While Governor Baker was cutting services, another little-noticed cut was taking place. An 'automatic' decrease in the income tax rate, by .05%, came into effect on Jan. 1 of this year. Is it a small cut? Well, it's going to save my family a whopping $22.50 this year.

But its aggregate effect has been to wipe out $70 million in revenues for this second half of FY 2015 - at the same time that we're cutting services to the bone. So, I filed an amendment to the budget cut bill, to restore the income tax rate that we were paying in the first half of this fiscal year. Sadly, my amendment was ruled beyond the scope of the bill before us.

Gov. Baker says Massachusetts doesn't have a revenue problem, but a spending problem. That's not what I'm hearing from constituents - quite the opposite. No one has contacted me to say how great it will be to have an additional $25 (or so) to spend this year. These mid-year spending cuts, coinciding with the cut in the income tax rate, remind me of 18th century medicine - we're applying leeches to a bleeding patient.

 The good news first: on February 18, the MBTA and MassDOT released their service restoration plan, which is expected to include re-opened the "B" line on the Green Line, and Quincy service on the Red Line by Monday. MBTA stresses that reduced train counts, due to our brutal winter storms, will result in longer wait times and crowding in the short term. For a complete timeline of service restoration, visit: www.mbta.com/winter/

Reflecting on our recent transit woes, I've been remembering that in November, 2014, the Somerville Chamber of Commerce presented MBTA General Manager Beverly Scott with an achievement award for her work.  On January 5, 2015, Dr. Scott came to Somerville to celebrate a federal New Starts grant of $1 billion, given for the Green Line Extension (GLX) project - a grant made possible, in part, by the gas tax increase which some of us in the legislature had long been fighting for, and finally won in 2013. I started to think that maybe my big transit funding battles were over.

In the last week, though, I've received scores of emails complaining about how poorly our state has done in providing for decent transportation infrastructure. I've heard Governor Baker - among others - blame Dr. Scott, and the MBTA in general, for recent breakdowns in service. The suggested responses have ranged from the cautious (study the problem) to the draconian (place MBTA in receivership; reorganize it to put it under the direct control of Governor Baker.)

There's been a lot of interesting discussion outside state government. For a sampling this recent issue of Commonwealth Magazine is devoted to the subject of MBTA, its funding, and its future:

 http://commonwealthmagazine.org/transportation/five-takes-t/

For those interested in learning more about the roots of the MBTA's woes, the group Transportation for Massachusetts (T4MA) has released a useful set of primers:

1. Maxed Out - A 2011 report reviews years of underfunding transportation, and makes recommendations; arguing that, with its burden of debt, the system "lacks the revenue to maintain its current condition, let alone meet future needs.
2. The Next MassDOT -This January 2015 report was written for the incoming Baker administration to use in managing our state's transportation system to promote economic growth. It recommends continuing reforms and efficiencies; expanding  transportation choices, and closing the funding gap.
3. Keeping on Track - Released last week, this report tracks the results of the Transportation Finance Act of 2013, concluding that, despite improvements, the revenue raised is still not sufficient to meet transportation needs and support our economy.