Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Truck-Only Tolls in Rhode Island – Fleet Management

An appeals court has ruled that Rhode Island can resume its Rhodeworks truck-only tolling program. The controversial program has been on hold since a U.S. District Judge ruled in 2022 it was unconstitutional after a lawsuit filed by the American Trucking Associations. 

A timeline on reactivating the tolls is still being determined.

“The First Circuit has held that, with the exception of caps on tolls, RhodeWorks is constitutional,” said Rhode Island’s attorney general, Peter Neronha, in a statement.

The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled that caps on tolls for in-state trucking were still unconstitutional and that these trucks would have to be tolled at the same rate as out-of-state ones.

Rhode Island Trucking Association: Is State Willing to Break Promise to State Residents?

The Rhode Island Trucking Association said reinstating the toll would mean higher prices for goods for consumers in the state.

“If Gov. McKee and the General Assembly are considering reactivating the tolls without those protective caps,” the association said in a statement, ‘they first need to consider whether they are willing to break the promise that was made to the local business community as a condition of passage of the legislation, and be candid with Rhode Island residents that these increased costs will be reflected in the price of goods, nearly all of which reach them by truck.”

Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee, in a statement, said, ”The court’s ruling allows the state to continue using a proven tool to make vital upgrades and repairs to Rhode Island’s infrastructure…

“The ruling also prevents what could have been a major clawback of tens of millions of dollars in previously collected toll funds, which would have been a significant blow to Rhode Island taxpayers.”

A Rhodeworks Truck-Toll Timeline

2015: A truck-only tolling program is proposed in the Rhode Island legislature to address the state’s highway and bridge deterioration. It faces much criticism from trucking industry groups.

2015: Last-minute changes are made to the proposal before the legislation passed, including removing Class 6 and 7 vehicles from the program, and limiting tolls on individual large commercial vehicles to once per location, per day in each direction. Trucking groups still opposed it because it only target trucks, not cars, and provides a cap for in-state vehicles.

2016: After being passed in a special session of the state legislature, Rhodeworks is signed into law by then-Governor Gina Raimondo. 

2017: American Trucking Associations challenges the Rhodeworks environmental report.

2018: The truck-only tolls go into effect, but are still criticized by trucking groups. Class 8 and larger trucks are required to pay a toll when they crossed under14 automated gantries on state highways and bridges.

ATA President and CEO Chris Spear says, “By pressing ahead with her ill-conceived RhodeWorks scheme, Gov. Raimondo is violating the Constitution by interfering with interstate commerce. She and her administration were warned of this repeatedly by the trucking industry and we will continue to fight these unjust tolls by any means available.”

2018: Connecticut eyes its neighbor’s truck-only tolls and mulls doing the same.

2018: American Trucking Associations challenges Rhodeworks in court. Over the next couple of years, the case bounces from courtroom to courtroom as a battle was waged over whether it belonged in state or federal court.

2022: A U.S. District Judge rules the Rhodeworks truck-only tolls are unconstitutional and the program is suspended.

2022: During ATA’s Management Conference, Spear celebrates the victory. “We told them from the beginning they were crazy… that Rhodeworks was unconstitutional and discriminatory. … Like a lot of elected officials these days, they didn’t listen, so we took them to court.” A judge did listen, he said, and that decision sends a message to other states, “don’t mess with trucking.” 

2024: A three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstates the Rhodeworks tolling program after an appeal by the state. U.S. Appeals Judge William Kayatta wrote, “Even were we to assume that a few Rhode Island single-unit trucks compete in some manner with a few out-of-state tractor-trailers, ATA’s argument would still fall short,” he wrote.

“The dormant Commerce Clause is not an atomic fly swatter to be wielded against any and all trivial effects on commerce.”