Key Bridge collapse adds uncertainty to transportation-focused state budget divide
Even before the collapse of an iconic piece of Maryland infrastructure Tuesday, finding the money needed to sustain the state’s critical transportation network was the largest hang-up left in the General Assembly session barreling toward its finish line.
The crash that took down the Francis Scott Key Bridge has only added to the complexity.
“It’s added a lot of uncertainty into what was already an uncertain environment,” said Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Baltimore Democrat.
Democrats who control the House and Senate have battled for weeks over how and when to resolve a roughly $3.3 billion, six-year transportation funding shortfall — one that puts at risk everything from new construction to repairs on roads and bridges.
President Joe Biden’s quick pledge for the federal government to cover the entire cleanup and bridge rebuilding in Baltimore’s outer harbor has offset immediate concerns about adding significantly to that long-term deficit.
But lawmakers in Annapolis say it’s still unclear how far-reaching the costs to the state will be. And while those who’ve been pushing for a fix to the long-term transportation issues this year say the tragedy underscores the urgent need to act, those who’ve wanted to wait say it could be a reason to take their time.
“It’s even more important now that we have those thoughtful, deliberate conversations about ‘How are we going to be investing the limited resources that we have?’” said Ferguson, a Baltimore Democrat who has held the line on increasing taxes or fees this year as a way to solve the future deficit.
“Even if we have federal support for a rebuild, all of these other costs and collateral impacts of this incident are, we’re probably not going to know for days, weeks, months, years,” he said.
The annual 90-day session is scheduled to end April 8, and Ferguson said he will introduce emergency legislation to provide financial relief to small businesses and displaced workers affected at the Port of Baltimore.
Other potential emergency bills and the impacts on the budget are up in the air.
Final negotiations between House and Senate lawmakers on the $63 billion budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 began Wednesday afternoon — a day after being delayed because of the bridge collapse. The first meeting revealed that negotiators had solved most of the differences but the largest outstanding issue remained on transportation. The next public meeting is set for Monday, a one-week deadline from the end of the session that represents when the budget is typically passed.
“It certainly makes the situation more complicated right on the eve of us going into negotiations,” said Del. Mark Edelson, a Baltimore Democrat who was named to the House’s negotiating committee, when asked about the impacts of the bridge collapse.
At issue is his caucus’ plan to raise tolls on out-of-state drivers and create or raise a variety of vehicle-related fees as a way of resolving most or all of the future transportation deficit. Senate leaders initially said they would agree on the tolling plan — which aims to raise $75 million annually — and a roughly $150 surcharge on electric vehicle registrations because they do not contribute to the gas tax. Ferguson has said in recent days that the tolling plan may not cross the finish line.
Those and the House’s other transportation funding ideas were tabled during Wednesday’s meeting, during which House Appropriations Committee Chair Ben Barnes, a Prince George’s County Democrat and his chamber’s top budget negotiator, said discussions would continue in the next few days.
Meanwhile, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, in a White House briefing Wednesday, reiterated the Biden Administration’s support to fund the cleanup in the Patapsco River and the rebuilding of the Key Bridge.
He did not answer specific questions about cost estimates, though U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat, said in an interview with The Baltimore Sun that initial estimates for clearing the channel were $40 million to $50 million. That will come from the Army Corps of Engineers budget, he said.
Cost estimates or a timeline for a bridge rebuild are one of the many uncertainties in a still-unfolding situation, according to state and federal officials.
Edelson, asked whether the events this week could worsen the transportation funding shortfall even with federal support, said “the short answer is yes.”
“The longer answer,” he said, “is there’s so many things to think through that it’s hard to know.”
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