BILL NUMBER:S668

TITLE OF BILL:

An act
to amend chapter 154 of the laws of 1921 relating to the port
of New York
authority, in relation to the imposition of tolls for certain bridges
and tunnels

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This legislation amends the Public Authorities Law by prohibiting
an increase in the toll charge and fares on all bridges, tunnels and
transit authorities operated by the Authority unless the increases are
utilized for transportation related programs and improvements.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill amends chapter 154 of the laws of 1921
relating to the port of New York authority, by adding a new section
1-a which states that no toll may be increased over an authority bridge
or tunnel after December 1, 2014, unless the increase is utilized
solely for the improvement, reconstruction or maintenance of the
authority's transportation relation facilities.

              

Section 2 provides that the act will take effect upon the enactment
into law by the state of New Jersey of legislation having an identical
effect with this act, but if the state of New Jersey has already
enacted such legislation, this at shall take effect immediately.

JUSTIFICATION:

On August 19, 2011, the Port Authority Board of Commissioners, with
the approval of the Governors of New York and New Jersey adopted
a toll increase of $1.50 in September 2011 and
75 cents per year, every year thereafter, from 2012-2015 for E-ZPass
holders. An additional $2 penalty on top of increased tolls was
implemented for cash toll payers.

These toll increases will bring the rush-hour cash tolls to $15 by
2015. While the Authority failed to publicly disclose a detailed
Capital Expenditure Plan, it has issued press releases stating that
substantial toll increases are needed because of its escalating real
estate development expenses at the World Trade Center.

These unprecedented toll hikes, and diversion of toll revenue to
non-transportation projects come at a time when our region's roads
and bridges are deteriorating. In fact, every bridge owned and
operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is rated as
"functionally obsolete" by the Federal Highway Administration.

Accordingly, this legislation intends to ensure that tolls on the
busiest interstate facilities in the Northeast corridor are not
diverted to unrelated and speculative real estate projects. Indeed,
the federal Bridge Act requires bridge tolls to be "just and


reasonable" (33 U.S.C. §508) and the federal
courts have consistently interpreted that to require that increases to
interstate tolls be used only for facilities that have functional
relationships to those bridges. See Automobile Club of New
York, Inc. v Port Authority of New York and New Jersey,
887 F.2d  417 (2d Cir. 1989).

Consequently, this legislation, by codifying the 1989 decision of the
Federal Court of Appeals, will ensure that the Authority maintains
its core mission of reconstructing and improving critical
infrastructure rather than forcing travelers using interstate bridges
and tunnels to pay exorbitant and unreasonable toll rates to
subsidize costly and speculative office redevelopment projects.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2011-12: S.6011

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

To be determined.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This act will take effect upon the enactment into law by the state of
New Jersey of legislation having an identical effect with this act,
but if the state of New Jersey has already enacted such legislation,
this act shall take effect immediately.