What Is The Status Of Tolls In CT? Here Are New Details

HARTFORD, CT — For more than six months one topic seemed to dominate Connecticut on a daily basis and that was whether tolls would be resurrected. And as we head into the middle of summer there is hardly a mention of the controversial topic.

Why is that? Quite bluntly it doesn’t appear Gov. Ned Lamont, who is the number one proponent of tolls, has the votes to get it approved in the General Assembly. At one point during the most recent legislative session it appeared tolls would become a reality as Lamont is a Democrat and the General Assembly is controlled overwhelmingly by Democrats.

While Republican lawmakers vowed to never ever support any tolls proposal it seemingly didn’t matter because on paper the Democrats should have the necessary votes. And because the GOP is unified in its opposition to tolls it has forced Lamont to find enough Democratic votes, which hasn't occurred as of yet.

And hence, here we are in the middle of July and that much discussed special session to vote on tolls this summer is looking bleaker and bleaker for Lamont and tolls proponents.

He doesn’t want to borrow more money and put the state further in debt to pay for the road upgrades. Lamont has argued that by adding tolls it will share the burden on local residents and folks from out-of-state, but it appears many lawmakers remain unconvinced.

Just this week, Lamont said he couldn’t predict when the legislature may vote on tolls, according to the Hartford Courant. Several lawmakers are now saying a special session this summer is becoming a long shot.

State Senate Republican leader Len Fasano told the Courant he couldn’t foresee a vote happening in the next 60 days due to summer vacations and that a 2020 regular session vote could be a hard sell because it’s an election year.

The toll proposal is among Lamont’s highest priorities. It has changed several times over the course of this year after it failed to gain traction in the state legislature. The governor recently floated the idea of an income tax reduction as a sweetener, but didn’t offer specifics about how big of a cut that would include.

If tolls pass it will likely be without the support of any Republicans who have been steadfast in their opposition. Republican legislative leadership met with Lamont and other administration officials, but they were no more willing to support tolls than before the meeting. Fasano said at a June press conference that there was heavy skepticism for tolls because state government can’t be trusted.

Lamont agreed the same day that concerns over state spending from the past 20 years were a factor in the opposition to tolls and that he was doing everything possible to calm those suspicions. State voters passed a constitutional amendment that requires transportation revenue to go into the Special Transportation Fund. Federal law also requires toll revenue to go toward the highway it was collected on until the highway is in a good state of repair. After that the money could go to other transportation projects, but that would be a long ways away considering Connecticut’s road and bridge conditions.

Gas and other fuel taxes make up about half of Special Transportation Fund revenue, according to the Office of Legislative Research. which has been shrinking as vehicles become more fuel-efficient or rely entirely on electric power.

Republicans have offered their Prioritize Progress plan as an alternative to tolls. It relies on prioritizing the state’s bonding authority toward transportation projects.

Lamont has repeatedly criticized Prioritize Progress, calling it another plan to put projects on the state’s credit card and have future generations pay for them.

The ultimate goal for tolls would be to bring in $800 million in transportation revenue annually with projections of 40 percent of that coming from out-of-state drivers. The peak rate for CT E-Z Pass holders with a frequent commuter discount would be 5.5 cents per mile.

The latest proposals call for about 50 toll gantries total on I-95, I-84, I-91 and route 15. A large number is required due to the state having many exits. I-95 between New York and New Haven has 47 exits for 47 miles of road compared to the Mass Pike which has 21 exits on 133 miles of road.