The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Republicans attack new toll proposal
The newly released bill that would impose tolls on large trucks at a dozen locations around the state faced opposition Tuesday from Republicans who say it leaves open the path to expansion to cars and small trucks. Democrats said that won’t happen.
And Democrats say they have the votes to pass the shrunken tolls measure, part of a 10-year, $19 billion overall transportation financing plan, with tolls generating $150 million to $175 million a year after expenses. Votes in the House and Senate could happen Monday or Tuesday after a public forum Friday.
The regular legislative session starts Feb. 5 and Democrats are pushing to get the transportation bill done before then.
Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven, said there are three main problems he has with the proposed bill — aside from his obvious objection to tolling anything. The bill leaves toll rates in the hands of an appointed body; it is ineffective at preventing future legislatures from including cars, Fasano contends; and Gov. Ned Lamont’s agreement to increase overall borrowing by $300 million a year to $1.7 million is a disappointment, Fasano and other Republicans said.
“It is absolutely unclear how these toll rates can get raised,” Fasano said. “You can read in this bill that the [Transportation Policy Council] ... can raise toll rates without legislative authority, without a legislative vote and without a public hearing. So toll rates can be raised by an un-elected body.”
Democrats countered that the toll rates can only rise by the rate of consumer inflation or inflation in the construction industry as measured by
the federal government, whichever is larger.
Fasano called the proposed increase in borrowing a way to buy votes. Democrats countered that the borrowing would still be well below the levels of the last eight years, which exceeded $2 billion on average.
Democrats also said Republicans appeared to be doing anything possible to sow doubt about the plan and exaggerate its negative effects.
“It seems to me what the Republican strategy is already is to ignore the actual proposal contained in this bill and pretend that the proposal is universal tolling of passenger vehicles,” said Senate President Martin Looney, D-New Haven, the Senate president pro-tem.
For example, the bill contains a 10-year ban on adding tolls for passenger vehicles and smaller trucks. It would codify that ban in bond covenants with Wall Street lenders for transportation projects, and a threefifths vote would be required to override it.”
Fasano and other Republicans said that lockdown has loopholes, and that bondholders might well prefer to see expanded tolling.
Looney, in response, said, ““We’re going as far as we can under the rules in which we operate…It’s always the case that future legislatures can take independent action but our view is that sentiment on this issue is so strong that anything other than what we’re proposing in this bill is highly unlikely.”
“We’re going as far as we can under the rules in which we operate,” Looney said. “It’s always the case that future legislatures can take independent action but our view is that sentiment on this issue is so strong that anything other than what we’re proposing in this bill is highly unlikely.”
Under the bill, the transportation commissioner would establish the initial base rate for tolls — between $6 and $13 — and have the ability to propose future changes. The tolls would only apply to vehicles with a Class 8 designation or higher — in layman’s terms, any truck with 3 or more axles that weighs over 33,000 pounds.
The bill would create a panel of 12 people, known as the Transportation Policy Council, which would set toll rates and approve strategic transportation plans.
The council would comprise appointees by legislators who have expertise in various transportation areas, including commuter rail, transportation equity, bus transportation, municipal government, public safety, and construction or engineering. Also on the council would be the secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, the state Treasurer and commissioners of economic and community development, energy and environmental protection and housing.
One appointee selected by the Governor would be required to have expertise in transit-oriented development, while another would represent the building trades.
Nonvoting members of the council would include the transportation commissioner and the chairs and ranking members of the General Assembly’s transportation committee and bonding subcommittee. The locations are the same as those that were in Lamont’s proposal for 14 gantries in November, which included tolls for cars as well as trucks.
State Rep. Gail Lavielle, R-Wilton, said the bill should not let an outside body make decisions on toll rates.
“I find it unacceptable because the legislature has to approve everything else when you collect money,” said Lavielle, a longtime member of the transportation committee. “Another thing I find that people in the public won’t notice is that until 2030, any expansion of the tolls would have to be approved by three-fifths of the legislature. But after 2030 all bets are off. If that is indeed the case that they should know this.”
State Rep. Laura Devlin, R-Fairfield, who sits on both the transportation and finance committees, echoed Lavielle’s concerns and added she is alarmed by the lack of financial details in the plan.
“There’s no numbers being shared, effectively, and they can change the terms of the bill quite easily,” Devlin said. “Tolls are the most expensive and regressive tax to implement and there’s no numbers in this bill. So what we hear is this figure of $150 million but what’s the cost to implement? What’s the cost to maintain? How many employees are needed? This is putting infrastructure on six highways.”
Another issue Lavielle wants to raise Friday is the current road-use taxes paid by trucks that drive through the state. “Big trucks already pay a mileage tax, so if what they want is money, why not just raise that tax and don’t get involved in erecting the gantries and operating a toll system?”
On the issue of possibly expanding current road-use taxes for big trucks, Sen. Carlo Leone, D-Stamford, co-chairman of the transportation committee, suggested that Lavielle draft such legislation and submit it to the committee.
“The final draft is a culmination of everyone’s inputs into what they want to see for truck-tolls only,” Leone said Tuesday. “I’m sure that there are countless issues for others to rail against. What we crafted is what is in the best intesrt of the state and what we have support for.”
On the upcoming public hearing, Leone said he expects to hear familiar arguments. “We just have to give the public its say,” he said.
No Republicans have said they would support tolling in any form.