Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean

Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean and Senate Republican Budget Officer Leonard Lance asked their colleagues, in a letter, to join them in opposing the illegal transfer of toll road revenue to the new trans-Hudson rail tunnel. The letter and resolution is attached.

“I am deeply concerned that the Corzine Administration’s decision to fund the new trans-Hudson rail tunnel with tolls paid by commuters is illegal under the statute that merged the oversight of the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike in 2003,” Kean stated. “The new trans-Hudson tunnel is vitally important to the future of the region and its funding must be legal and sustainable.”

“It is disappointing that the Administration has ignored the clear language and intent of the law. The former Commissioner of the DOT, Jack Lettiere, testified that toll road revenue would not be used for this type of project during the hearings for the bill,” Lance continued. “It is also frustrating that Governor Corzine has not insisted that the State of New York pay its fair share for the new tunnel. Sadly, he is forcing New Jersey commuters to pick up most of the tab.”

The letter follows:

September 16, 2008

Dear Colleague:

We are writing to ask you to join us in a bipartisan exercise of our constitutionally vested legislative veto power to prevent the Executive Branch from doing something the Legislature prohibited in a 2003 enactment. The Executive Branch, through the Turnpike Authority, is proposing to force motorists to pay tolls to pay for a rail project despite clear statutory language that prohibits motorists from being forced to pay for anything except highway projects. We have the responsibility to force the Executive Branch to abide by the law.

In 2003, S-2352 merged two separate authorities overseeing the Turnpike and Garden State Parkway. The intent of the law was to create efficiencies that would prevent toll hikes and allow the Turnpike Authority to be involved in more transportation projects. Notwithstanding the Turnpike Authority’s newly granted power to be involved in more transportation projects, the law makes it clear the Turnpike Authority was never granted the power to force motorists to pay for every project it sought to undertake.

“No toll revenue derived from the New Jersey Turnpike or Garden State Parkway shall be used or available for any transportation project other than a highway project and all transportation projects other than highway projects shall be self-sustaining…” N.J.S.A. 27:23-5(g)

Testimony on S-2352 given by former Transportation Commissioner Lettiere and sponsors of the legislation backs up the black and white letter of this law. Commissioner Lettiere testified that a monorail designed to alleviate congestion on the Garden State Parkway was exactly the type of project that could not be funded by tolls, but could be undertaken with other sources of revenue. He emphatically stated the legislation was crafted to prohibit the diversion of tolls from the roadways:

“The fact is that we looked at this bill to ensure that it was back to basics, core business oriented and that toll revenue would not be diverted to other projects off the main lines of these two facilities…. We’re trying to get the institutions back to core business. There is nothing in the bill that would lead me to believe or to indicate that funds would be spent for other purposes.” (Assembly Appropriations Committee, May 5, 2003)

Sponsors and supporters of S-2352 repeatedly made comments on the floor of the General Assembly that one of the bill’s main purposes was to reduce costs for motorists or, at the very least, prevent future toll increases. Yet here we are, five years later, and one of the basic selling points of, and intents behind, S-2352 is being turned on its head. Instead of S-2352 preventing toll increases, it is being used by an Executive Branch that wants to more than double them.

If the Executive Branch is permitted to force motorists on the Garden State Parkway and the Turnpike to pay for a rail tunnel, what will be next? Will toll-payers be forced to pay for the monorail that Commissioner Lettiere talked about before committee? Will they be forced to contribute to PATH improvements?

Will they be forced to build an extension to the Newark Subway system?

There are lawful ways to pay for the rail project that most of us strongly support. There are funds from the federal government and Port Authority. With a greater effort by Governor Corzine, New York could be persuaded to pay a share of the tunnel from which it derives substantial benefits. Spending in our State budget could be pared back and savings could be redirected in support of the tunnel.

In 1992, the voters of this State amended the New Jersey Constitution to allow the Legislature, without the Governor’s support, to veto Executive Branch agency actions that violate the intent of the Legislature as expressed in the authorizing statute. The very purpose of that amendment was to bestow the Legislature with an obligation and responsibility to monitor the laws it enacts and ensure that bureaucracies do not manipulate the power they were given.

We will introduce a resolution that begins the legislative veto process at the next session. We have attached a draft for your consideration and hope that we can count on each and every one of you to lend your support.

Sincerely,
Thomas Kean       Leonard Lance

The resolution follows:

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No.
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
213th LEGISLATURE
INTRODUCED OCTOBER XX, 2008

Sponsored by: KEAN, LANCE

SYNOPSIS

Determines that administrative action by Turnpike Authority increasing tolls to pay for a project other than a highway project is not consistent with legislative intent and begins the process of legislatively vetoing such toll increases.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

As introduced.

A Concurrent Resolution calling for the rescission of proposed agency action pursuant to Article V, Section IV, paragraph 6 of the Constitution of the State of New Jersey.

Whereas, a new tunnel to serve trains moving between New Jersey and New York City is an important project that should be developed and financed in a manner that is both responsible and consistent with current law;

Whereas, The New Jersey Turnpike Authority has proposed administrative action to increase tolls on users of the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway for, in part, the purpose of financing a new tunnel to serve trains moving between New Jersey and New York City;

Whereas, N.J.S.A. 27:23-5(g) (a section of the law creating the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and delineating its powers) provides that no toll revenue derived from the New Jersey Turnpike or Garden State Parkway shall be used for a project other than a highway project except on an interim basis;

Whereas, a new tunnel to serve trains moving between New Jersey and New York City is clearly not a highway project and the Turnpike Authority may, therefore, only lend financial support to the project on an interim basis;

Whereas, neither the Legislature nor any other person or agency could ever reasonably interpret “interim basis” in the context of N.J.S.A. 27:23-5(g) in such a way as to allow the Turnpike Authority to permanently increase tolls to finance the entire State share over a period of up to ten years of the construction costs of a new tunnel to serve trains moving between New Jersey and New York City;

Whereas, the Turnpike Authority is without lawful authority under State law to force toll payers on the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway to pay the entire cost of constructing a new tunnel to serve trains moving between New Jersey and New York City; now, therefore

Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey (the General Assembly concurring)

1. Pursuant to Article V, Section IV, paragraph 6 of the Constitution of the State of New Jersey, the Legislature may review any rule or regulation of an administrative agency to determine if the rule or regulation is consistent with the intent of the Legislature.

2. The Legislature finds that the proposal of the Turnpike Authority to increase tolls on users of the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway to, in part, finance a new tunnel to serve trains moving between New Jersey and New York City is not consistent with the legislative intent of N.J.S.A. 27:23-5(g); and

3. The Clerk of the General Assembly and the Secretary of the Senate shall transmit a duly authenticated copy of this concurrent resolution to the Governor and the Turnpike Authority.

4. The Turnpike Authority shall, pursuant to Article V, Section IV, paragraph 6 of the Constitution of the State of New Jersey, have 30 days following transmittal of this resolution to amend or withdraw the proposed administrative action to increase tolls or the Legislature may, by passage of another concurrent resolution, exercise its authority under the Constitution to invalidate the proposed administrative action or prohibit the administrative action from taking effect.

STATEMENT

This concurrent resolution begins the process of legislatively invalidating the Turnpike Authority’s efforts to unlawfully force users of the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway to pay the cost of a new tunnel to serve trains moving between New Jersey and New York City. Current law clearly prohibits the Turnpike Authority from forcing toll road users to permanently pay for the entire cost of projects other than highway projects.

Link to Post:

http://www.senatenj.com/index.php/tomkean/kean-lance-ask-colleagues-to-join-them-in-opposing-administrations-toll-hike-plan/1072