Gasoline Tax

In his letter to the editor on Feb. 26, Patrick McGrady writes that he is outraged at the General Assembly's consideration of an increase in the gasoline tax from 26.5 cents to 36.5 cents per gallon, generating an additional approximately $250 million for transportation projects ( "Gas tax increase will hurt Md. families" . I feel Mr. McGrady's rage is misplaced. These additional funds will provide thousands of jobs in Maryland and help to maintain an efficient and safe transportation system, which benefits us all. Rather, his rage and the rage of all Americans should be directed at the forgotten villains, oil company profits.

Immigration O'Malley: "We will not support groups that conspire to break the law. " Ehrlich: "You have done that. … You have in fact celebrated Casa de Maryland. … You know that Casa de Maryland has used tax money to produce booklets to assist illegal immigrants from the reach of the law. You know that and you were there celebrating the opening of that building. " The facts: Both Ehrlich and O'Malley approved funds for Casa de Maryland to help them construct buildings.

A gallon of gas costs less than $2, and Maryland's gasoline tax hasn't been raised for 15 years. But don't look for Howard County's State House delegation to lead the charge in Annapolis for a tax increase to prevent big cuts to commuter transit and highway projects. If the proposed Mass Transit Administration cuts become reality Jan. 12, scores of people who responded to $4-a-gallon gas by heeding the government's call to use mass transit will feel as though they've been thrown under a bus - if there is one. To counterbalance declining revenue, state officials are considering cutting $1 billion from transportation projects now and maybe twice that much later.

An Iowa-based research center is looking for 450 Baltimore-area motorists willing to have their every driving move tracked by satellite to test a system that could theoretically replace the federal gasoline tax with road use fees. The federally funded study will use a global positioning system satellite to track not only the mileage driven over eight months, but also whether each road traveled is funded by the state, federal or local governments. Participants will receive a simulated bill each month for the road use fee owed to each level of government.

A proposal to raise the federal gasoline tax to repair the nation's 70,000 faulty bridges might have a better chance if it hadn't been for the "Bridge to Nowhere." The infamous Alaska structure designed to serve a handful of remote citizens became a symbol of what's wrong with the practice of letting federal lawmakers "earmark" tax dollars for their pet projects: The money is not being spent according to safety and transportation priorities. Before Congress asks taxpayers to pony up more money to fix failing bridges, it must abandon this pork barrel process and ensure instead that transportation dollars are directed to where they are most needed.

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- Ford Motor Co. chief executive Alan R. Mulally expressed interest yesterday in 50-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax proposed by Rep. John D. Dingell, the Michigan Democrat who heads the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Mulally, speaking at the Management Briefing Seminars, said a gas tax would be a method to include consumer choice in the debate over how to improve fuel efficiency in the United States. "It's one way you can get at it," he said, referring to gasoline taxes in Europe that have raised fuel prices to $7, $8 or $9 a gallon.

Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold should use a faith-based component to offering social services, limit senior services to the most needy residents, raise the pay of teachers and some school administrators, and lobby for new taxes on gasoline and water use, according to a wide-ranging report released yesterday. Leopold said he was "generally pleased with the tone and the broad strokes" in the 110-page report from his transition team. But, noting that he is already acting on several of the recommendations, he dismissed proposals to seek state authority to create taxes for a dedicated county fund for infrastructure improvements and to close senior centers if new promotion efforts fail to attract more patrons.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, insisting that the state must not wait until next year to fix its long-term fiscal problems, proposed a 50 percent increase in the gasoline tax yesterday and resumed his push for slot machine gambling. Gov. Martin O'Malley was receptive yesterday to a gas tax increase, though he did not explicitly endorse Miller's plan, which would tack 12 cents onto the current gas tax rate of 23 1/2 cents per gallon. But Miller's introduction of a bill calling for 15,500 slot machines at seven locations around the state puts him at odds with the new governor, who has repeatedly said he fears that reviving the divisive slots debate will halt progress on other fronts, and with House Speaker Michael E. Busch, who has long opposed slots.

Gov. Martin O'Malley released more than 1,000 pages of documents from his transition team yesterday, reports that paint a stark picture of some troubled agencies and foreshadow pressure for tax increases to pay for schools, transportation and other priorities. Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown, who chaired the four-month transition effort, said the reports on 21 agencies and topics reflect the input of more than 1,000 volunteers and provide a roadmap for how to make Maryland's government work better.

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. has told Republican lawmakers that he will propose a transportation bill that avoids a gasoline tax increase but increases the cost of buying or registering a vehicle. GOP legislators say the two key provisions of the package will be an increase in registration fees -- $30 a year in the case of passenger vehicles -- and a higher titling tax to be paid when motorists buy a car or truck. Together, the two sources would bring the administration close to the $300 million a year in additional revenue a recent task force said it needs to replenish the depleted Transportation Tax Fund.