Truck Toll Opponents Gear Up for Senate Finance on Thursday
GoLocalProv News Team
Truck Toll Opponents Gear Up for Senate Finance on Thursday
“From the very beginning we were never properly built into this process and now that we are demanding more information the responses we are getting completely lack specificity. We know the administration hired a professional consultant on this matter, but they refuse to release any details or work product produced by this consultant. Taxpayer funds were used to pay this consultant and any work product should be released to the public,” said Christopher Maxwell, President of the Rhode Island Trucking Association.
RITA also released a letter they sent to Raimondo on June 12 demanding specifics answers to questions they say have remained unanswered since the tolling plan was originally released by the administration.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“Because of the lack of transparency, it is impossible for us or members of the General Assembly to properly vet this plan. Without specific toll locations and specific costs per location it is impossible to evaluate the fiscal impact of the toll plan to our industry. Where are the traffic studies that support the governor’s revenue projections? Have they done any analysis on the impact of trucks by weight classification? Why won’t they release specific toll locations,” asked Maxwell. “We are hopeful the administration will bring more answers to tomorrow’s Senate Finance hearing than they have provided to date.”
House GOP Slams Proposal
Members of the House GOP, who earlier this week came out with an unsuccessful alternative to tolls in the House budget, are contesting the new proposal slated to be heard in Senate Finance on Thursday.
"Rhode Islanders should be skeptical of this complex plan," said Representative Patricia Morgan. "Although on the surface, the original price has been decreased, this proposal is not a bargain for Rhode Islanders.”
The House Minority Office said that the new version has a "complex series of tax credits and rebates to some, but not all Rhode Island trucking companies. In this legislation, the cost of tolls decreased and the total amount of bridge repair shrank by $200 million."
"We're creating haves and have nots here. Yes, there are large pockets of heavy truck traffic throughout Rhode Island, but they're asking truckers to bear 100 percent of the burden, and in an inequitable manner," said Bill Fischer, spokesperson for the Trucking Association.
"This is indicative of what happens when [they] try and rush major policy through in the span of a few short weeks, instead of having time to get the proper input and information needed," said Fischer.
FY 2016 House Budget Winners and Losers
Winner
All Day Kindergarten
The new law of the land will make all-day kindergarten the standard for both wealthy communities and economically under-performing.
This was a campaign promise of Governor Gina Raimondo and has long been advocated by education reform advocates.
Loser
Superman Building and Job Creation in Providence
The effort to rehab the vacant Superman building and lure Citizens Bank to relocate's post-IPO corporate HQ to the City of Providence's Financial District took a big hit with the House Budget capping the real estate tax credit at $15 million per project.
Will this spark Citizens to move to Boston or Hartford?
Loser
Regional Tourism Councils
The budget strips the regional tourism councils of their state funding and consolidates the dollars at the state level with the Commerce Corp. For Discover Newport and Providence-Warwick Convention and Visitor's Bureau will take massive budget cuts (as will the smaller regional groups).
Winner
HealthSource
Rhode Island's Obamacare state health exchange looked dead back in January. Speaker Mattiello hinted that he wanted to disband the new structure, but like Houdini the health insurance program received funding from a new employer tax and state funding.
HealthSource lives.
Winner
Small Businesses
The House budget reduces the corporate minimum tax from $500 to $450, making Rhode Island "now between Massachusetts and Connecticut," said Mattiello.
The Finance Committee also sped up the Raimondo’s proposal to phase out the sales tax that all nonmanufacturing businesses pay on their electric, natural gas and heating fuel bills. The original proposal would have phased out the tax over a five-year period, but the committee chose to eliminate the tax all in one year. The cost to the state will be $20 million in FY 2016 instead of $4.9 million as originally proposed.
Winner
Working Families
The Earned Income Tax Credit was increased to 12% from 10.5% of the federal poverty level. .
The issues was a major focal point of the Economic Progress Institute.
Winner
195 Commission
Governor's Raimondo got her wish for $25 million to develop 195 land in Providence as it was fully funded. This is a win for the new Governor and her newly appointed members of the Commission.
This funding will allow the Commission the flexibility to support proposed projects and potential tenants.
Loser
Smokers
The budget raises the per pack tax by $0.25. The tax is now $3.75 per pack and it is anticipated to generate $7.1 million in new revenue.
Rhode Island's tax will be the second highest in the United States - behind only New York.
Loser
Budget Process
Despite promises by Governor Raimondo and Speaker Mattiello, the budget process is as cloaked and chaotic as ever.
Documents not printed.
Lack of commitment to timelines.
Little opportunity for review and discuss.
The salvation was the budget bill has the full support of both Democrats and Republicans on the House Finance Committee.
