Major Toll Increase Looms As Maryland Legislature Moves Forward

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – As the General Assembly heads toward an important legislative deadline, Maryland Democrats continue to look for additional ways to increase the cost of living for Marylanders. First, the Moore Administration increased over 250 fees by regulation and legislation. Then, House Democrats began their push for a historic expansion of the sales tax to virtually every service in the state. Now, with House Bill 1070 – Maryland Toll Rate Reform Act of 2024, a major toll increase is on the horizon with the bill expected to move out of the Environment and Transportation Committee this week.

House Bill 1070 will not only increase tolls by “hundreds of millions of dollars” according to legislative analysts, but, more egregiously, it will also allow these funds to be used for purposes other than maintaining the bridges and highways that these tolls have always been intended to cover. In short, motorists won’t be paying for use of the bridges they need to get to work – they’ll be paying for mass transit projects in other regions of Maryland.

“We all know about the Transportation Trust Fund, but this bill essentially establishes a Transportation Slush Fund,” said House Minority Leader Jason Buckel. “At the heart of this bill is the goal of raising more money for our state’s transit system and the multistate WAMATA system – both of which hemorrhage money and are completely unsustainable in their current form.  It is, apparently, not enough that 50% of our transportation spending already goes to transit while the revenue comes from the pockets of Marylanders driving cars and paying gas taxes. This is just wrong.”

The bill requires the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) to establish “near optimal toll rates” that provide at least 95% of the maximum revenue possible based on the facility’s “optimal toll rate” which is also set by the MDTA. Any revenue collected that is over and above what is needed to cover the costs of the toll facilities will be put into a separate fund to be used for a variety of transportation projects, including transit.

“This bill is essentially a blank check for the MDTA, paid for by Maryland drivers,” said House Minority Whip Jesse Pippy. “It would seem they are planning for the eventuality that the hundreds of millions of dollars from these toll increases will exceed what is needed to take care of the toll facilities – so much extra revenue that they are already creating a slush fund to keep it in. Marylanders deserve more transparency, especially when it comes to raising fees, taxes, and tolls.”