No Opposition To Bill To Hike Toll Rates For Non-New Hampshire EZ Pass Owners

By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH

CONCORD, NH — NH-EZ Pass owners could keep their 30 percent discount with no toll increase but the state would charge an increase to all other users under a bill heard in the House Public Works and Highways Committee Tuesday without a single opponent speaking during a public hearing.

Speakers said that such practices are common in other states where NH EZ Pass holders pay more than their state's EZ Pass holders and such practices have been upheld in the courts provided everyone has a chance to buy that EZ Pass.

Senate Bill 627-FN, which would help the underfunded 2027-2036 state 10-year highway plan, passed the Senate almost unanimously.

It was seen by that chamber as a vehicle to help pay for projects not funded on the 10-year plan, including the $780 million estimated widening in Bow at Interstate 89 and the estimated $280 million reconstruction of Exits 6 and 7 on 1-93 in Manchester, among others.

These choke points are also safety concerns and among projects that were left on the cutting room floor during the recent hearings for the 10-year plan by the Governor's Advisory Council on Intermodal Transportation.

That process this past year laid bare the fact there is not enough money going forward to pay for projects seen as priorities by regional planners across the state.

While the Executive Council has refused to increase toll rates since 2007, costs for construction have skyrocketed and the need is outpacing the state's capacity, members of the committee were told.

The state also is facing a steep repayment rate for $200 million in loans for improvements to I-93.

David Rodrigue, commissioner of the Department of Transportation, said the bill would not only protect NH EZ Pass drivers but allow the estimated 15 percent of New Hampshire drivers who do not have a NH EZ Pass to get one for free.

He told the committee a new sticker is coming out to replace transponders and would cost the state about 65 cents each.

Rodrigue noted that Maine gives Maine EZ Pass drivers a bigger break than New Hampshire is contemplating, noting today those with a Maine EZ Pass pay 95 cents at the York, Maine tolls while a NH EZ Pass user pays $4 there now.

If passed, NH EZ Pass owners would still pay $1.40 at the Hampton tolls on Interstate 95 and those who don't have a NH EZ Pass would go from paying $2 to paying $4.

Sen. David Watters, D-Dover, the bill's prime sponsor, said the bill is "vital to New Hampshire's economic future."

He cited a national TRIP report released Monday which showed the state's needs for more infrastructural funding and noted that a federal spigot for money which has been used in the past has been shut off.

"It's now on us," he said to find the money to do necessary improvements.

He said he really cares deeply about New Hampshire taxpayers and shares Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte's concerns that there not be an additional financial burden in increased toll rates for them.

Amy Charbonneau, highway director for Continental Paving, which is contracted by the state for various bided projects and employs 330, said the bill is "super important" for safety and economic development.

She cited examples of highway expansions in the southern tier which spurred new housing and retail opportunities.

"Our roads are way better than Massachusetts," she said, and noted she does not think the state wants to become Massachusetts.

That is indirectly invoking Governor Ayotte's former campaign slogan to not "Mass Up" New Hampshire.
This bill would have Massachusetts drivers footing this bill for highway safety and widening and Ayotte has not committed one way or the other to this bill.

Charbonneau said it is the lack of DOT financial resources going forward that could put the state further behind and be more like Massachusetts.

She said the state is focused currently on maintaining but not expanding or improving capacity.

Alex Koutroubas, lobbyist for Associated General Contractors of New Hampshire, offered strong support for the bill as well. He called it a "targeted, disciplined approach" to addressing highway road needs into the future and told lawmakers that courts have found that as long as everyone has access to the product, in this case buying a NH EZ Pass, it is lawful to charge those from other states a higher rate than NH EZ Pass customers.

Koutroubas said Watters drafted the bill in such a way that he feels it meets the tests of the judicial system.

Jim Jalbert, owner of C & J Bus Lines, also came to Concord to support the bill at its House hearing. He said just as lawmakers struggle to get re-elected they need to consider that "we're gonna start running out of money," and projects like the regional ones that did not make it into the 10-year highway plan are "critical."

And he said other states charge NH EZ Pass and cash toll payers more than their own customers.

"You've got a chance to do the right thing," he said. "It's an incredible deal for New Hampshire," and could lead to fully automated tolling at Hampton, which not only fouls up summer traffic for everyone but impacts his bottom line in the bus business.

And because other state users come through this state and use these roads, Jalbert said, "they should pay for it."

This article first appeared on InDepthNH.org and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.