TYLER, Texas (KLTV) – An East Texas lawmaker is calling for an end to toll roads across the state.
State Sen. Bob Hall (R-Edgewood) said tolls have an unequal impact.
“It is a regressive tax,” Hall said. “It’s more impactful on the less fortunate than it is on the wealthy.”
Hall explained he would like to see tolls addressed as part of the budget process in Austin. He said he’s looking at introducing legislation to make private ownership of toll roads illegal and remove tolls once a road is paid off.
“I think it costs us actually more money in the long run to have an entity doing the tolling and then operating the toll roads and all the expenses that are associated with it be unnecessary,” added Hall. “We just need to man up to the fact that roads are going to cost money, and we put that in our normal taxing operation and pay for the roads.”
Spokesperson for Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority Jori Liu responded to questions in an email to KLTV.“
Tolling is not a tax,” Liu said. “It’s a user fee collected in exchange for a service. If you don’t use the toll road, you don’t have to pay for it, and pursuant to state law, we never convert a free lane into a tolled lane.
“Toll roads provide a viable funding option to build roads now rather than using the traditional gas tax-funded, pay-as-you go approach, so we don’t have to wait decades to build the roads we needed yesterday,” she added. “Drivers who prefer not to pay a toll will always have the choice of using the non-tolled general-purpose lanes.”
The next regular legislative session takes place in 2027.
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