Indiana toll road bill amended in committee, but toll road language remains
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved an amended toll road bill Thursday, but the language allowing for toll roads remains in the bill as it heads to the Senate for consideration.
House Bill 1461, authored by state Rep. Jim Pressel, R-Rolling Prairie, would allow the state to charge tolls on all Indiana interstate highways, including I-80/94 and I-65.
Specifically, the bill would allow the Indiana Department of Transportation to submit a request to the Federal Highway Administration for a waiver to toll lanes on interstate highways. If the waiver is granted, the legislature would not have to enact a statute for the Indiana finance authority to take action on tolling.
As he presented the amendment to his bill to the Senate Appropriations Committee, Pressel said the bill includes 'a check and balance' on potential tolling.
'We put a check and balance in there to report back to the state budget committee that if any tolling is going to be done or considered that they would have to go through the state budget committee at least to make them aware of that,' Pressel said.
Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago, asked Pressel if his amendment would remove the tollway provision. Randolph said he's concerned about the impacts of toll roads in Northwest Indiana.
Pressel asked where in the bill it states that toll roads will be established.
'Nowhere in this bill does it say, 'you shall toll',' Pressel said. 'Tolling is an option, currently today. The administration could do that today without us by creating a toll lane.'
Sen. Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis, offered an amendment that, in part, removed provisions regarding tolling.
'The bill as it currently is, in my view, would make it a lot easier to toll in Indiana,' Freeman said.
Sen. Michael Crider, R-Greenfield, said the gas tax, which state officials use to fund roads, won't be a sustainable option to continue road projects in the future.
'The gas tax is not a viable method anymore, and so we have to leave all options on the table, which includes giving the government the option of tolling, if that's what we decide,' Crider said.
Freeman's amendment failed 4-9.
Along with tollways, House Bill 1461 allows for wheel tax, addresses bridge construction funding, allows excess distributions from the state's Community Crossings matching grant program to be distributed to all communities based on lane miles instead of road miles, along with other elements.
Pressel previously testified in committee that the state has seen a decrease in road funding dollars, which comes from gas tax, BMV registration and excise tax, as cars become more fuel efficient and people purchase less gas.
'When your road funding revenue is based on gallons sold … we are having the conversation: How do we fund roads into the future? Should it come out of the general fund? I don't believe that to be true. I think we should have user fees. You pay for what you use,' Pressel previously said.
By 2030, the state will have to fund $1.2 billion and local governments will have to fund between $900 million to $2.5 billion in road projects because of inflation costs and the reduction in drivers purchasing gas, Pressel said.
The amendment to the bill increased the electric vehicle registration fees from $221 to $340 in 2026 and increased the hybrid registration fee from $74 to $170 in 2026, Pressel said. By 2027, under the amendment, the tax credit for the Shore Line Rail will expire, he said.
Further, the amendment creates a $100 million fund for communities without a wheel tax, Pressel said.
The amendment increases the speed limit on I-465 from 55 miles per hour to 65 miles per hour, Pressel said. The amendment also contains 'clean up language' on the township portion of the bill, he said.
Pressel's amendment passed in a voice vote. The bill passed in a 9-4 vote, and it will move forward to the Senate for consideration.
Sen. Rodney Pol, D-Chesterton, said he voted in favor of Freeman's amendment but against the bill because of the tolling language.
'I've gotten more calls from folks in my community about the concerns about this,' Pol said. 'I just have a lot of folks that get to and from work on the roads that could potentially be tolled, and these are folks that are struggling.'
akukulka@post-trib.com
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