Senate Committee Approves Gas Tax Bill

The Senate Budget and Tax Committee Thursday approved a bill that would increase the gas tax by as much as 20 cents by 2016.

Sen. Ed DeGrange, an Anne Arundel County Democrat, joined Republican Sens. David Brinkley, Richard Colburn and George Edwards in voting against the bill. The nine remaining Democrats on the committee voted in favor of the bill as approved last week by the House of Delegates.

With the committee's approval, the bill could be scheduled for a preliminary vote by the full 47-member Senate as early as Friday.

The bill would increase the state's tax on gas by more than 20 cents to 43.7 cents per gallon on July 2016. The tax would increase to 44.6 cents per gallon if the federal government fails to pass an Internet sales tax.

The tax is also tied to the consumer price index, which would allow for automatic increases without any additional legislative action. Those increases are capped at 8 percent annually and do not go down if the consumer price index decreases in any given year.

Also in the bill is a $3.50 increase in the fee for vehicle registration.

The fees will go to offset an increase in salaries offered to pilots for the Maryland State Police. The agency has 11 vacancies within its 50 pilot positions, according to the review of the bill.

The base pilot salary under the proposal would increase to $70,000 and the plan would cover the cost of hiring 20 additional pilots based on a review provided by the state Department of Legislative Services. Maintenance technicians would see their base salary increase to $60,000 as part of the proposal.

The bill also included:

• $60 million over three years for the Sen. William H. Amoss Fire, Rescue, Ambulance fund.
• A $2 per hour salary increase for field instructors at the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute
• More than $11 million over four years for a new communications system for the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services.
• A requirement that the governor spend nearly $400 million to comply with the Watershed Implementation Plan over five years.

The committee also approved a bill that would impose stricter requirements for diverting transportation funds for other purposes. A number of legislators have complained that the transportation trust fund is routinely used to fill in budgetary shortfalls.

The so-called lockbox bill amends the state Constitution and requires a three-fifths vote of the General Assembly to divert those funds.