HB 1576

This bill abolishes the collection of tolls for on and off ramps along state highways and increases the gasoline tax by $.02 per gallon.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Increasing the Gasoline Tax. Amend the introductory paragraph of RSA 260:32 to read as follows:

There is hereby imposed a road toll of [~~$.18~~] $.20 per gallon upon the sale of each gallon of motor fuel sold by distributors thereof. The road toll shall be collected by the distributor from the purchaser and remitted to the state in the manner hereinafter set forth. Provided, that the road toll shall not apply to:

2 Abolishing the Collecting of Ramp Tolls. On July 1, 2000, the state of New Hampshire shall cease the operation of on and off ramp toll booths along the state's highways.

3 Payment of Debt Service. The increase in the road toll under section 1 of this act shall be designated to cover any bonds and debt service secured by anticipated ramp toll booth revenues.

The Departments of Safety, Transportation, and Treasury indicate that this bill will increase state restricted turnpike revenue, state restricted turnpike expenditures, and local revenue by an indeterminable amount in FY 2001 and each year thereafter. There is no fiscal impact on county and local expenditures or county revenue.

The Department of Safety estimates that state restricted turnpike revenue will increase by approximately $15.72 million beginning in FY 2001. This increase represents the $.02 per gallon increase to the gasoline road toll that will be deposited in the Turnpike Fund.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) calculated that state restricted turnpike revenue will decrease by $9.08 million in FY 2001, by $9.35 million in FY 2002, by $9.60 million in FY 2003, and by $9.83 million in FY 2004. This decrease was derived from two sources; $7.03 million from the cessation of ramp tolls and $2.05 million from the diversion of traffic from main line toll plazas to nearby ramp plazas. These revenue decreases were calculated for FY 2001, with growth rates applied to future years.

DOT determined that state restricted turnpike expenditures will increase by $443,600 in FY 2001, and decrease by $1.85 million in FY 2002, by $1.9 million in FY 2003, and by $1.96 million in FY 2004. This fiscal impact was also derived from two sources; $1.80 million decrease in expenditures from the elimination of all costs necessary to collect tolls at ramp plazas, and $2.24 million expenditure increase from required ramp plaza demolition/realignment expenditures. The demolition/realignment expenditures would be a one time charge, however, the toll collection cost elimination would continue to future years.

DOT determined that state restricted turnpike expenditures and local revenue will increase by $1.75 million in FY 2002, by $1.80 million in FY 2003, and by $1.85 million in FY 2004. This represents the 12% allocation of gasoline road toll funds that by law would be allocated to municipalities.

The Department of Treasury could not estimate the fiscal impact on debt service that will result from this bill. The Department accounts for bond issues by project, not by their component parts. Therefore, it was not possible for the Department to identity the specific debt service expenditures associated with particular turnpike ramps.