Republican State Sen. Joe Markley has filed an injunction aiming to block a $10 million study on tolls in Connecticut.
The study was approved by the State Bond Commission following an executive order from Gov. Dannel Malloy.
Tolls have long been a controversial topic in Connecticut and previous studies have been conducted. Markley, who is running for lieutenant governor, has been a vocal critic of the governor’s plan for a new study, calling the order a “vindictive stunt," and saying it should be up to the next administration to decide if they even want it.
The $10 million study orders the Department of Transportation to assess tolls and their environmental impact on several highways including Interstate 95, Interstate 91 and Interstate 84.
It also requires the state D.O.T. to look at reducing or eliminating the gas tax and possibly giving state residents a discount or tax credit.
“Left to proceed, we would be paying 15 years and close to $14 million (including debt service) for a study which is likely to be worthless the moment a new governor takes office. I want to stop that expenditure right now, and give a new administration and a new legislature a chance to set their own course -- with any luck, in the opposite direction from the way Malloy has led us,” Markley wrote in a statement.
Markley’s court filing request a temporary and permanent injunction prohibiting and restraining the enactment of the order,
Kelly Donnelly, a spokesperson for Malloy, responded to news of the injunction with the following statement:
“As Attorney General Jepsen made clear during the bond commission meeting, Governor Malloy is well within his right to allow this study to proceed. Senator Markley is just plain wrong. And quite frankly, when it comes to modernizing an aging infrastructure and building the kind of transportation system Connecticut deserves, he has subscribed to the modern day 'know-nothing' philosophy—proactively choosing to know less, rejecting options before even fully understanding them, and doing nothing.”
