Photo Dan Macy
Employers that offer qualified transportation benefits should be aware that they may soon need to adjust their plans. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are setting the stage for the possible passage of a two-year federal highway funding law that could include a transit parity provision — which would return the mass transit exclusion to parity with that for qualified parking — as they negotiate House and Senate versions of the massive transportation funding bill.
In April, the Senate passed its version of Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century, the bill that includes a transit parity provision, which would equalize the monthly dollar limit for all types of transportation fringe benefits. The provision would mean that commuters who take mass transportation or vanpools to work could benefit from a tax break that is equal to that for qualified parking, which generally benefits people who drive to work. Sen. Charles Schumer,D-N.Y., succeeded in adding a transit parity provision in MAP-21 last February. The provision survived intact through the Senate vote that approved the bill. The House is now considering its own version of MAP-21, which does not have the parity provision in it.
Late on June 27 and early on June 28, news outlets began reporting that House lawmakers had reached a deal and were negotiating with the Senate on a final version. The Associated Press reported that congressional leaders had “tentatively agreed on a two-year bill” and that aides were preparing legislative language, quoting anonymous sources who were not authorized to speak about the negotiations.
On June 27, Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., urged his colleagues to accept the Senate version of the bill, which includes the transit parity provision.