State Republican lawmakers dead set against bringing highway tolls to Connecticut held a forum Wednesday in Derby urging the public to get involved in the fight.
“Tolls are not a done deal,” state Sen. George Logan, R‑Ansonia said. “Do not believe that for a moment. The fight is still here. We must speak up.”
Logan made his comments about 58 minutes into a nearly 2‑hour public forum in front of about 100 people at Derby City Hall. The Valley Indy streamed the meeting live on Facebook. The first part of the meeting is above.
Click play to watch. Adjust your volume to listen.
A shorter, second video embedded below shows the forum’s conclusion.
The state legislature is currently reviewing three different bills that could see electronic highway tolls return to Connecticut. The state had tolls until 1985, according to The New York Times.
Earlier in the day Wednesday, the bills passed through a legislative subcommittee, according to The CT Mirror.
From the Mirror:
Under all three bills, tolling would be limited to the Merritt Parkway and Interstates 84, 91 and 95, the highways most used by out-of-state motorists, as well as in-state commuters. Based on the extensive environmental and social-impact studies required by federal highway officials, tolls most likely could not be collected before 2023.
Gov. Ned Lamont supports tolls in some fashion, saying the state needs the money to bolster the transportation budget, which includes things such as repairing crumbling bridges and roads, and making improvements to train and bus service.
From CT News Junkie, quoting the governor:
“We need a new independent source of revenue that’s reliable, predictable that goes to transportation,” Lamont said.
But the Republicans in Hartford insist tolls are not needed, and have been pitching an alternative way to fund transportation, called “Prioritize Progress.” Click here to read more.
Republican elected officials who spoke Wednesday included state Rep. Laura Devlin, who represents Fairfield and Trumbull; Sen. Henri Martin, who represents Bristol; Derby’s Themis Klarides, the House minority leader, who represents parts of Derby, Orange, and Woodbridge; Rep. Nicole Klarides-Ditria, who represents parts of Derby and Seymour, and; Rep. Jason Perillo, who represents Shelton.
While no Democrats were at the head table during the meeting, several members of the Naugatuck Valley Young Democrats were in attendance and asked questions. Stephan Behuniak, a Democrat on Seymour’s Board of Selectmen, asked especially pointed questions, all of which can be seen in the video posted at the top of this post.
