BOSTON (State House News Service) — Gov. Charlie Baker renewed his push to create a new, larger MBTA board, proposing a successor to the soon-to-expire Fiscal and Management Control Board as part of his annual spending bill.
Baker's fiscal year 2022 budget includes language convening a permanent board that would start its oversight role on July 1, one day after the FMCB — created in response to service failures during the disastrous winter of 2015 — dissolves.
The new board would have seven members, two more than the current panel, including the transportation secretary serving in an ex officio capacity.
One member would be appointed by the MBTA Advisory Board, a separate independent group representing the interests of cities and towns in the T's coverage area. Brian Kane, acting executive director of the Advisory Board, praised that provision, arguing that municipalities do not have any real power over the MBTA despite paying into the system every year.
"The 176 communities in the MBTA service district, represented by the Advisory Board, will pay nearly $180 million to the T in FY22, all without any say in how these funds are utilized," Kane said in a statement. "Currently the MBTA is the only large US transit agency without any municipal representation on its governing body. A board member representing cities and towns could ensure that municipal interests are considered by the MBTA."
The FMCB was set to expire in 2020, but lawmakers extended its authorization by one year after the House and Senate could not agree on the structure of a successor.
Boston leaders have been pushing to get a designated seat on the T's board given the transit system's importance to the city, a step the House supported last year in transportation tax legislation that died in the Senate. The governor's bill does not assign a Boston-specific seat on the board.
By Chris Lisinski, State House News Service
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