The MBTA doesn't allow smoking or cigarette advertising on its property, so why does it permit vendors to sell cigarettes in its stations?
And why has the T secretly and successfully lobbied to kill a bill (H. 3594) which would have prevented tobacco sales in T stations?
The MBTA is a state agency. The state spends millions of dollars through its Department of Public Health to combat cigarette use. Yet the T plays by its own set of rules, presumably to protect revenue from vendors who lease property in its stations. There are plenty of other legal products which the T would presumably ban from its premises (alcohol and firearms come to mind). So why does management apparently feel it's perfectly okay to allow public property to be used to sell cigarettes?
Not a single person spoke out against H 3594 at public hearings, but without going on record to oppose the bill, the MBTA worked behind the scenes to defeat it. Representative Joseph Wagner, Chairman of the Transportation Committee which recommended a negative vote, refused to even state why he opposed the bill.
Should a public agency like the MBTA be allowed to surreptitiously lobby legislators? Should they, and the legislators who support them, be accountable to the public to explain their reasons for supporting or opposing a bill?
To register your comment, contact:
Representative Joseph Warner, Chair, Transportation Committee
Telephone: 617-722-2400 413-592-7857
Facsimile: 413-592-1354
E-Mail: [email protected]