Free Republic

Despite pleas from two former state governors and at least 90 environmental and community groups and businesses, Gov. Ron DeDantis on Friday signed a multibillion-dollar plan to build long stretches of toll roads across undeveloped sections of the state. The legislation has been labeled “the worst environmental bill in twenty years.” And the Florida Sierra Club has warned of pristine areas becoming urban sprawl, where “subdivisions and strip malls will proliferate and the natural resources that bring visitors to the state will be overused and overrun.” DeSantis approved the bill anyway. The announcement came not from the governor’s press office...

A gas tax bill crafted by a statewide industry group, Louisiana Coalition to Fix Our Roads, and sponsored by Republican Baton Rouge Rep. Steve Carter is the latest proposed solution to the state’s aging, chronically gridlocked transportation infrastructure. It’s also the most ambitious. Not only would the bill gradually increase the state’s gasoline tax, but it would levy fees on electric and hybrid vehicles and redirect a temporary, half-cent sales tax to highway and bridge construction projects. It would also dedicate a portion of the funds to specific, badly needed projects around the state, including a new Mississippi River bridge...

A member of the Legislative Black Caucus from Baltimore City has resigned from the group over remarks purportedly made by the caucus’ leader. Her decision comes just days before the House of Delegates votes on a new speaker, amid signs that a leading candidate — a member of the caucus from Prince George’s County — may be preparing to align himself with Republican legislators in order to win the position. That decision has frayed relations within the 98-member Democratic caucus – which includes 45 members of the black caucus. The LBC is scheduled to meet Monday afternoon in Annapolis –...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia has a mountain of borrowed money on hand for “Roads to Prosperity” highways projects. Should a slice of that money be diverted to fix bumpy, bouncy secondary roads? West Virginia went to market with $800 million in bonds last May. Because of advantageous interest rates, the state actually wound up with bonds valued at $915 million. Since then, very little has been used. According to documents available through the state Auditor’s Office, only $11,133,309.19 had been spent as of earlier this week. Meanwhile, the money in reserve generated $13,666,081.46 in interest. So what’s been spent...

SALEM—Governor Ralph Northam today announced amendments to Senate Bill 1716 and House Bill 2718, legislation passed by the General Assembly providing $151 million in dedicated funding for the Interstate 81 Corridor Improvement Plan. The amendments would ensure that the $2 billion program approved by the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) in December 2018 is implemented, while also generating critical revenue for interstates across the Commonwealth. The amendments create equity in transportation funding by bringing Virginia’s truck registration fees, and diesel and road tax rates more in line with those of the other states along the 855-mile I-81 corridor. The funding mechanisms...

RICHMOND — Interstate 81’s heart pumps through rural Virginia with veins that run from Tennessee to the Canadian border — a vital roadway for manufacturers, farmers and commuters. With a long track record of crashes and congestion, Virginians looked to legislators for solutions to improving the interstate. But Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke, said the General Assembly passed only “a shell of a bill.” At the beginning of the session, Gov. Ralph Northam met with legislators to announce bipartisan support for finding a revenue source for improvements to Virginia’s 325-mile stretch of I-81, which accounts for 42 percent of statewide interstate...

As part of its controversial plan to widen the Capital Beltway and Interstate 270, Maryland says it intends to focus on the implementation of toll lanes — as many as four on each highway — and abandon earlier considerations of more general-purpose lanes, bus rapid transit and bus-only lanes. Maryland transportation officials have narrowed the number of possible construction alternatives to seven from an original list of 15 for further study of potential toll operations in the two corridors that suffer some of the worst traffic congestion in the region. Gov. Larry Hogan (R) in September 2017 proposed widening the...

Since his election, Governor Walz has promised to increase the gas tax in Minnesota. Walz delivered on that promise in his just-released budget proposal. In the budget proposal released this week, Walz is proposing to increase the gas tax by 70% which will collect an estimated $1.3 Billion from taxpayers. The average family which drives two cards can expect to pay up to an additional $300 at the gas pump annually. This tax increase will now give Minnesota the 4th highest gas tax in the nation. The budget will have to get passed by the Minnesota Senate which is currently...

(WLUK) -- Republican legislative leaders say toll roads could be the answer to generating needed money for road repairs. The idea was brought up during a round-table discussion at a Wisconsin Counties Association meeting last Wednesday. Both Republicans and Democrats still have a lot of questions about the plan. Local leaders are ready to hit the pavement when it comes to finding a solution for fixing streets and infrastructure, and some republicans believe tolls may be the answer. "This is an idea that's been around for years, but it hasn't been talked about with any depth within the group of...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – After just two hours of public testimony, a committee looking for solutions to Ohio’s highway funding gap found consensus on just one potential revenue source: raising the Ohio gas tax. The panel didn’t get to the level of detail Wednesday afternoon of specifying how much the tax increase should be. The Governor’s Advisory Committee on Transportation Infrastructure otherwise didn’t find agreement on other ways to raise money for Ohio’s road system, but additional sources of revenue could be added to a report being compiled on the group’s work. Other ideas discussed included indexing the gas tax to...

Miami-Dade’s mayor flies to Tallahassee this week to fight a state takeover of local toll roads, and he says an early victim of the proposed legislation would likely be a planned extension of the 836 expressway into West Kendall. “One of the major issues I have with that bill is the fact that it may stall that project for some time,” said Mayor Carlos Gimenez, who also serves as the appointed chairman of the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority. The toll board of state and county appointees, best known as the MDX, collects tolls on the 836 and four other expressways. “The...

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - The toll bills haven't stopped coming for some drivers in Central Florida after SunPass’ software meltdown last summer. In fact, state senators were told more than 4 million outstanding bills are still heading to mailboxes, adding up to an outstanding balance of $100 million. Related Headlines Last June, SunPass took its online payment system offline for a week of scheduled maintenance. At the end of the week, the system wouldn’t come back online. Almost 250 days later, people are still getting bills in the mail for the weeks of tolls that SunPass couldn’t process. Some drivers...

AUSTIN, Texas — A historically inaccurate brass plaque honoring confederate veterans will come down after a vote this morning, WFAA has learned. The State Preservation Board, which is in charge of the capitol building and grounds, meets this morning at 10:30 a.m. to officially decide the fate of the metal plate.

Connecticut could stand to gain $1 billion annually with electronic tolling, the state Department of Transportation said in a new report. The report, released last week, said Connecticut could achieve $1 billion annually even with per-mile rates lower than many other states. The 81-page report is based on a study by CDM Smith, an engineering and construction firm. The company looked at electronic tolling on interstates 84, 91, 95, and 691, and routes 2, 8, 9, and 15, with up to 82 toll gantries possibly being installed. The authors of the report urged the state to continue with a proposed...

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Northern Indiana lawmakers are calling into question Gov. Eric Holcomb’s decision against imposing new tolls on the state’s interstate highways, while allowing the Indiana Toll Road’s private operator to significantly boost rates for large trucks using that highway. Democratic Sen. Karen Tallian of Portage tells the South Bend Tribune that the situation is unfair because only the communities in northern Indiana along the Toll Road will have the burden of higher tolls, while all parts of the state will benefit from the toll money. The Republican governor announced in September that the operator of the Toll...

In life, some things are unavoidable: death, taxes — and if you live in South Florida — tolls. Coughing up money to drive on the highways add to the cost of living in South Florida. Drivers in Miami-Dade and Broward spent more than a half billion dollars in tolls fees in the last year. Consider: A daily trip from Kendall to downtown Miami costs over $4 roundtrip by Sunpass, or about $1,000 a year for a five-day a week, 50-week commuter. For those who haven’t signed up for Sunpass, the toll-by-plate rate of almost $8 per day amounts to $2,000...

North Carolina officials are trying to figure out how to unwind parts or all of a 2014 public-private partnership that is building managed toll lanes on a Charlotte-area highway.Ever since the ink dried on North Carolina’s first transportation P3 contract, the plan to relieve severe congestion in the Charlotte region has generated controversy.Public opposition remains just as fierce today to the project that will add express lanes on Interstate 77, even though more than one report says the deal with I-77 Mobility Partners LLC, a consortium led by Cintra Infraestructuras S.A., was properly authorized and permitted.The 26-mile-long project is designed...

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is poised to implement a new regulation without legislative approval to join 10 other states in a climate change agreement based on restricting carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants.But lawmakers, policy analysts, and tea party activists in Virginia who oppose what they consider costly regulations of industry are raising questions about the economic and scientific arguments underpinning the proposed rule.They say the Virginia General Assembly should have a straight up-or-down vote on Northam’s plan, in part to ensure that any revenue the governor raises from “carbon trading” is collected and dispersed in a manner consistent...

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – An Oklahoma representative says that she has filed legislation this week that would increase the financial scrutiny given to the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority. House Bill 2530 would require the state auditor and inspector to perform an audit of the Turnpike Authority at least once every two years. “Taxpayers deserve to know where their hard-earned money is going,” Rep. Tess Teague said. “The Turnpike Authority has an annual budget of nearly $100 million, and lawmakers owe it to Oklahomans to track those dollars closely.” The legislation dictates that the audit will take no more than 90 days....

Over the last decade, short-term rental platforms like Airbnb, HomeAway, and VRBO have expanded and provided an economic boom to many communities. Yet several localities are pursuing onerous zoning rules and other regulations that would restrict short-term rental activity. For many homeowners, short-term rental provides a critical source of additional income to help them pay their mortgages and to meet other financial obligations. States can protect their residents from overzealous, local bureaucrats with state pre-emption. Short-term rental helps local communities by growing the number of tourists that visit the area. A recent study published by the National Bureau of Economic...