Truck Toll Opponents Gear Up for Senate Finance on Thursday

Thursday, June 18, 2015

GoLocalProv News Team

Opponents to a new proposal for truck tolls in Rhode Island that is slated to be considered by Senate Finance on Thursday are demanding more toll specifics from Governor Gina Raimondo's office.

“From the very beginning we were never properly built into this process and now that we are demanding more information the responses we are getting completely lack specificity. We know the administration hired a professional consultant on this matter, but they refuse to release any details or work product produced by this consultant. Taxpayer funds were used to pay this consultant and any work product should be released to the public,” said Christopher Maxwell, President of the Rhode Island Trucking Association.

RITA also released a letter they sent to Raimondo on June 12 demanding specifics answers to questions they say have remained unanswered since the tolling plan was originally released by the administration.

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“Because of the lack of transparency, it is impossible for us or members of the General Assembly to properly vet this plan. Without specific toll locations and specific costs per location it is impossible to evaluate the fiscal impact of the toll plan to our industry. Where are the traffic studies that support the governor’s revenue projections? Have they done any analysis on the impact of trucks by weight classification? Why won’t they release specific toll locations,” asked Maxwell. “We are hopeful the administration will bring more answers to tomorrow’s Senate Finance hearing than they have provided to date.”

House GOP Slams Proposal

Members of the House GOP, who earlier this week came out with an unsuccessful alternative to tolls in the House budget, are contesting the new proposal slated to be heard in Senate Finance on Thursday.

"Rhode Islanders should be skeptical of this complex plan," said Representative Patricia Morgan. "Although on the surface, the original price has been decreased, this proposal is not a bargain for Rhode Islanders.”

The House Minority Office said that the new version has a "complex series of tax credits and rebates to some, but not all Rhode Island trucking companies. In this legislation, the cost of tolls decreased and the total amount of bridge repair shrank by $200 million."

"We're creating haves and have nots here. Yes, there are large pockets of heavy truck traffic throughout Rhode Island, but they're asking truckers to bear 100 percent of the burden, and in an inequitable manner," said Bill Fischer, spokesperson for the Trucking Association.

"This is indicative of what happens when [they] try and rush major policy through in the span of a few short weeks, instead of having time to get the proper input and information needed," said Fischer.

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