Senate Bill Blocks Some Tolls
A transportation spending bill passed by the Senate Wednesday includes a ban on tolls for existing Texas roadways, the Associated Press reported.
The Texas toll ban is attached to a $106 billion spending bill that was approved by the Senate by an 88-7 vote, AP said.
The amendment was added by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) and is in addition to a two-year moratorium imposed on most new privately financed toll road projects by the Texas Legislature, with some exemptions, AP reported.
Building new toll roads or lanes in Texas would not be prohibited by the amendment, AP said.
Hutchison also filed a bill last week that would prohibit tolling of interstate highways, according to her Web site. The next day, four House members filed companion legislation, the Web site said.
In Pennsylvania, lawmakers and businesses have strongly opposed plans to put tolls on Interstate 80, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported Thursday.
Rep. John Peterson (R-Pa.) an opponent of I-80 tolls, submitted legislation this week as a companion to Hutchison’s measure, the Centre Daily Times newspaper in State College, Pa., reported.
The Senate bill also includes an amendment banning Mexican trucks from U.S. roadways, which was passed Tuesday.
