Massachusetts 2023-2024 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H3428 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3283 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3428
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Thomas M. Stanley and Tricia Farley-Bouvier
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act to explore alternative funding sources to ensure safe and reliable transportation.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Thomas M. Stanley9th Middlesex1/13/2023Tricia Farley-Bouvier2nd Berkshire1/20/2023Vanna Howard17th Middlesex2/1/2023Mary S. Keefe15th Worcester2/7/2023 1 of 5
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3283 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3428
18	18	By Representatives Stanley of Waltham and Farley-Bouvier of Pittsfield, a petition
19	19	(accompanied by bill, House, No. 3428) of Thomas M. Stanley, Tricia Farley-Bouvier and others
20	20	relative to establishing a vehicle mileage user fee task force to explore alternative funding
21	21	sources to ensure safe and reliable transportation. Transportation.
22	22	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
23	23	_______________
24	24	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
25	25	(2023-2024)
26	26	_______________
27	27	An Act to explore alternative funding sources to ensure safe and reliable transportation.
28	28	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
29	29	of the same, as follows:
30	30	1 SECTION 1. This bill is intended to help address the need for the commonwealth to
31	31	2identify short- and long-term alternatives or supplements to the motor vehicle fuel tax, which is
32	32	3particularly important given the diminishing value of the motor vehicle fuel tax, declining
33	33	4supplies of conventional petroleum-based fuels, and increasing fuel-efficient vehicles. The
34	34	5commonwealth is uniquely positioned to become a leader in the advancement of technology and
35	35	6methods needed to develop and implement alternative ways to raise transportation revenue.
36	36	7 SECTION 2: TASK FORCE
37	37	8 (a) There shall be a vehicle mileage user fee task force to guide the development and
38	38	9evaluation of a pilot program to assess the potential for mileage-based revenue collection for
39	39	10Massachusetts’ roads and highways as an alternative to the current system of taxing highway use
40	40	11through motor vehicle fuel taxes. 2 of 5
41	41	12 (b) The task force shall consist of the following members: the secretary of transportation
42	42	13or the secretary’s designee, who shall serve as chair; 1 member to be appointed by the governor,
43	43	14who shall be a registered civil engineer with at least 10 years’ experience; 1 member to be
44	44	15appointed by the president of the senate, who shall be a representative of a transportation
45	45	16consumer organization or other public interest organization; 1 member to be appointed by the
46	46	17minority leader of the Senate, who shall be an expert in transportation data security, 1 member to
47	47	18be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, who shall be a member of a regional
48	48	19planning agency; 1 member to be appointed by the minority leader of the house of
49	49	20representatives, who shall be a member of a business association; 1 member to be appointed by
50	50	21the Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Transportation, who shall be an expert in the field of
51	51	22transportation finance; 1 member to be appointed by the House Chair of the Joint Committee on
52	52	23Transportation, who shall be a representative of a privacy rights advocacy organization.
53	53	24 (c) The task force may request the department of transportation to perform such work as
54	54	25the task force deems necessary to carry out its duties and responsibilities.
55	55	26 (d) The task force shall gather public comment on issues and concerns related to the pilot
56	56	27program; make recommendations to the department of transportation on the design and on the
57	57	28criteria to be used to evaluate a pilot program to test alternative approaches; and evaluate any
58	58	29pilot program implemented by the department under this Act.
59	59	30 (e) The task force shall conduct at least 6 public hearings, 1 in each of the department’s
60	60	31highway districts. The task force shall provide interested persons with an opportunity to submit
61	61	32their views orally and in writing and the department may create and maintain a website to allow
62	62	33members of the public to submit comments electronically and to review comments submitted by 3 of 5
63	63	34others. The task force shall provide notice of each public hearing by publication in a newspaper
64	64	35of general circulation in the highway district in which the hearing is to be located in each of 2
65	65	36successive weeks, the first publication to be at least 14 days before the day of the hearing and, if
66	66	37feasible, by posting a notice in a conspicuous place in the cities or towns within the highway
67	67	38district for at least 14 consecutive days immediately prior to the day of the hearing.
68	68	39 SECTION 3. PILOT PROGRAM.
69	69	40 (a) The department of transportation shall develop, implement and oversee one or more
70	70	41statewide pilot programs to assess owners of motor vehicles a user fee that is based on the
71	71	42number of miles traveled on roads in this state by those motor vehicles.
72	72	43 (b) The pilot programs shall include at least 1,000 volunteers across the commonwealth
73	73	44who are representative of drivers of trucks, passenger, and commercial vehicles and throughout
74	74	45the commonwealth, who will have on-board vehicle-mileage-counting equipment added to their
75	75	46vehicles, administered in a manner the department of transportation deems appropriate.
76	76	47 (c) The pilot programs shall test the reliability, ease of use, cost and public acceptance of
77	77	48technology and methods for:
78	78	49 (1) counting the number of miles traveled by particular vehicles;
79	79	50 (2) reporting the number of miles traveled by particular vehicles; and
80	80	51 (3) collecting payments from participants in the pilot programs.
81	81	52 (d) The pilot programs shall also analyze and evaluate the ability of different
82	82	53technologies and methods to: 4 of 5
83	83	54 (1) protect the integrity of data collected and reported;
84	84	55 (2) ensure drivers’ privacy; and
85	85	56 (3) vary pricing based on the time of driving, type of road, proximity to transit, vehicle
86	86	57fuel efficiency, participation in car-sharing or pooling or income of the driver.
87	87	58 (e) The pilot programs shall last at least one year.
88	88	59 (f) The department of transportation shall refund motor vehicle fuel taxes paid by
89	89	60participants in pilot programs under this Act or otherwise compensate participants in pilot
90	90	61programs under this Act to ensure that participants are not required to spend more on fees or
91	91	62taxes than if they had not participated in the program. Identifying information about participation
92	92	63in the pilot programs shall not be public and shall be exempt from disclosure under M.G.L. c. 66,
93	93	64s. 10.
94	94	65 (g) The Massachusetts Department of Transportation shall submit an application to the
95	95	66United States Department of Transportation for funding in federal fiscal year 2024 for the
96	96	67Strategic Innovation for Revenue Collection program established in the Infrastructure Investment
97	97	68and Jobs Act to help fund the pilot program. If the application is not successful, the
98	98	69Massachusetts Department of Transportation shall thereafter apply in each federal fiscal year in
99	99	70which grants are made available for demonstration projects under this federal program or until
100	100	71the application results in funding for the vehicle miles traveled pilot program, whichever occurs
101	101	72first.
102	102	73 SECTION 4. REPORT. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, no
103	103	74later than three years from the passage of this Act, the department of transportation shall report 5 of 5
104	104	75to the general court the initial result of the pilot study, including the feasibility of permanently
105	105	76assessing a vehicle mileage user fee, an evaluation of the impacts of such a fee on the economy,
106	106	77the environment, and traffic congestion, a comparison to other potential alternatives or
107	107	78supplements to the gas tax, and its initial recommendations together with legislation necessary to
108	108	79carry its recommendations into effect by filing the same with the clerks of the senate and house
109	109	80of representatives, and to the joint committee on transportation.