New Push By Lawmakers To Approve Tolls In Connecticut

HARTFORD, CT — A group of legislators promised to push hard to approve electronic tolling in the upcoming legislative session after hundreds of transportation projects were cancelled due to lack of funding.

State Rep. Tony Guerrera (D-Rocky Hill) who serves as head of the House Transportation Committee said that legislators shouldn’t stand by until a tragedy happens due to crumbling infrastructure.

“It’s no secret out there, our roads and our bridges are in bad shape, our funds are drying up,” he said.
Connecticut’s gas tax isn’t having the same impact as cars become more fuel efficient and more hybrids and electric vehicles hit the streets, he said. Out-of-state drivers are often able to avoid Connecticut gas pumps entirely.

A recent AAA poll among Connecticut drivers found that 47 percent of drivers would support adding tolls on Connecticut interstates. It was a more popular option than increasing gas taxes and a mileage tax option, but 30 percent of those polled said they didn’t support any of those three options.

The poll also found that drivers support the lock box proposal that will appear on the November ballot by a 9 to 1 margin. The constitutional amendment if passed by voters would prevent transportation funds from being raided for other budget items.

Several Democratic legislators who spoke at the Monday morning press conference said it’s time for Connecticut taxpayers to stop carrying the burden of fixing Connecticut’s roads and bridges when nearby states are able to reap hundreds of millions of dollars from out of state drivers. They noted that 42 percent of toll revenue in New Hampshire and New Jersey comes from out-of-state drivers.

The issue of electronic tolling came up in last year’s legislative session, but it ended up dying without a vote. Democratic leaders at the time said they were just one vote short of passing a measure that would’ve allowed to state Department of Transportation to conduct a study on tolls.

Connecticut’s senate is evenly split between Democrats and Republicans with Lt. Gov Nancy Wyman holding a tie-breaking vote. The state house has 79 Democrats and 72 Republicans. All positions are up for election in November along with the position of governor. Guerrera said it shouldn’t matter that it is an election year and that tolls would become immensely popular the day after a infrastructure-related tragedy.

Gov. Dannel Malloy indefinitely postponed $4.3 billion worth of transportation projects in January. The state’s Special Transportation Fund is expected to be in a deficit by July 1, 2018 if no action is taken.
Improvements to the I-91/Route 15 interchange on the Charter Oak Bridge would be cancelled along with the Waterbury Mixmaster project and widening of I-95 between Bridgeport and Stamford.

House Majority Leader Matthew Ritter said the alternative to tolls is to take out more bonding for transportation projects, which is the equivalent of paying with a credit card. Constant toll revenue would help reduce the need for bonding and paying interest for projects. He also said more funding for transportation projects could lead to shorter commutes.

Republicans in the past have criticized the idea of tolls in Connecticut. Republican Senate Majority Leader Len Fasano raised a number of criticisms in an op-ed piece, including how in Connecticut it could be easy to circumvent tolls, especially on I-95 where Route 1 runs parallel. He also argued that tolls are just another money grab that would allow the state to avoid cutting spending in other areas.

Fasano also said that Connecticut’s transportation woes didn’t come out of nowhere and that Malloy and Democrats took $164 million over the past four years from Special Transportation Fund to balance budgets.

Image via Elise Amendola/AP