A trio of New Jersey state lawmakers are calling on the governor to nix an upcoming toll increase.
Annual toll rate increases on the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway were approved in September 2020. The increases were included as part of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority’s 10-year, $24 billion capital plan.
Another round of toll hikes
The Turnpike Authority operates the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway.
Authority officials announced last month a fifth round of 3% toll increases on the Turnpike and Parkway to take effect on Jan. 1, 2025. This latest increase is included in the $2.7 billion budget for 2025 that was unanimously approved by Turnpike commissioners.
The new budget is $95.3 million, a 3.7% increase from the 2024 budget.
New Jersey law allows the governor to veto the Turnpike Authority budget because his office appoints most Turnpike board members. As a result, the governor can unilaterally overturn board actions.
Shortly after the Turnpike’s 2025 budget was approved, Sen. Carmen Amato Jr., Assemblyman Brain Rumpf and Assemblyman Gregory Myhre sent a letter to Gov. Phil Murphy calling on his administration to veto the upcoming toll increase. The Republican lawmakers who wrote the letter represent parts of Ocean County in the state’s Ninth District.
“We are in the strongest terms calling on your administration to veto the New Jersey Turnpike Authority minutes that would allow for yet another toll increase to be imposed on commuters traveling in the state,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter.
The lawmakers said with costs rising across the board from groceries to insurance coverage, too many residents cannot afford to pay more in tolls and make ends meet. They added that consumers likely would see additional increases in the costs of goods passed on by businesses, which also would be hit hard financially by a toll increase.
“Residents who are struggling financially are right to question how the state cannot somehow find the means to pay for road maintenance out of the $50 billion state budget but must, instead, imposed another toll increase for a fourth straight year,” the lawmakers said.
Permitting the toll increase to go into effect would only validate the view many residents hold that Trenton is worsening NJ’s affordability crisis at a time when elected officials should be doing the exact opposite – reducing NJ’s crushing tax burden https://t.co/76wCyeq5PJ
— Amato, Rumpf, Myhre (@9thDistrictNJ) November 21, 2024
Governor temporarily vetoed prior increase
The lawmakers highlighted the governor’s decision in the fall of 2023 to veto a Turnpike Authority budget with a planned toll increase. Murphy took the action two weeks before the state’s general election, when every state legislative seat was on the ballot.
At the time, the governor said he needed time to gather information from the Turnpike Authority board as to why a toll increase was necessary.
By January 2024, Murphy had approved an identical budget that included the same toll increase. Current toll rates were implemented on March 1. LL
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