| 1 | 1 | | 1 of 1 |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 983 FILED ON: 1/18/2023 |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2215 |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | Brendan P. Crighton |
|---|
| 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 establishing a regional equity and roadway board. |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Brendan P. CrightonThird Essex 1 of 3 |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 983 FILED ON: 1/18/2023 |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2215 |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | By Mr. Crighton, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 2215) of Brendan P. Crighton for |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | legislation to establish a regional equity and roadway board. Transportation. |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | SEE SENATE, NO. 2299 OF 2021-2022.] |
|---|
| 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 establishing a regional equity and roadway board. |
|---|
| 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 13 of chapter 6C of the general laws, as appearing in the 2020 official edition, is |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | 2hereby amended by inserting at the end of sub-sections (c) the following:-, |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | 3 (iii) Financial support for traffic congestion relief and public transit initiatives and |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | 4systems as determined by the regional equity roadway board. |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | 5 (d) There shall be a Regional Equity Roadway Board that will develop and deploy a |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | 6comprehensive and regionally- equitable roadway pricing policy for the Commonwealth, which |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | 7shall include, without limitation, greater Boston metropolitan area roadways, major bridges and |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | 8interstate highways near the commonwealth’s borders. The Board shall have the authority to |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | 9implement their regionally – equitable road pricing plan on behalf of the department beginning |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | 10on January 1, 2025. The Board shall consist of: the secretary of transportation or a designee; 6 2 of 3 |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | 11members, appointed by the Governor; 1 of whom shall be an expert in transportation planning |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | 12and policy who is not an employee of the commonwealth or any political subdivision, who shall |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | 13serve as chair, 1 of whom shall be an expert in tolling systems or toll authorities, 1 of whom shall |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | 14be an expert in traffic congestion, 1 of whom shall represent a municipality that includes a |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | 15highway where roadway tolls are currently in place, 1 of whom shall be a former or current |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | 16member of the mbta fiscal and management control board, and one of whom shall be employed |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | 17by an organization that represents low-income communities that have been historically |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | 18underserved by transit and acutely adversely affected by the public health impacts of traffic |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | 19congestion. |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | 20 (e) The board shall: (i) identify and analyze physical, technological, legal and other |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | 21issues or requirements related to roadway pricing in the commonwealth; (ii) propose detailed |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | 22specifications and regionally-equitable locations for toll gantries and other equipment necessary |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | 23to assess and collect tolls; (iii) advise the Massachusetts Department of Transportation on |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | 24roadway pricing scenarios under the federal Value Pricing Pilot Program; (iv) provide estimates |
|---|
| 54 | 54 | | 25of annual operation and maintenance costs; (v) provide estimates of annual revenue; (vi) provide |
|---|
| 55 | 55 | | 26traffic forecasts including forecasts of traffic diversion impacts; (vii) provide a regional and |
|---|
| 56 | 56 | | 27social equity analysis with specific recommendations related to mitigating adverse impacts; and |
|---|
| 57 | 57 | | 28(viii) provide potential impacts on vehicular emissions reduction. The board shall also identify |
|---|
| 58 | 58 | | 29all local, state and federal approvals necessary to deploy new tolls and other roadway pricing |
|---|
| 59 | 59 | | 30mechanisms on relevant roadways. |
|---|
| 60 | 60 | | 31 (f) The board shall file a written report of its findings and recommendations annually |
|---|
| 61 | 61 | | 32before December 15 each year, including legislative recommendations, with the clerks of the |
|---|
| 62 | 62 | | 33senate and house of representatives, the house and senate committees on ways and means and the 3 of 3 |
|---|
| 63 | 63 | | 34joint committee on transportation. The report shall include, but not be limited to, an analysis of |
|---|
| 64 | 64 | | 35mitigation measures to address social equity issues including, but not limited to, social equity |
|---|
| 65 | 65 | | 36issues for communities underserved by the current transportation system and most directly |
|---|
| 66 | 66 | | 37impacted by congestion. |
|---|