Increasing Driver License, Car Registration Fees Could Raise $550 Million for Cash-Starved MTA
December 1, 2008
So it’s “official,” our country has been in a recession since December, 2007, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research, which announced the non-news earlier this morning.
Of course, we already knew this to be true for many months. On November 20th, MTA CEO Elliot Sander told the MTA Board, that new economic forecasts show projected deficit gaps of “$383 million for 2008, $1.441 billion for 2009, $2.394 billion for 2010, and nearly $3 billion in 2012, before prior-year carryover or gap closing actions.”
As I’ve blogged before, I am very concerned about the fiscal outlook for the MTA and how cuts to services, capital projects, system maintenance, and increased user fees will impact riders. But the negative effects spillover beyond transit users. The MTA is the lifeblood of the New York metropolitan area and when it suffers, so does the regional economy.
On September 15th, the Citizens Budget Commission (CBC) testified before the Ravitch Commission and outlined a number of practical suggestions for how to increase dedicated mass transit revenue.
Today, I wrote to Governor Paterson to urge that two CBC proposals be included in his 2009 Executive budget: Raising car registration fees and driver license fees by at least $50 annually.
When CBC President Carol Kellermann testified before the Ravitch Commission she noted that today the cost for a driver license in New York is under $6 annually. Raising annual fees for driver licenses to $50 would yield nearly $300 million. New York has the 8th lowest vehicle registration fees in the country (according to the CBC’s 2006 study South Carolina has the lowest at $12, and Maine has the highest at $435), and raising the vehicle registration fees would net an additional annual revenue stream of $250 million.
With the Ravitch Commission’s report due to be released on Friday, now is the time to be examining all the options including this one and other good ideas like reinstituting the commuter tax.
Recently, New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. outlined a proposal to impose a weight-based transit-dedicated assessment of $100 for vehicles weighing 2,300 pounds or less, plus $.09 for every pound of curb weight over 2,300. This is an interesting idea that I believe merits further study. It differs from the CBC proposal which would see a flat fee increase for car registration fees.
In these tough financial times, I believe that it makes sense that those who choose to drive should help bear the costs of maintaining our public transportation infrastructure. These two new recurring revenue streams would constitute a good start in getting the MTA’s finances back on track.
In my letter, I suggested that during the first two to three years of this budget crisis, the MTA be given the flexibility it needs to put this revenue towards its operating deficit. But in the long term this money should be used for capital needs. After the third year I suggested that these recurring funds be dedicated 70% towards the MTA’s capital plan and 30% towards the NYS Department of Transportation Five Year Capital Plan - a fund which finances highway, tunnel, and bridge projects across the state.
I told the Governor that if these proposals were not included in the budget, I was prepared to introduce them as a separate piece of legislation. My letter to Governor Paterson can be found in the Publications area of my website.
Take Back Our Economy: Closing a Tax Loophole on Big Business
July 22, 2008
On July 17, over one thousand union members gathered in Manhattan, joining more than a dozen coordinated events worldwide, for a “Take Back the Economy” protest calling attention to preferential tax treatments for corporations and the mishandling and questionable ethics related to the investment of employee pension funds by private equity firms. The rally was organized by SEIU 1199, SEIU 32B-J, and the Working Families Party.
Over the last 30 years, our state’s tax code has been more and more tilted against middle-class New Yorkers and in favor of big corporations and the very wealthy. While the well-off exploit tax loopholes and benefit from low rates, working New Yorkers are forced to pay more through rising property taxes, sales taxes and user fees that many don’t consider taxes (but should), such as rising subway and bus fares.
With the economic problems our country is facing, tax cuts for the rich and for certain big businesses leave us with ever-growing budget gaps - billions of dollars’ worth - in necessary areas like school funding, health, and public transportation infrastructure.
Something has to give.
One of the ways that I am working to address this is through a bill that I introduced last month with the support of the Working Families Party. My bill would close a tax loophole that allows managers in private equity and hedge funds to avoid paying millions of dollars in taxes resulting from “carried interest.” The loophole unfairly allows these major financial engines to avoid taxes that small businesses have to pay under the Unincorporated Business tax laws of New York.
The Fiscal Policy Institute issued a report on April 15th that found that closing this loophole would generate between $165-225 million every year in revenue for New York City. The Executive Director of the Working Families Party, Dan Cantor, wrote an excellent piece for the Gotham Gazette that explains how the tax loophole works and how it is costing City taxpayers money (“Where The City Can Find $200 Million”). It is wrong that these multi-million dollar companies continue to get away with avoiding paying the same taxes as small businesses, especially when middle-class New Yorkers are struggling in a bad economy.
State Budget Increases New York’s Investment in Affordable Housing
June 12, 2008
Investing in and maintaining affordable housing are some of the most important things that I fight for in Albany. I am proud that New York’s 2008-09 state budget includes more than $300 million in capital funding for affordable, supportive, and workforce housing opportunities across the state.
This number includes $54 million in funds for the Mitchell-Lama Rehabilitation and Preservation (RAP) and All Affordable programs. RAP offers flexible, low-cost debt service financing to help the owners of Mitchell-Lama housing make needed improvements to their properties or restructure their debt in return for committing to remain in the program and keep rents affordable. All Affordable loans support the construction of housing in which every unit is affordable to low- and moderate-income tenants.
The budget also includes capital funds for other housing programs, including $60 million to the Low Income Housing Trust Fund, $45 million for the Affordable Housing Corporation, and $36.5 million to the Homeless Housing Assistance program.
The Assembly worked successfully to ensure that the state’s total capital investment in affordable housing was increased by $200 million over the executive budget proposal - dramatically strengthening New York’s investment in initiatives that help residents find affordable housing, create housing opportunities for homeless New Yorkers, and help communities restore and revitalize existing buildings.
State Budget Has Historic Increases for Education Funding
April 24, 2008
The 2008-2009 NYS budget continues the commitment to better education for New York’s students, increasing education funding by a record $1.7 billion, with a total investment of $21.4 billion. The spending plan includes a $533 million foundation aid increase for New York City schools, and affirms the Assembly’s deep commitment to education, despite a daunting economic climate.
These increases uphold the tenets of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity statewide and keep us on track to meet the 4-year educational investment plan.
The budget moves toward the full implementation of the school foundation formula, which calls for stable and transparent funding for school districts. It represents a second year of record school aid increases. The budget also increases funding to libraries and expands the number of 4-year-old children attending pre-K to 121,000.
However, more work needs to be done now by the City of New York to make sure that the students of the Upper East Side and the rest of the city receive the education that they need and deserve. I and the rest of my colleagues in the Assembly do not support Mayor Bloomberg’s proposal to cut $324 million from the New York City Department of Education budget for 2008-2009. Therefore, the Assembly in its budget is requiring the mayor and the city to keep the $324 million commitment that they pledged last year to their students.
We cannot afford to compromise the education of this city’s and this state’s next generation of leaders in an attempt to cut corners in spending.
Health Budget: Great News for New Yorkers
April 24, 2008
The new 2008-09 health budget, which has been passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor, includes an impressive list of major health reforms and initiatives. This is the best health budget New York has had in many years.
In a groundbreaking – and long-overdue – change, the new budget begins to shift resources from inpatient hospital care to primary, preventative, and other outpatient care. Medicaid payments will increase for community health centers, physician and dentist care, school health centers, family planning clinics, hospital outpatient clinics, and others.
The budget also expands New York’s Child Health Plus program, raising the eligibility level for Child Health Plus from 250% of the poverty level to 400% - making health care for children affordable to more middle-class New Yorkers. Now thousands more children will get health coverage.
There will also be a new prescription drug discount card for some low-income people who have no drug coverage. The discounts will come from the state using its bargaining clout with drug companies, not from taxpayer dollars.
Additionally, under the new budget, New York will offer to repay new doctors’ medical school loans if they practice for five years in an under-served area in primary care or certain shortage specialties – helping to make access to health care a reality for many more New Yorkers.
