Under the direction of Gov. Daniel McKee, Rhode Island plans to challenge a court decision that deemed the truck-only tolling system unconstitutional.
“Because RhodeWorks fails to fairly apportion its tolls among bridge users based on a fair approximation of their use of the bridges, (it) was enacted with a discriminatory purpose, and is discriminatory in effect, the statute’s tolling regime is unconstitutional under the dormant Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution,” U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island William E. Smith stated in his decision.
Correspondence and debate leading up to Rhode Island lawmakers and former Gov. Gina Raimondo implementing the scheme reportedly demonstrated a bias against interstate truckers. The scheme dates back to 2016 when lawmakers and the former governor revealed that nearly one-quarter of the state’s roads and bridges were in disrepair.
During the rollout of the truck-only scheme, Raimondo orchestrated what can best be described as a smear campaign against the freight transportation industry, blaming commercial motor vehicles for the state’s poor road conditions.
“It’s commercial vehicles, 18 wheelers and above that cause 90 plus percent of the damages on our highways and bridges,” Raimondo said at the time.
In an effort to placate local businesses, the state doled out tax breaks to favored companies. Ocean State Job Lot, a discounter retail chain that trucks products throughout the Northeast, received a $7 million tax break to expand its warehouse facility in North Kingstown, RI.
The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) has reportedly made good on the governor’s promise to try and reinstate the tolls, with the state’s attorney general’s office filing its intent to appeal the win by the Rhode Island Trucking Association, American Trucking Associations, and impacted areas businesses.
The tolling system has taken upwards of $4.7 million from truckers passing along I-95 and other major arteries as they move goods and materials through New England. The case will now be heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston, where a notice for initial briefs has been ordered. Rhode Island has until Dec. 12 to file its first brief.
Attorney Reginald Goeke, representing the American Trucking Associations in the case, won the civil lawsuit. His closing argument resonated with the court and the facts in the case.
“This is a discriminatory toll system. This is a toll system that is not fairly approximating the use of the facility. This is a system that was designed and intended to target out-of-state users for the purpose of funding Rhode Island’s bridges,” Goeke reportedly said. “It is true that Congress authorizes tolling on the interstates and others do toll on the interstates. But it doesn’t authorize you to do it in a discriminatory fashion. No one else tolls the interstates by only tolling trucks.”
Sources: politifact.com, turnto10.com, ttnews.com
Leave a Comment