In a victory for grass-roots movements and truckers everywhere, Pat McCrory, Governor of North Carolina has passed a bill which will prevent new tolls from being added to any existing interstate roads in the state. The bill shows North Carolina’s commitment to finding ways to support the state roadways without unfairly taxing commercial vehicles who stop in and pass through the state.
The bill was pushed through thanks to the effort of a grass-roots movement headed by No Tolls I-95 Coalition which, as the name suggests, was created to oppose new tolling from the state. Unlike other states who turn to everything from tolling out-of-state drivers more heavily than in-state drivers to actually selling the tolling rights to private companies without any government oversight, North Carolina is showing that it understands that taxing the trucker is not the way to balance their transportation budget.
Unfortunately, this anti-tolling bill does not address increases in existing tolls, nor does it prevent new roads from being tolled. It also means that the door is still open to increased fuel taxes and other measures that may negatively impact the business of truckers operating in and around North Carolina.
Despite these options still technically being on the table, it seems that one state at least is looking for ways to balance its budget without turning to short-term stop-gaps that end up hurting in the long run.
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Source: overdrive
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