With Tyler Kane, Transportation Investment Advocacy Center

Gas taxes increased on July 1 by 4.9 cents per gallon in Washington state, and 0.9 cents per gallon in Maryland. The same day, California decreased its gas tax by 2.2 cents per gallon, while Nebraska and North Carolina each dropped their rate by 1 cent per gallon, due to various changes in state funding formulas.

The Washington increase is the second part of a legislative plan to raise the gas tax that began last year. Maryland’s increase results from a 2013 formula indexing the gas tax to inflation. Read More>>

Illinois lawmakers were still hammering out a stopgap budget measure as the fiscal year began July 1. The proposal would include funding for the state’s transportation department to prevent a shutdown of highway and bridge construction. Read More>>

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) announced that its South Coast light rail project is facing significant budget shortfalls. The project was initially estimated to be completed in 2022 at a cost of $2.23 billion. Now, delays have pushed back completion until at least 2030, while the cost has increased to $3.4 billion. MBTA warned the cost will increase by $4.1 million for every month the project is delayed. Read More>>