Truck company owners say Thruway tolls unconstitutionally pay for canal system

[kscarbel2]

Times Union / August 5, 2015

Lawsuit asks end of $100 million Thruway payment to state Canal System

A national trade group's lawsuit against the state Thruway Authority is on the road again.

The American Trucking Associations' 2013 legal action had been dismissed on a technicality, but a federal appellate court has restored the suit. The plaintiffs contend the Thruway shouldn't be subsidizing the state canal system with toll money.

"We want to stop the Thruway from using a significant portion of its toll revenues from motorists who use the system and spending it on things other than the Thruway,'' said Rich Pianka, deputy general counsel for the trade group.

The organization said $100 million per year as of 2012 went toward the canal system, which has evolved over the years from a transportation route to a recreational venue.

The canal system generates about $2 million annually in user fees.

The latest court decision, released this week, recapped part of the associations' argument.

While the 524-mile canal system, which stretches from Albany to Buffalo, was a major shipping route in the19th century, its commercial use has "faded into obsolescence," according to the decision from the federal 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan.

Now, the canal is lined with bikeways, hiking paths and parks. The lawsuit argues that while these improvements benefit the local communities along the canal, truckers — including many from out of state — shouldn't have to subsidize them.

"We don't care about the canals," Pianka said.

Specifically, the suit alleges that using tolls to support the canal system violates the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution. That's because the toll, considered a user fee, isn't going strictly for the purposes of roadway maintenance.

The association is seeking a refund on the percentage of truck tolls that has gone to the canal system dating back to 2010.

Thruway Authority has spent $1.1 billion on the canal system since the state Legislature placed it under the authority's control in 1992, the lawsuit said.

"Maintaining the Canal System comes at a steep price," reads part of the complaint. "The New York State Thruway Authority ... drastically overcharges commercial truckers for the use of the roads that it administers."

Thruway officials declined to comment, citing pending litigation.

The state Legislature originally approved putting canal operations under Thruway control, but some lawmakers have from time to time urged ending the relationship.

Talk of a change frequently come ups when there is discussion of a possible Thruway toll hike.

The Thruway Authority floated the idea of a truck toll hike in 2012, but that drew harsh outcry from upstate lawmakers and business operators, including truckers, who said it would amount to a tax on the entire region.

Higher tolls, they said, would simply be passed along to consumers.

The protest prompted Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who appoints the Thruway Authority's board members, to drop the plan for increased tolls.

To save money, the Thruway Authority cut staff and eliminated what had been a $60 million contract with the State Police to patrol the highway. Police are still on the Thruway, but the funding comes from the public safety budget rather than the Thruway Authority budget.

Tolls remain an issue, especially when it comes to talk about paying for the replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge, which spans the Hudson River between Rockland and Westchester counties.

Transportation experts have said some kind of toll hike will be needed to pay for the new bridge, a $4 billion addition to the Thruway system. Despite catcalls from lawmakers and other critics, the Thruway Authority and the Cuomo administration have insisted it's impossible to determine what the eventual bridge toll will be until the bridge's costs are more fully known.

Crossing the bridge is already costlier for trucks than it is for cars: While passenger cars pay $5, large trucks can pay up to $49.25 to make the crossing. (The toll is charged one way — for those heading east and south into Westchester County or New York City.)

The American Trucking Associations represents trucking companies and suppliers to the industry nationwide, including New York.

[41chevy]

Gee, in the beginning, Obama said the Feds were paying 75% of the new bridge from his Stimulus Program. . . You remember, that's when he was putting the Unions back to work and building up the economy . . . with shovel ready projects.

As for Cuomo lives in court for permits, tolls and fees. I live on a so called island surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the Long Island Sound, we have fisher the waters for close to 400 years,. Cuomo now required a Salt Water fishing License to catch fish for food. Negating a Federal Exemption to allow the Long Island Residents to fish salt water. Took 2 years and a battle up to the Supreme Court to end it. The License fee went to fill the gap by NYS subsidizing Wineries on the East End of L.I.. Sounds like a similar tune for the tolls.