ANNAPOLIS — Maryland is bracing for the potential loss of one-third of its federal transportation funding, forcing the state to slow down work on $4 billion in mass transit projects while lawmakers consider raising taxes and fees to meet the state’s needs. Under a six-year transportation spending proposal supported by the U.S. House, Maryland would lose 35 percent — or roughly $170 million annually — of its federal aid for the construction and maintenance of highways, roads and mass transit systems, analysts told a state Senate budget panel on Wednesday.
Maryland lawmakers would have to raise the state’s 23.5-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax by roughly 6 cents to account for that loss, according to Jonathan Martin, an analyst with the Maryland Department of Legislative Services.
