LAWMAKERS PUSH GAS TAX, TAKE TRAVEL $$$
Legislators get up to $21,664 to cover driving costs
Bay State lawmakers, poised to stick drivers with a 5 cent gas tax hike while jacking up fees on ride app companies like Uber and Lyft, are still cruising to the State House on the taxpayers’ dime thanks to an unregulated expense account of up to $21,664 per legislator.
The transportation bill, already approved by the House, seeks to raise roughly $600 million with a 5 cent per gallon increase in the gas tax and a 9 cent hike on diesel. It would also charge Uber and Lyft $1.20 for each nonshared ride, up from the current charge of 20 cents.
If approved, the new charges will push the commonwealth’s hand deeper into the pockets of Massachusetts motorists who have to pay for their own ride to and from work. State legislators, however, are able to tap into a taxpayer-funded annual stipend of $16,248 to pay for their commute if they live within 50 miles of the State House and $21,664 if they live farther away.
In a brief conversation with the Herald, Sen. Harriet Chandler, D-Worcester, defended using the expense account for her travel to the State House.
“I go back and forth every single day and I drive around my district for my job,” said Chandler, who pointed out that she is taxed for her $21,664 stipend. She collects the highest stipend, even though at least one driving route is less than 50 miles to the State House, as her hometown paper the Worcester Telegram and Gazette noted.
Chandler suggested that legislators are really doing us a favor, saying they could be earning more money in the private sector.
“We probably get paid less than other people do who work at higher paying jobs,” said Chandler, who earns more than $160,000 a year.
“It’s an inclusive stipend,” she said.
The stipend dates back to 2017, when legislators eliminated so-called travel per diems as part of a pay raise package. But in classic Beacon Hill fashion, the elimination of the controversial and embarrassing per diems was quickly and quietly addressed by an increase to the already existing $7,200 office expense account. Lawmakers who live 50 miles or closer from the State House were boosted to $15,000 a year, and those who live more than 50 miles from the State House got $20,000. The compensation is adjusted every two years based on changes in wages and salaries as reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis in the U.S. Department of Commerce.
While legislators crowed about the elimination of per diems in 2017, they are now raking in even more to cover expenses, according to a Herald review of state treasury records.
Massachusetts’ House and Senate lawmakers requested less than half a million dollars annually in per diems several years before they were eliminated. The state paid roughly $460,000 in per diems in 2012, $464,000 in 2013, $366,000 in 2014, $410,000 in 2015 and $337,000 in 2016, according to state records. Combined with $1.44 million in office expenses, legislative expenses totaled $1.78 million in 2016. That cost jumped to $3.14 million in 2017, according to state records. Lawmaker expenses were $3.05 million in 2018 and $3.51 million in 2019.
Supporters of the House’s transportation bill argue that the state has one of the lowest gas tax rates in the nation, even with the proposed increase, and the fees are necessary to address the state’s ongoing transportation crisis.
Gov. Charlie Baker said he plans to veto the legislation (while backing the multistate Transportation and Climate Initiative that could raise gas taxes 17 cents the first year), while Senate President Karen Spilka hasn’t said when or if she plans on taking up the measure.
But lawmakers facing reelection in November might want to consider the impact on their constituents, who aren’t paid to commute to work.