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Transit advocates push employer pretax commuter benefits to reduce driving and emissions
Summary
Transportation advocates urged the committee to require employers with 50+ employees to offer pretax commuter benefits up to federal limits, saying the policy increases transit ridership and reduces emissions.
Pete Wilson, senior policy director at T for Mass, told the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development that House Bill 21-53 and Senate Bill 13-45 would require employers with 50 or more employees to offer pretax transportation benefits up to the federal tax-code maximum.
Wilson said pretax commuter benefits allow employees to set aside pretax dollars for transit fares, vanpooling and other commuting costs and that similar programs have increased transit ridership where adopted. “We view this bill as a companion piece to the expansion of commuter benefits that was included in governor Healey’s tax bill that passed in 2023,” Wilson said.
He cited San Francisco’s municipal ordinance and a 2016 California report finding that San Francisco’s program led to an estimated 44,000 employees switching from driving alone to other commuting modes in the first year and an estimated 35,000 tons of CO2 reductions in that 12-month period.
Wilson described pretax commuter benefits as a tax-advantaged option that “lowers the taxable income of employees and does not expire,” and urged the committee to pass the measure to encourage mode shift and emissions reductions. No committee vote occurred during the hearing.
