Action Alert
Sample Letter in Support of Dedicated Transit Funding
Below is a sample letter in support of dedicated transit funding in Maryland. Board of Trade members are urged to express their support to Maryland House Ways and Means members from Montgomery and Prince George's County. To contact a legislator by phone, call the General Assembly switch board at 301-858-3000.
March 2006
Dear ____,
Please support dedicated transit funding to provide a stable source of revenue to maintain and grow our transit systems across the state. Three bills are pending before the House Ways and Means Committee, which would dedicate a portion of the state’s existing sales tax to a transit account within the Transportation Trust Fund.
- House Bills 1345 – sponsored by Chairwoman Sheila Hixson – would dedicate ¼ of a penny to transit, phased in over two years.
- House Bill 981 – sponsored by Delegate Charlie Barkley – would dedicate ½ of a penny to transit, phased in over five years.
- House Bill 1392 – sponsored by Delegate Anne Kaiser – would dedicate one penny to transit, phased in over ten years.
The Maryland General Assembly must approve one of these bills. The more funding that is available, the more opportunity there will be to maintain and enhance our transit systems. The needs are great. Action is needed now.
- Maryland needs to provide its share of matching funds for Congressman Tom Davis’ dedicated funding proposal. The bill - cosponsored by Maryland Congressmen Steny Hoyer, Al Wynn, Chris Van Hollen, and Ben Cardin - would provide up to $1.5 billion to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority if it is matched locally with dedicated funds. These funds would help maintain the system and buy additional buses and rail cars to relieve overcrowding.
- Maryland needs additional transit funding across the state. Projects that are under study now are not funded for construction, like the Purple Line connecting Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. Other regions are seeking capital projects or additional grant funding.
- By using the sales tax, these bills would provide a revenue stream that better keeps pace with inflation than traditional transportation revenues, thus relieving pressure on the Transportation Trust Fund.
Supporting our transit systems with dedicated funding is a top priority of businesses in the Washington area, to improve our quality of life and continue our economic growth.
Sincerely,
