TYLER, Texas (KLTV) – An East Texas lawmaker is calling for an end to toll roads across the state. <\/p>\n
State Sen. Bob Hall (R-Edgewood) said tolls have an unequal impact. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a regressive tax,\u201d Hall said. \u201cIt\u2019s more impactful on the less fortunate than it is on the wealthy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hall explained he would like to see tolls addressed as part of the budget process in Austin. He said he\u2019s looking at introducing legislation to make private ownership of toll roads illegal and remove tolls once a road is paid off.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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,\u201d added Hall. \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spokesperson for Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority Jori Liu responded to questions in an email to KLTV.\u201c<\/p>\n
Tolling is not a tax,\u201d Liu said. \u201cIt\u2019s a user fee collected in exchange for a service. If you don\u2019t use the toll road, you don\u2019t have to pay for it, and pursuant to state law, we never convert a free lane into a tolled lane.<\/p>\n
\u201cToll 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\u2019t have to wait decades to build the roads we needed yesterday,\u201d she added. \u201cDrivers who prefer not to pay a toll will always have the choice of using the non-tolled general-purpose lanes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The next regular legislative session takes place in 2027. <\/p>\n
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