Toll bill introduced
But Lamont and others have said they’re moving on after past battle
Two Democratic state senators introduced a bill this week that would install electronic highway tolling systems on I-84, I-91, I-95 and portions of Route 15, even as Gov. Ned Lamont has said he would seek other options to Connecticut’s transportation funding problems.
Two Democratic state senators introduced a bill this week that would install electronic highway tolling systems on I-84, I-91, I-95 and portions of Route 15, even as Gov. Ned Lamont has said he would seek other options to Connecticut’s transportation funding problems.
The one-paragraph Proposed Bill No. 128, filed by Sen. Will Haskell, D-Westport, and Sen. Alex Kasser, D-Greenwich, seeks to “establish long-term, sustainable funding for the Special Transportation Fund” by authorizing the Connecticut Department of Transportation to construct and operate electronic tolling systems on the state’s major state highways. Haskell and Kasser do not serve on the legislature’s transportation committee.
Haskell said he introduced the legislation with the clear expectation that the bill will probably not become law.
“I’m a big believer in the notion that you can’t complain about something unless you put forward a solution, you can’t complain about a problem unless you come forward with a solution,” Haskell said. “And I am a big complainer about our transportation system here in Connecticut. ... I can’t in good faith do my job and fight for
HARTFORD — Gov. Ned Lamont said Monday that he will propose “revenue-raising ideas’’ for transportation in February to help the state’s long-troubled special transportation fund.
After the high-profile failure last year of controversial highway tolls, Lamont says the state still needs to provide money to balance the Special Transportation Fund.
When asked Monday if he has “revenue-raising ideas for transportation” that he will offer with his new, two-year budget next month, Lamont responded, “I do.’’
For years, money has been shifted in the transportation fund as the legislature scrambled to balance both the general fund and the transportation fund. The projected deficit for the transportation fund in the current fiscal year is $60.6 million, and the deficits are expected to increase in the future.
“We knew that the transportation fund was running out of dough last year,’’ Lamont told reporters Monday during a virtual news conference. “You could just see that. It’s been accelerated due to COVID — people driving less and the low price of gasoline. We made a couple of proposals last year [related to tolls]. They were tough. And they were hard deci
transportation improvements unless I’m also proposing how to pay for those improvements. And I think that the answer lies in what every other state is already doing.”
Lamont has stated that he would not revisit the toll issue, which took up a huge amount of legislative effort in 2019 and is largely viewed as the greatest failure of his early administration.
On Monday, Lamont said he would propose “revenue-raising ideas” next month to shore up the state’s ailing Special Transportation Fund, which is projected to run $60.6 million in the red this fiscal year and even more so in the future.
“We knew that the transportation fund was running out of dough last year,’’ Lamont said at a news conference. “You could just see that. It’s been accelerated due to COVID — people driving less and the low price of gasoline. We made a couple of proposals last year [related to tolls]. They were tough. And they were hard decisions, and the legislature didn’t want to make a hard decision.’’
Lamont added that federal assistance would provide “a couple hundred million dollars” but that the legislature was “going to have to make up their mind on this.”
Max Reiss, a spokesperson for Lamont, directed the Courant to the governor’s previous comments on tolls and didn’t add anything further Tuesday.
House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, has characterized the tolls question as “asked and answered.”
“I can’t see that being a headlining issue this particular session. I cannot’“Ritter said in November. “I personally support it. It makes a lot of sense to me. ... The answer is no. People might submit individual bills, but I don’t see it being one of the priorities of the House Democratic caucus. We had the debate. We tried.”
Patrick Sasser, founder of the activist group No Tolls
CT, said he isn’t surprised that Haskell and Kasser introduced a tolls bill. “They seem to have a strong desire to see these tolls get put up or implemented,” Sasser said. “Right now people in Connecticut are struggling as people are out of work. Hours have been reduced because of this pandemic, and once again, lawmakers are trying to come after more revenue from the working class who are struggling.”
Haskell was reelected to the state Senate by a wide margin after being targeted by Sasser and state Republicans for his support of tolls.