Connecticut drivers would get a discount under toll proposal

HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut drivers would get a financial break under a tentative proposal that could eventually lead to electronic tolling on the state’s highways.

A document highlighting aspects of the draft legislation, which could come up for a vote in the House of Representatives as early as Wednesday, shows Connecticut drivers with an E-ZPass would receive an approximate 30 per cent discount. For Connecticut commuters or frequent users with an E-ZPass, there would be an additional 20 per cent reduction. Lawmakers also are considering a state income tax rebate for drivers and other breaks, including gas tax cuts.

“Obviously, we want to make it as least burdensome in regards to the people of the state,” said Rep. Antonio “Tony” Guerrera, D-Rocky Hill, the co-chairman of the Legislature’s Transportation Committee.

It’s part of an effort to ensure out-of-state drivers, including truckers, pay a larger portion of the state’s transportation costs. Such language is considered crucial if lawmakers want to pass the two-part bill, which requires the state Department of Transportation to first study the issue and then develop a proposal for the General Assembly to later act upon, possibly next year.

Guerrera is among those lawmakers pushing to pass legislation this session that gets the ball rolling on a plan for tolls that the General Assembly can eventually approve or reject. This year’s legislative session is scheduled to adjourn at midnight on May 9.

“We have been talking about this for a number of years,” he said. “You need some type of blueprint here and we don’t have that.”

But opposition and skepticism remain as to whether Connecticut should join neighbouring states with tolls, making the fate of any tolling legislation uncertain this year.

“This is the lightning rod for everyone who is dissatisfied. This has sent them right over the top,” said Sen. Toni Boucher, R-Wilton, referring to angry constituents she has heard from. She said the “tolling scheme” is another tax on a state “that has already been devastated by too many additional taxes.”

The document summarizing what lawmakers are considering indicates there could be peak and off-peak rates. A Connecticut resident might pay about 4.4 cents per mile during off-peak times and 5.5 cents per mile in peak periods. That is compared to an out-of-state driver with an E-ZPass paying 6.3 cents for off-peak travel and 9.9 cents for peak periods. Higher rates could be charged for drivers without the E-ZPass. A Connecticut driver with a state-issued E-ZPass and a commuter discount might pay a total of $1.72 to drive from the New York state line to New Haven — 49 miles — during the off-peak time and $2.16 during peak hours.

But Guerrera stressed that such amounts could change, depending on what the Department of Transportation ultimately recommends to the Legislature. Besides the price of the tolls, the department would be required to consider ways to help small businesses impacted by tolls, where to locate the electronic tolling gantries and estimates of how much it would cost to operate the tolls, among other issues. The department also would have to conduct studies to satisfy federal requirements for tolls.