Gencarella: The Toll Plan - One Mell of A Hess
Pam Gencarella, GoLocalProv MINDSETTER™
Gencarella: The Toll Plan - One Mell of A Hess
When the governor first presented her toll plan, not only was it shrouded in mystery, but it had a major error - the classification of trucks on which she would toll.
Once that mistake was corrected, Raimondo then refused to release very important data that would allow an analysis by the public, including legislators, to make an informed decision - namely the gantry locations and the study of diversion rates.
After much cajoling, she released the potential gantry locations, however she still hasn’t released the diversion study.
Since the plan’s introduction, the trucking industry, an industry in which there are numerous organizations keeping track of various important statistics, challenged some critical data, data used to determine the most important piece of the toll scheme - estimated toll revenue. Her response has been continued use of her own set of data, never addressing the discrepancies.
So here we sit with a plan that would literally and figuratively change the face of RI forever and yet it was rushed through the legislative body without resolving the issues noted above.
And, Consider This.
Meanwhile, there are other significant outstanding questions, in addition to those we have cited above, and now the bill has become law.
Representative Hull (D-Providence), a member of the Finance committee, said he voted NO on tolls because recently released studies indicated that the toll plan actually costs more than straight up borrowing. Why would the General Assembly pass major public policy if it costs more than alternative plans that could get the job done? And why would state government institute a plan that, according to the RI Public Expenditure Council (RIPEC), will amass a huge accumulation of tax dollars well after the need for funding bridge repair?
On the one hand, the governor has said all along that states across the country have tolls and made it seem like RI was the outlier. Yet, according to a report, the state distributed documents for RFPs (requests for proposals) indicating that the toll plan is of a “unique nature” and “relatively unprecedented”. So now the governor believes RI is an outlier with this oddity in public policy?
When referencing tolls in other states, like everything else, the big picture is important. Looking at NH, which subjects vehicles to tolling, you must consider that the state has no sales tax and virtually no income tax (they only tax interest and dividends and even at that, the rate is only 5%). According to the Tax Foundation, NH ranks a mere 7th, while RI ranks 45th in highest taxes. So how much more damage will be done to RI’s business climate with the apparent need for RI state government to create yet another new stream of funding given our already incredibly high cost of taxation? And further, what were the backroom deals made amongst the speaker, the senate president and the governor to get this mess passed into law and what will the impact of those deals be on the taxpayer?
The $64,000 Question.
Meanwhile the American Trucking Association (ATA) is confident that they have a strong case supporting their claim that the toll legislation is unconstitutional. The only problem is they won’t be able to bring a lawsuit until the first toll is collected. That apparently won’t be taking place anytime soon, some expect until the end of 2017. And if the ATA is successful in its claim, what will that mean for the significant investment the state will already have made into this public policy and what will state government do to resolve it?
A Plan Still In Flux.
And then there are the open questions as to how the toll will actually work. The RFP stated “RIDOT may also consider differential rates between single trailer and tandem trailer truck vehicle combinations." And, although she reluctantly published a list of 14 toll gantry locations, the governor said she may need more.
When Ocean State Job Lot made enough noise about halting expansion because the tax relief for RI truckers was removed in the revised legislation, there were apparent promises made behind the scenes (consistent with the setting of RI public policy) which hopefully would benefit all affected RI companies. But policies to help local companies will naturally reduce the expected increase in RI’s coffers.
During the toll debate on the House floor, members referred to potential future legislation that would somehow help RI truckers in a similar manner to the original proposal. The original proposal provided approximately $13 million in tax credits/rebates. Won’t that policy help the argument supporting the unconstitutionality of the tolling policy?
Net Impact Of The Scheme Still In Play.
When all told, how much of the annual toll revenue will actually go to bridge repair? The new estimate of $45 million, reduced for the cost of new borrowings and the maintenance of the gantries, will bring it down to about $25 million. If there is some form of tax credit/rebate and it remains at around $13 million, that leaves the state with about $12 million in new annual toll revenue. An insignificant amount for a massive expansion of government, the decimation of the trucking industry and the risk that none of it even works out in the end.
Couple the lack of revenue with the fact that, no sooner did the toll bill pass, and immediately the DOT is in a frenzy, moving as fast as they can, hiring new people, creating new positions, and raising salaries. So, while the first toll is not expected to be collected for more than a year and a half, the state will be spending like crazy, increasing the size of government, and the entire scheme may eventually fall under its own weight with a constitutional challenge.
What a mess. And, in the end, who is always left to clean up that mess?
Note: OSTPA would like to thank the legislators who stood up for the taxpayer, some of whom experienced reprisals for the decision to vote NO on tolls.
Senators Algiere, Cote, Gee, Jabour, Kettle, Morgan, O’Neill, Pagliarini, Picard, Raptakis, Satchell, and Sheehan.
You can see a complete listing of the representatives and senators on www.stoptollsri.com where you will see that Representatives Craven and Malik, along with Senator Lombardo, did not go on the record regarding tolls.
RI Truck Tolls Controversy -- 2016
January 22
Truckers at Odds
On Thursday January 21, a number of truckers circled the Rhode Island State House in opposition to truck tolls -- but the members of the Rhode Island Independent Contractors and Associates were also countering what the Rhode Island Trucking Association (RITA) put forth to increase fees -- and the diesel tax -- in order to provide some revenue to the state in lieu of taxes.
"Let's get people back to work, take a look at pay-go, and with respect to those opposed to the diesel tax -- RI truckers are ranked 29th in fees that they pay," said Bill Fischer with RITA. "We're saying we're middle of the pack. It's not as though we're third in the country in fees. There's room for legislative increase on the diesel tax and registration fees. We didn't go [Thursday] because we don't believe the solution lies in not bringing anything to the table."
January 22
Call to Contact Legislators
Groups including the RI Center for Freedom and Prosperity continue to push for Rhode Islanders to contact legislators on the toll issue. The group shared the following on the StopTollsRI.com
SPEAK OUT: CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS IMMEDIATELY TO STOP TOLLS
You have the power to stop tolls in Rhode Island. Below you will find a letter that will automatically be sent to your state senator and representative.
Fill out the form and click the send button, time is running out to stop tolls. Speak out to immediately send a powerful message to our elected officials. Don't delay, act now. Your representatives will listen to you!
January 22
Raptakis Calls for More Time, Consideration
Concerned about the number of proposals to pay for the repair and replacement of the state’s infrastructure, Sen. Leonidas P. Raptakis (D-Dist. 33, Coventry, West Greenwich, East Greenwich) said "it’s time for the state to take a timeout to sift through all the information it has been inundated with."
The release for the General Assembly said the following:
He has submitted a resolution that would create a special legislative commission to study and review all aspects of future tolling of motor vehicles in the state.
The commission would be tasked with making a comprehensive study and analysis of all aspects of future motor vehicle tolling including, but not limited to, automobiles, tractor trailers and other commercial vehicles.
January 22
Hassenfeld Poll Released; GOP Jumps on Results
The Hassenfeld Institute for Public Leadership released its quarterly survey on key issues facing the State. The poll first asked respondents if they favored or opposed several proposals for bridge and road repair. On proposals to put tolls in place to help fund repairs:
• 43.9% favor Governor Raimondo’s proposal to assess a toll on large trucks to pay for the $1 Billion in revenue bonds to fix the roads and bridges; while 49.4% said they oppose the plan.
• 37.7% favor an alternative “pay as you go” plan, that could still include tolls but avoid interest payments, while 51.9% said they oppose the plan.
The RI GOP weighed in on the poll.
In September 2015, Bryant University's Hassenfeld Institute conducted a poll which showed that the voters supported new tolls by a margin of 53 to 44. But, today as voters have learned more about the plan, the numbers have flipped and now voters are against new tolls by a margin of 49 to 44, a swing of 14 percent.
At the same time, the Hassenfeld Institute poll showed 58 percent of the voters support reallocating money from the state's budget to fix the roads and bridges. Reallocating existing revenues within the budget instead of creating new revenue sources to fix our bridges has been the position championed by Republicans since the beginning of this debate in June 2015.
January 20
StopTollsRI.Com Says 75% of RI’s Legislators Refuse To Go On Record About Highly Controversial Toll Proposal
Toll opponents StopTollsRI.com distributed a survey to all Rhode Island legislators. It consisted of one question: "Do you unequivocally oppose new tolls of any kind?"
"That simple question was left unanswered by 75% of all legislators," said StopTollsRI.
“Voters and taxpayers have the right to know where their legislators stand on any issue, but particularly on a highly controversial issue like tolls”, says StopTollsRI.com’s spokesperson Monique Chartier. “The silence is deafening on this critical question."
January 20
RI Trucking Association Releases Letter Sent to Raimondo by the American Trucking Associations (ATA) in Virginia
RITA President Chris Maxwell had asked the ATA to review correspondence and media statements related to toll enforcement by both Governor Raimondo and Colonel O’Donnell of the Rhode Island State Police.
“I can assure every member of the General Assembly that the opinions and statements issued by the governor related to toll enforcement have raised major concerns in both the trucking industry and the business community,” said Maxwell. “There are federal laws in place that provide truckers the right to access local roadways. The governor has raised an issue and not provided any details of how this enforcement plan would work. At this juncture, we are very concerned about any plan that may interrupt the flow of commerce or add greater burdens and cost to the trucking industry.”
“It is fair to ask how a Rhode Island trooper is expected to know when a truck is purposely diverting a toll and when they are getting off the highway to make a delivery – or quite frankly just going home. We intend to fight any legislative initiative that will create a police state for the trucking industry,” added Maxwell.
January 20
Filippi, GOP Members Call for Voter Approval
Independent House District 36 Representative Blake Filippi (Block Island, Charlestown, South Kingstown and Westerly) joined with the Republican Policy Group to introduce legislation calling on voters to amend the R.I. Constitution to require statewide and local voter approval for any new passenger vehicle tolls. Representatives Morgan, Price, Chippendale, Roberts and Reilly are cosponsors of H-7191.
“The Governor’s proposed Rhode Works toll gantries will stand as monuments to inefficiency and a failure to do right by the People – and we are adamantly opposed to this plan. However, if the State is going to establish a statewide network of toll gantries, R.I. families deserve protection from a future government in a cash crunch. Although our leaders have assured us that the proposed network of gantries will never be used to toll passenger vehicles, these gantries will remain standing long after they leave office, and future leaders are not bound by these promises,” said Filippi.
January 14
GOP Introduces No Toll Legislation
“The Governor has asked for a viable and sustainable alternative to her Toll proposal. We [are] introducing the Republican No Tolls Bridgeworks plan in both the House of Representatives and the Senate,” stated Representative Patricia Morgan. “At the same time, we will hand deliver a copy of the legislation to her office. Hopefully, now that it is in official form, she will review its merits and work to help Rhode Island, not hurt the state with tolls.”
The GOP issued the following release:
"When the Governor abruptly introduced her massive borrowing and tolling scheme at the end of last year’s legislative session, the Republican Policy Group knew tolls would have detrimental consequences for Rhode Islanders. Our hard working families are fighting a stagnant economy and increase expenses. They simply should not be asked to bear the burden of higher consumer goods, because our State’s political leaders are unwilling to prioritize bridge repair over corporate welfare and waste,” she continued.
The Republican Policy Group searched the budget for spending that could be used for bridge repair that, at the same time, did not touch social programs or vital services. “Our budget is $8.7 million. Reallocating less than 1% of existing revenue for the next 10 years to bridge repair will raise $255 million more than the Governor’s plan,” explained Morgan. “That means in the same time frame, we will have more bridges repaired and more jobs created. The Republican plan surpasses the beneficial parts of the Governor’s plan, while, at the same time, avoiding the damage of tolls."
January 13
StopTollsRI.com Condemns "Deceptive Push Poll about Tolls Conducted by AAA"
Stop Tolls said that, "AAA Northeast released the results of a poll that appeared to show that a simple majority of their Rhode Island members supports Governor Gina Raimondo's truck toll proposal. However, the poll questions were not released with the results."
A release from NoTolls said the following:
AAA members themselves circulated the questions to the press, at which point, their bias was evident. It appears that this is a push poll designed simply to carry the Governor's side of the debate. As the R.I. Trucking Association has correctly pointed out, unfortunately, the state's largest business association, the Providence Chamber of Commerce, is an agent of the Governor and not necessarily working on behalf of the business community. The Providence Chamber appears to be orchestrating this via AAA (which is otherwise a very good and reliable business.)
"The results of the survey are misleading because it was crafted in a way to just get drivers to respond to the need to fix the roads, which is not in dispute. That's very different from asking respondents to weigh in on the financial and long term implications of tolls, not to mention important alternatives like pay-as-you-go", says StopTollsRI.com spokesperson Monique Chartier. "They are portraying these poll results as "Drivers approve of the RhodeWorks Truck Tolls Plan" - this is deceptive and misleading spin."
January 13
Could Toll Technology Be Used for Monitoring Drivers’ Data?
Opponents to truck tolls in Rhode Island are questioning the tracking capacities of the gantries, in light of other states using E-ZPass to issue speeding tickets and engage in data monitoring activities as discovered by the ACLU.
Read the GoLocal article here.
“While our primary concern is to stop the government from creating a new revenue stream from the taxpayer, of course we are concerned as average citizens that more of our basic rights might be stripped from us,” said Pam Gencarella with OSTPA.
January 12
RI Trucking Assoc: "Independent Analysis Points to Flaws in Economic Impact Study on RhodeWorks"
The Rhode Island Trucking Association (RITA) released an analysis of an economic impact study of RhodeWorks and concluded the study is flawed. The governor previously released the economic impact study (REMI Report) last October and used it as a foundation to build support for her toll plan.
The release was as follows:
The analysis of the REMI report was conducted by IHS, a leading analytics and information company, which operates in 32 countries around the world. The IHS team reviewed “The Economic Impact of RhodeWorks: An Accelerated Transportation Restoration Plan”, prepared by REMI. Their review identified several key issues in the report where assumptions and approaches to the study may lead to erroneous or suspect conclusions. Additionally, they found that the REMI study is sorely lacking in transparency. Key issues identified by IHS include:
*The IHS study projects revenue from tolls will only generate $24 million to $37.5 million per year, substantially below RhodeWorks’ $60 million per year projection.
* Highway truck volumes used in the REMI report appear questionable.
*The REMI report did not adequately account for truck routing diversion potential around the state.
* Not enough consideration was given to financing alternatives, which did not include bridge tolling.
January 10
StopTollsRI.com Calls Upon Governor to "Stop Stonewalling on APRA Request and Release Administration’s Own Truck Diversion Study"
StopTollsRI.com called upon Governor Raimondo to release a key study associated with her truck tolls plan concerning projections of truck diversion of highway toll gantries.
"The Governor has thus far stonewalled on releasing her own authorized truck diversion study, but in the wake of a survey recently released by the RI Trucking Association (conducted by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association), StopTollsRI.com believes the release of the state sponsored survey is urgent.
Representative Patricia Morgan, a staunch critic of the truck tolls plan, submitted an APRA request to see the diversion study and it was originally denied, along with her request for toll gantry locations. After significant public pressure, the Raimondo administration last week provided the toll gantry locations, but this important study, which covered likely diversion routes truckers could use to avoid the tolls, remains inaccessible to the public. StopTollsRI.com believes the Governor’s motivation in refusing to release all of the data is due to findings that would indicate there would be a significant amount of diversion around the toll gantries."
January 8
RI DOT Releases Proposed Gantry Locations -- Days After Letter Was Sent to Leadership
Wrote the RI DOT:
With the recent release of the preliminary tolling locations, we look forward to the final resolution of the RhodeWorks financing plan and passage by the Legislature. This will clear the way for us to begin rebuilding our roads and bridges, aiding in the economic revival of this state.
January 7
RI Trucking Association Releases Driver Survey Conducted by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA)
OOIDA surveyed its membership in Rhode Island and surrounding states (Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Vermont) using an on-line survey. 373 OOIDA members who regularly travel through and in Rhode Island responded to the survey.
"The purpose was to determine how truck drivers, in particular truck drivers that are likely to operate in Rhode Island, feel about Governor Raimondo’s proposal. The survey was available on the OOIDA website and was open to respondents for a period of roughly eleven days." The survey found:
76.7% of the respondents indicated they would alter their route to avoid paying tolls in Rhode Island.
60.6% of the respondents indicated they alter their route to avoid tolls in other states.
January 6
GOP Claims Victory Over Tolls with Special Election Win
The special election in Senate District 11 was "a special night for Rhode Island taxpayers," said the RI GOP:
John Pagliarini did not just defeat a well-known Democrat who has served for more than a decade on the town council of a community that constitutes about 66% of the district, he also defeated a candidate personally endorsed by Governor Gina Raimondo.
Chairman Brandon S. Bell declared: "By electing Pagliarini to the Senate, the voters sent a simple message by special delivery via a huge 18 wheeler truck to State House insiders: NO TOLLS!
The special election in Senate District 11 was a special night for Rhode Island taxpayers. John Pagliarini did not just defeat a well-known Democrat who has served for more than a decade on the town council of a community that constitutes about 66% of the district, he also defeated a candidate personally endorsed by Governor Gina Raimondo.
Chairman Brandon S. Bell declared: "By electing Pagliarini to the Senate, the voters sent a simple message by special delivery via a huge 18 wheeler truck to State House insiders: NO TOLLS
January 5
Toll Opponents Take to State House
Over one hundred opponents to truck tolls took to the State House on Tuesday for a press conference — and a rally — to express their concerns for Governor Raimondo’s funding mechanism to support a $500 million infrastructure bond.
Over a dozen groups including RI Taxpayers, Ocean State Taxpayers in Action (OSTPA), and the Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity turned out for a speaker series that included Republican Deputy Minority Leader Patricia Morgan, former Director of Administration Gary Sasse, RI Taxpayers' Larry Fitzmorris, and Sakonnet Toll Opposition Platform's (STOP) Tony Viveiros.
“In 2011, DOT said they couldn't fix our roads and bridges because interest payments on all the transportation bonds were consuming too much of their funding. The General Assembly attempted to fix that funding problem by creating a savings account dedicated for infrastructure spending,” said Morgan
