Malloy wants tolls, 7 cent hike in gas tax

From CT Post.

Motorists would navigate under dozens of overhead toll gantries along state highways throughout Connecticut under a funding plan for transportation that would also raise the state’s gasoline tax to 39 cents from 25 cents per gallon over the next few years.

While legislative Republicans balked after Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s Wednesday morning support for the new revenue generators, Democratic leaders including Speaker of the House Joe Aresimowicz conceded the issue will likely be a major debate for the upcoming legislative session.

For the first time since taking office in 2011, Malloy came out in support of high-speed electronic tolls that could raise up to $800 million a year for the cash-strapped state transportation fund.

“I wish we had it two years ago, because maybe we wouldn’t be in the predicament we are in today,” Malloy said during a 45-minute news conference in the Capitol. Malloy also wants lawmakers to approve a multiyear addition to the 25-cents-per-gallon gas, to raise it to 32 cents, generating $105 million more per year by 2022. In 1997, the 39-cent gas tax was cut to a quarter.

Read the full article online at the CT Post.