A Maryland Senate panel approved a transportation fee package April 5 that would leave Gov. Robert Ehrlich Jr. well short of his funding goal.

Deciding not to replenish $90 million the House cut from the governor’s transportation legislation, the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee voted unanimously to approve fees that would raise $165 million a year for road projects and mass transit, The Associated Press reported.

The plan has been forwarded to the Senate floor. Combined with adjusted revenue forecasts, it would generate $233 million a year for the transportation trust fund — relying primarily on an increase in vehicle-registration fees.

The legislation – HB1467 – falls short of the goal set by a task force that outlined the road projects needed in Maryland by 2010. The panel determined last year that $17 billion worth of projects are needed over the next six years; the plan approved by the Senate committee would allow the department to raise $12 billion, The AP reported.

The House voted 72-69 March 19 to approve the stripped-down version of Ehrlich’s $320 million plan. Lawmakers took out fee increases for moving violations and drunken driving. Also removed was a proposal to funnel rental-car sales taxes, worth $32 million.

The governor proposed the increases after rejecting an idea to raise the state’s fuel tax.