Same old transit talk

In year two of this legislative session Beacon Hill is getting to the really important stuff. Take the Joint Committee on Transportation, which on Wednesday will hear testimony on, among others, bills that would allow special driver’s licenses — er, make that “driver privilege cards” — for undocumented immigrants; require every gas station in Massachusetts to provide free, 24/7 access to tire inflation machines; and both strip the Yawkey commuter rail station of its name — and establish a 15-member commission to come up with a new one.

Yes, lawmakers are really earning that pay raise they voted for themselves last year ...

Truth is many of the bills on the hearing docket are going nowhere, and reflect only the skewed priorities of their legislative sponsors.

But one bill set for Wednesday’s hearing seems to win a perplexing amount of support whenever it comes up for discussion. Lawmakers will hear testimony on legislation that would open the door to a new tax on every mile driven by a vehicle registered in Massachusetts.

We’re comfortable with having a debate over whether that “permile” tax is a more equitable and reliable way to fund transportation than the gasoline tax.

But this is Massachusetts, and that’s not the debate progressives want to have. Supporters of the per-mile tax will want that new levy in addition to the gas tax (which went up in 2013).

Meanwhile they’re pushing for higher income taxes on the wealthy in part to fund — yes, transportation. All of that on top of the sales tax, tolls, car sales and other fees and taxes that support transportation funding.

Massachusetts has a problem with transportation infrastructure. But it’s hard to build a case for reforming the funding formula when the reach for more money never seems to end.