Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

Lamont willing to compromise on transportation — if tolls are involved

  • Money
  • by Keith M. Phaneuf
  • May 9, 2019
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

Frankie Graziano :: Connecticut Public Radio

Gov. Ned Lamont

With less than four weeks left in the legislative session, Gov. Ned Lamont made a bipartisan appeal for compromise on tolls.

The Democratic governor pledged to dedicate more resources to transportation construction between now and 2024 — the first year toll receipts might be available. This generally was recognized as one of the soft parts of Lamont’s plan.

But the governor also insisted any bargain would have to include electronic tolls, saying this was essential to provide long-term fiscal stability to a transportation program otherwise headed for insolvency.

“I am more than willing to entertain a compromise that shores up our Special Transportation Fund, provides for some short-term borrowing until the point at which tolls come online,” Lamont wrote in an open letter to the General Assembly.

The governor wants to put electronic tolls on interstates 84, 91 and 95 and on the Merritt Parkway with a base charge of 4.4 cents per mile — before discounts are offered to Connecticut motorists.

This would raise $800 million per year for the budget by 2024, the administration says, with 30 to 40 percent coming from out-of-state motorists. Discounts would be provided to Connecticut residents and to frequent travelers.

But Lamont also had proposed canceling additional resources pledged to the transportation program over the next few years.

Republicans in the Senate and House say that with additional funding — a mix of bonding and sales tax receipts — Connecticut’s transportation program can get by without tolls.

Their plan, “Prioritize Progress,” actually would dedicate roughly $2.4 billion more to transportation construction than Lamont’s would over the next four years combined.

CTMirror.org File Photo

Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano

The governor had met with Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven, in recent weeks to see if a bipartisan deal on transportation financing could be reached.

Fasano expressed disappointment Thursday that Lamont “remains unwilling to consider alternatives to fund transportation over the long-term that do not involve tolls and new taxes.”

“The proposal outlined in Governor Lamont’s letter today is the same ‘plan’ he has been talking about for months,” Fasano added. “It is a plan that is based on hypothetical sketch numbers, that has never been shared with the federal government, and that takes the full General Assembly out of the decision making when it comes to how tolls will actually impact our residents and local communities. Gov. Lamont’s proposal is a new tax not only on residents here and now, but on all future generations who will be paying tolls for years to come.”

The reaction was no less bleak from House Republicans.

“Currently there are no Republican votes in the House for tolls and we’ve conducted a series of forums in the state that have elicited anti-toll sentiments,” said Pat O’Neill, spokesman for the House Republican Caucus.

But Lamont says the Republican plan is not a long-term solution, since the Special Transportation Fund still would plunge into insolvency under that proposal within a decade.

And once Connecticut catches up on some of the transportation maintenance it’s deferred for years, it actually could use toll receipts to pay cash for capital projects, rather than borrowing and running up huge interest costs, the administration says.

“I won’t entertain a compromise in which the numbers don’t add up, the excessive borrowing crowds out other needed and necessary investments elsewhere and the approach is simply a band-aid to buy more time until the point at which we can revisit this conversation in another two years — all while our roads and rail continue to decline and economy limps along,” Lamont wrote. 

Patrick Sasser, founder and leader of No Tolls CT delivered petitions with more than 100,000 signatures to the governor's office on Thursday. Chief of Staff Ryan Drajewicz received them and met with Sasser for a conversation.

Patrick Sasser, founder and leader of No Tolls CT delivered petitions with more than 100,000 signatures to the governor’s office on Thursday. Chief of Staff Ryan Drajewicz received them and met with Sasser for a conversation.

The governor also hinted tolls would improve Connecticut’s standing with Wall Street, where strong fiscal practices are rewarded with lower interest rates on borrowing. “The ratings agencies are waiting to see our next move,” he wrote.

“The transportation crisis in Connecticut is too large a problem to get bogged down in partisan politics,” Senate President Pro Tem Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, who supports tolls, said in response. “We must all rise above narrow partisanship and find a bipartisan solution to rebuilding and strengthening our state’s transportation infrastructure. All of Connecticut — Democrats, Republicans, and independents — looks to the entire General Assembly to work together on developing a sustainable answer for our transportation challenges.”

Democratic House leaders did not comment immediately after Lamont released his letter.

As Lamont prepared to release his letter to lawmakers Thursday, toll foes gathered on the steps of the Capitol to – once again – decry the governor’s plans. After a bit of speech making, they delivered petitions to the governor’s office they said contain more than 100,000 signatures of Connecticut residents opposed to Lamont’s tolling plan.

Opponents of tolls will hold a protest outside the Capitol May 18.

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Keith M. Phaneuf A winner of numerous journalism awards, Keith Phaneuf has been CT Mirror’s state finances reporter since it launched in 2010. The former State Capitol bureau chief for The Journal Inquirer of Manchester, Keith has spent most of 31 years as a reporter specializing in state government finances, analyzing such topics as income tax equity, waste in government and the complex funding systems behind Connecticut’s transportation and social services networks. A former contributing writer to The New York Times, Keith is a graduate of and a former journalism instructor at the University of Connecticut.

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Bills to repeal motor vehicle tax and cap property taxes are in political limbo
by Keith M. Phaneuf

The motor vehicle tax bill died in committee but could be revived; Property tax cap passed on party lines.

CT finance panel approves tax cuts for poor and middle class, restaurant bailout
by Keith M. Phaneuf

The plan includes one of the largest tax breaks in state history for working class families.

Democrats want CT to spend $180 million more on municipal aid. What does that mean for your town?
by Jacqueline Rabe Thomas

Legislative Democrats recommend that the state spend $180 million or 7.4% more more in municipal aid next fiscal year.

Legislature presents its own budget plan, and the stage is set for debate
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Democrats on the Appropriations Committee and Gov. Ned Lamont are headed for a showdown over the next two-year state budget.

CT Democrats to propose beefed-up spending plan
by Keith M. Phaneuf

The Appropriations Committee will propose a two-year state spending plan Wednesday that bolsters municipal aid, higher education and social services.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion From UHart faculty: All Hawks deserve our support
by Amanda Freeman, Katharine Owens and Rachel Walker

Last week college sports fans in Connecticut were roiled by some startling news. The University of Hartford has been privately considering a move from NCAA Division I to Division III. Grappling with the financial implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, the University commissioned a “feasibility study” from the consulting company CarrSports. The confidential report concluded that the “current Division I-funding model is not viable and cannot achieve the goal of becoming more self-sustaining.”

Opinion Lessons learned: Education is not enough to combat anti-vaccine propaganda
by Kerri M. Raissian and Jody Terranova

The Connecticut House of Representatives just passed legislation to end the religious exemption for the school vaccination requirement ( HB6423).  The Connecticut state Senate must act quickly to do the same.  If passed, Connecticut would require medically able school children to receive vaccines as recommended by the CDC.

Opinion Biden ought not overuse the term ‘infrastructure’
by Eric W. Kuhn

President Joe Biden's redefinition of the word "bipartisan" is wise, even necessary. Measures that have majority support among regular folks throughout the country-- say, universal background checks for firearms purchases-- have "bipartisan" support because lots of citizens of both major parties approve: that makes sense.

Opinion Please let restaurants and bars recover from the pandemic. Oppose HB 6502
by Robert D’Eliseo and Don Mancini

For the first time in almost a year, we can see a light at the end of the tunnel of the COVID-19 pandemic. But that does not mean we are out of the tunnel yet – and these coming months will be critical for the recovery. That is why this is not the time for the Connecticut General Assembly to push the polystyrene ban (HB 6502) they seem on track toward passing.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s […]

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is […]

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO