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Let me preface my remarks by saying that I am in complete agreement, as I believe are most Rhode Islanders, that we need an equitable financing model to pay for maintaining our highway infrastructure. Let me add that I also have an understanding that our workforce, in particular blue collar labor, need work and that public sector jobs projects is a legitimate form of employment although not the primary or most sustainable source of long term employment, that remains the private sector and small businesses in particular. One problem I have with this Governor's approach to remedying our fiscal ills is  the divisive nature of it. The truck toll plan pits one segment of labor against another (tradesmen/construction vs truck drivers and warehousemen) and targets one segment (class 8 vehicles) of one industry (trucking) against others. 

Everyone uses our highways and everyone should pay their fair share not one segment of one industry.  Imagine if you proposed a new fee for all attorneys in the state but then said it will only apply to defense attorneys! The many state legislators who are defense attorneys would cry foul and the other attorneys would know that it was just a matter of time before they too would incur this fee.  Of course this attorney fee would never happen because the legislature is weighted in favor of that profession but this example highlights the inequity of this truck toll plan.

The notion that this approach will target those "free-loading" out of state truckers who use our highways and bridges without paying anything for them is mis-guided as the diesel tax is based on miles driven in the state. A truck does not have to physically buy their diesel in Rhode Island for them to be responsible to pay Rhode Island the diesel fuel tax. It is based on the number of miles they drive in the state, it is called apportionment. If these trucks by-pass our state and go around us, you are correct that they will not put wear and tear on our roads but they also will not be paying us any diesel fuel tax. Diversion will be a loss to our apportionment of the IFTA tax.

Finding other approaches other than truck tolls would produce $70 million savings (projected, could be much higher) of purchasing and erecting the toll gantries not to mention the huge traffic delays and lost productivity during the gantry construction phase. We will also save the interest costs of floating bonds for this tolling project if we use other revenue streams.

Trucks and 18-wheeler trucks especially are not the cause of our poor road and bridge infrastructure despite what the DOT Director would have you believe. Certainly smaller dump trucks, which would not pay any tolls under this proposal, carry payloads much heavier than 18-wheeler tractor trailers (100,000+ lbs vs 45,000 lbs maximum legal weight for 18 wheelers) and their weight is more concentrated on less axles. These construction vehicles put more stress on our bridges than tractor trailers yet this current proposal does not toll them. The real culprit for our current condition is poor maintenance and failure to remove winter salt and sand from bridges and roadways in a timely manner (if at all). The rebar and cement of our bridges were corroded over many years of neglect not due to truck use. 

It is unfortunate that this legislation was fast-tracked through the legislative process so you and your colleagues could have had the necessary time to hear the legitimate concerns of those most unfairly impacted by this tolling approach. Despite what the Governor and Speaker said, the review process was not sufficient and having the Speaker and the DOT Director refer to the legitimate business concerns of Rhode Islanders as "scare tactics" did not serve the public or add to the democratic dialog of our legislative process.

As a life long Rhode Islander I am concerned that the adverse economic impact of this new tolling plan will undermine our state's economy for years to come and ultimately be far worse than the negative impact of the 38 Studios debacle.

Sincerely,

True Patriot