State Rep. Gale Mastrofrancesco: Tolls Public Hearing Scheduled for FRIDAY

State Capitol News

Tolls Public Hearing Scheduled for FRIDAY

This is your chance if you oppose tolls come and make your voices heard.

On Friday January 31, 2020, at 1:00 pm in Hartford, the governor and legislative Democrats are rushing to hold a public hearing on their latest tolls proposal before forcing a vote early next week. You can read the bill by clicking here.

You can come to Hartford on Friday to testify OR you can submit testimony online.

To speak out in Hartford:

• Come to the Legislative Office Building on Friday, January 31, 2020
• Signups will likely be held early in the day to testify later at the 1:00 pm hearing in Room 1E (more information to follow when made available)
• Tips and FAQs about testifying are available on our website by clicking here.
• Stay tuned for more details on how to testify in person.

To submit testimony online:

• Send a brief email ASAP to TRAtestimony@cga.ct.gov
• Put “NO to Draft Bill LCO #373. No to tolls” in the subject line.
• Include your name and town.
• Copy me on the email at Gale.Mastrofrancesco@housegop.ct.gov
• Feel free to attend the hearing on Friday, January 31, 2020, at 1:00 pm in Hearing Room 1E.

What’s in the Governor and Democrat legislature’s latest proposal?
What we do know:

• Tolls would be built in at least 12 locations throughout the state. Nothing in the bill stops the state from building additional toll locations in the future.
• Trucks will have to pay right away.
• Cars will be next. The protections in the bill are not even close to sufficient to stop future car tolling.
• It puts CT taxpayers at risk of lawsuits from the trucking industry and legal challenges from the state of NY.
• It is bought and paid for using taxpayer dollars. The governor is breaking his ‘debt diet’ to increase borrowing to buy votes.
• It borrows more than the Republican no-tolls transportation plan, putting more debt on future generations, and still requires tolls.
• Lawmakers will not have to hold a vote to increase toll rates and answer to taxpayers. The ability to raise rates will be entirely in the hands of a new state transportation council. And there’s nothing taxpayers or lawmakers can do to stop them.

What we don’t know:

• No details on the numbers.
• No details on which transportation projects will be funded, and which projects included in earlier proposals got cut.
• No evidence to show how much revenue tolls will bring in.
• No calculations showing the impact of toll avoidance.
• No analysis of how toll avoidance would impact local roadways.
• No explanation of if and how the Special Transportation Fund would remain in balance.