How did the Maryland General Assemblys special session affect the Transportation Trust Fund?
Legislation passed in the special session will increase revenue to the state’s Transportation Trust Fund by an estimated $421 million in the next fiscal year (FY09). Annual new revenue to the fund is estimated to increase to approximately $484 million in FY12. Lawmakers also raised the transportation bonding cap from $2 billion to $2.6 billion, which may allow for some of the funding gap to be closed through bond issues. The GBC and state transportation officials are reviewing the details of transportation funding legislation to develop a specific sense of the annual levels of funding that might be derived through a combination of new revenue and bond issues. The largest portions of the increased transportation revenue comes from the increases in the state sales tax, vehicle excise tax, and the title certificate fee.
