Lawmakers have discussed the concept of bringing tolls back to Connecticut roadways in the past and a new proposal from Democrats is to put electronic tolls on all interstate highways through Connecticut.
The state is on the verge of being out of cash to pay for existing projects.
State Rep. Tony Guerrera, the House chair of the Transportation Committee, State Rep. Chris Perone, the chief transportation financial officer for House Democrats, held a news conference at the Legislative Office Building Monday morning.
Connecticut is surrounded by states that have tolls and the argument in favor of tolls is that the state could start collecting new revenue to fund future projects.
"I promise you if we do this, Connecticut will thrive," Guerrera said.
“The Special Transportation Fund is drying up fast,” Perone said in a statement. “We are looking at a scenario where we will run out of money for our transportation infrastructure. Electronic tolls are the answer.”
"This is about business. This is about quality of life," State Rep. Matt Ritter, the House Majority Leader, said.
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Democrats said the money from tolls would be devoted to transportation.
Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, a Republican candidate for governor, released a statement about the proposal for tolls,
“Once again, legislative Democrats are showing us they are out of touch with the hard-working people of Connecticut. After misappropriating transportation funds for years to cover-up self-inflicted budget deficits, Democrats now want to draw blood from a stone and impose yet another tax on the people of our state,” Boughton said in a statement.
