Review the full law, Chapter 25 of the Acts of 2009
On Friday, June 26, 2009, Gov. Deval Patrick signed legislation that will cause a major restructuring of the state's transportation bureaucracy, including the elimination of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority. This law is Chapter 25 of the Acts of 2009. The new Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), the name given to the super-agency controlled by the governor, will begin overseeing highway, transit, aeronautics and the Registry of Motor Vehicles on . Massport is separate from this new organization. MassDOT is headed by a five member Board appointed by the Governor. The Governor will appoint a CEO of MassDOT to be known as the Secretary.
MassDOT has control over the Transportation Trust Fund, which includes toll revenues and other transportation revenues. The Governor and Legislature remain in control of the Commonwealth Transportation Fund, which includes gas tax revenues and registry fees. A gas tax increase that had been proposed by the Governor is not in this new law.
MassDOT is the centralized location for all planning and programming and the hub of shared services, including accounting, IT, procurement, prequalification, legal and project management. MassDOT will have four divisions, each to be headed by a division administrator. The Highway Division incorporates MassHighway, the Western Turnpike, Metropolitan Highway System, Tobin Bridge, 8 DCR roadways (parkways stay with DCR) and DCR bridges (transferred over several years), and will be headed by an Administrator of Transportation for Highways. The Registry of Motor Vehicles will continue in its current form, but will technically be a division within MassDOT. It will be headed by an Administrator of Transportation for Motor Vehicles (to be known as the Registrar of Motor Vehicles). The Aeronautics Division replaces the current Massachusetts Aeronautics Commission, and will be headed by an Administrator of Transportation for Aeronautics. The Mass Transit Division will oversee the MBTA and the Regional Transit Authorities, with a new Administrator of Transportation for the Mass Transit division at the helm. The MBTA's enabling statute is not changed, except the current Board of Directors is replaced by the new MassDOT Board. It still remains a separate authority with its own funding and spending powers.
Some sections of this new law take effect on November 1, 2009 and others take effect on January 1, 2010.
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