work. The business community relies on a reliable transportation network to provide goods and services.
For more information, contact Allyson Black at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
