June 01, 1999
TRANSPORTATION

The Third Rail: Financing the MBTA

This report was part of a broad effort by MTF that contributed to the enactment of landmark legislation in 1999 overhauling the finances of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. In the report, MTF calls for urgent legislative action on MBTA fiscal reform to limit the drain on state taxpayers, to help deal with the state's capital crisis, and to protect the Commonwealth's credit rating. The report offers a set of recommendations for reform that address the arcane financial system under which the state essentially gave the T a blank check without the accountability required of other state agencies. Winner of the national Governmental Research Association's annual award for Special Achievement.