Md. Sets Blue-Ribbon Panel to Study Transportation Funding

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) has named 20 people to a blue-ribbon commission assigned to come up with recommendations for reshaping how Maryland funds its transportation system.

The commission, which includes four state lawmakers, was created by the legislature in April in the face of declining revenue in the state’s transportation trust fund.

Lawmakers said that the panel is to “review, evaluate and make recommendations” on an array of transportation funding issues from public-private partnerships to transit and highway construction and maintenance.

Trucking’s representative on the panel is Don Bowman, owner and chairman of D.M. Bowman Inc., a trucking and logistics firm headquartered in Williamsport, Md.

The panel is to deliver a preliminary report by Jan. 1, and its final report by Nov. 1, 2011.