House pulls plug on tolls, for at least one night

Speaker of the House Joe Aresimowicz D-Berlin, expects to debate legislation on Wednesday that would bring back highway tolls to Connecticut. Speaker of the House Joe Aresimowicz D-Berlin, expects to debate legislation on Wednesday that would bring back highway tolls to Connecticut. Photo: Jessica Hill / AP Photo /Jessica Hil Photo: Jessica Hill / AP Photo /Jessica Hil Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close House pulls plug on tolls, for at least one night 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

HARTFORD — Opposition in the narrow Democratic majority in the House and little if any support among Republicans resulted in a delay Wednesday night on a bill that would bring high-speed electronic tolls to nearly every major Connecticut highway.

“We remain in negotiations,” said House Majority Leader Matt Ritter after an early evening caucus failed to gather enough support.

“It’s punitive,” said Rep. David Rutigliano, R-Trumbull, who said he had kept an open mind until a briefing this week from the state Department of Transportation. “It relies on us in Fairfield County. Any way you slice it, as proposed now, it’s a tax.”

The legislation would include discounts on electronic vehicle transponders of state residents, a higher-priced lane for so-called congestion pricing during rush hours; and a gradual reduction of the state’s per-gallon tax on gasoline.

Earlier in the day, Democratic House leaders, who have a small 79-72 advantage, predicted that electronic tolls similar to those on the Masschusetts Turnpike could be erected and in operation within two years, following a study by the DOT.

Republicans warned that the costs of construction and operation of the tolls might not reap the kind of revenue that Democrats hope.

Ritter and Speaker of the House Joe Aresimowicz told reporters during their daily pre-session briefing that the bill would be called sometime later on Wednesday. It would authorize the state Department of Transportation to begin planning for tolls along Interstate 94, I-84, the Merritt and Wilbur Cross Parkways, Route 8 and other limited-access highways.

Depleted funds

“This is the best way we can meet our goal in regard to infrastructure,” said Rep. Antonio Guerrera, D-Rocky Hill, the co-chairman of the legislative Transportation Committee, who has been pushing for tolls for nearly eight years. He said that the state might never have torn down its tolls if it weren’t for the fiery crash in Stratford in 1983, when a truck driver fell asleep and plowed into stopped traffic on I-95, killing seven.

Guerrera, who spent part of the evening searching for Republican support, said that the state’s Special Transportation Fund, which is fueled by taxes on gasoline and petroleum products, is on track to become exhausted within a couple of years, and the state needs a way to fund its long-delayed transit improvements. The state tore down its toll plazas in 1985.

“We know that the gas tax isn’t cutting it anymore,” Guerrera said, stressing that the Federal Highway Administration says the state would have to reinvest all toll revenue into highway and road construction, and if there were no active projects, it could be put into rail projects.

Seeking a ‘lock box’

But Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Wednesday that before any tolls are approved, he wants a constitutional “lock box” to protect the Special Transportation Fund. The proposal has failed in recent years.

“I have said, routinely, that any discussion of tolls should wait until there was a lockbox,” Malloy told reporters. “And I have not endorsed the concept of tolls in the past. It’s very difficult for me to endorse the concept in the present in light of the fact that we have not taken appropriate steps toward a lockbox.

Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven, said he understands that even if the state tolls at twice the 5-cents-a-mile rate of Massachusetts, if the state offers rate reductions for state residents and doesn’t relieve traffic congestion, if may not make much money back after five years. Fasano said that a $4 million study of the issue would likely take a year.

“To pass tolls, I think, is a mistake,” Fasano said. “If you want to do a study, hey I’m up for a study. If you want to look at it and come back and let us know, I’m OK with that. But to say do the study and then do the tolls, without us weighing in on it, I think is a mistake.”

kdixon@ctpost.com; Twitter: @KenDixonCT