The Massachusetts Senate on Thursday is expected to take up a transportation finance bill.
The Senate leadership is proposing to add $120 million to the $500 million dollar transportation bill approved earlier this week in the Massachusetts House. The Senate bill calls for the same tax increases as the House including a 3 cent per gallon increase in the gasoline tax. The additional money would come from existing revenue streams. Republican State Senator Michael Knapik says higher taxes is a hard sell to the public
Governor Deval Patrick said the House version did not go far enough to address the state’s transportation needs. Patrick wants to increase spending on transportation by $1 billion a year for the next decade.
