Amendment #78 to H4508

Scope and Makeup of the Commission on Roadway Pricing

Mrs. Ciccolo of Lexington moves to amend the bill in Section 25, in line 626, by striking out paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) and inserting in place thereof the words

"(a) There shall be a special commission on roadway and congestion pricing that, notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, shall have the authority to investigate, study, supervise, develop, and deploy a comprehensive road pricing plan for the Commonwealth, which shall include, without limitation, the Boston metropolitan area roadways, major bridges, and interstate highways near state borders. The Commission shall consist of 9 members; 1 of whom shall be the secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation or a designee; and 8 members, none of whom shall be an employee of the Commonwealth or any political subdivision, 6 of whom shall be appointed by the governor, 1 of whom shall shall serve as chair; 1 of whom shall be the chair of the fiscal management and control board as of October 1, 2019, and 1 of whom shall be appointed by the mayor of the City of Boston; 2 members shall be appointed by the governor from a list of five candidates provided by the metropolitan area planning council, 1 of whom shall be an expert in traffic congestion and congestion pricing; 1 member shall be a member of the business community; 1 member shall be the head of a statewide transportation advocacy agency; and 1 member shall be chosen from a list of five candidates provided by the MBTA advisory board to represent the interest of commuters.

(b) The members shall be appointed not later than 30 days following the effective date of this act. The commission shall meet at least twice a month until implementation and deployment into revenue service of the metropolitan highway system as a whole, and at such other times as it shall determine, or when requested by the secretary or any 3 members. The members shall receive no compensation. The secretary shall, in consultation with the other commission members, establish a budget, utilize funding dedicated to the Commonwealth Transportation Fund in an amount sufficient to satisfy the work and activities of the commission. The commission shall have the authority to hire and fire staff and enter into contracts with consultants for the sole purpose of fulfilling its duties under this section.

The commission is hereby authorized and directed to develop and implement a comprehensive plan to levy tolls and other charges on the metropolitan highway system no later than December 31, 2021, and to take all action necessary to achieve revenue service on or before said date, including without limitation the submittal of a plan or request to the federal highway administration under the so-called Value Pricing Pilot Program (VPPP) established under Section 1012 (b) of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (Pub. L. 102-240; 105 Sta. 1914), as amended by section 1216(a) of the Transportation Equity Act (Pub. L. 105-178; 112 Sta. 107), and section 1604(a) of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (Pub.L.109-59;119 Stat. 1144), and the completion of all feasibility traffic, revenue and other studies necessary to ensure compliance with applicable federal and state requirements.

In furtherance of the provisions of this section, the department shall commence or support activities, in coordination and consultation with the road pricing commission established under this section, in support of an application for road pricing under the VPPP, including without limitation any and all feasibility studies, records of decision, site selection, environmental impact studies, traffic diversion studies, revenue studies and any other studies or analyses required to fulfill the legal or other requirements of this section.

(c) The commission shall issue a report no later than July 31, 2021, that provides a comprehensive and complete roadmap for the pricing of the Boston metropolitan area system as a whole and the state highway system, including without limitation the deployment of border tolls or other state highway and bridge assets.  Said report shall, among other things, identify physical, technological, legal and other issues or requirements related to pricing the metropolitan highway system and other components of the state highway system, propose specific specifications and locations for gantries and other equipment  necessary to achieve pricing revenue service on the metropolitan highway system no later than December 31, 2021, and propose pricing scenarios that include, without limitation, estimates of annual operation and maintenance costs, estimates of annual revenue, estimates of greenhouse gas emissions, traffic forecasts including forecasts of traffic diversion impacts, a regional and social equity analysis with specific recommendations related to mitigating adverse impacts, and potential impacts on vehicular emissions reduction.

The Commission shall, consistent with the goal of achieving  net-zero greenhouse gas emissions  by 2050,  develop a comprehensive long-term plan to raise revenue for statewide transportation needs in a manner not associated with the vehicular use of fossil fuels.  Said plan shall be filed with the governor and the house and senate committees on ways and means and transportation on or before December 31, 2021.

The following language shall become effective thirty days following the failure to achieve pricing revenue service on the Boston metropolitan area as a whole no later than December 1, 2022:-,  notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the department of transportation shall not commit or spend any amounts and all revenues received from tolls, rates, fees, rentals and other charges for transit over or through the metropolitan highway system until such time as it achieves pricing revenue service on the Boston metropolitan area system.".