Legislative Services :

1
Legislative Services

• Draft a Bill

We need legislation introduced to finally
eliminate the damages to the states resulting
from the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge
Commission (DRJTBC) and the tolls. The bill
would provide for bridge maintenance to be paid
from the applicable gas taxes. Such legislation
when enacted would supersede all of the interim
oversight and veto legislation (NJ AR114), which
while well intentioned does not solve the
problem.
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The Purpose of the Bill

• To Benefit the residents of New Jersey and
  Pennsylvania.

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How will it benefit the residents of NJ and PA?

• Reduce cost to local businesses
• Increase incentive for businesses to stay or to
  move here, increasing local jobs.
• Which will
• Increase revenue to local government and school
  board.
• Increase revenue to local State government.

4
The Problem

• Antiquated Law, which, when passed in 1934 was
  well intentioned, needs to be repealed.
• (copy of 1934 Charter Article X attached to
  outline)

5

• The repeal of the law requires bills passed by
• Pennsylvania- Senate, House and Governor
• New Jersey- Senate, Assembly and Governor
• Plus signatures from
• The Federal Senate
• The Federal House of Representatives
• Ending with the President of the United States of
  America
• 9 approvals all together!

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Why the law is a problem

• The law creates the Delaware River Joint Toll
  Bridge Commission which
• Has recently increased the toll for trucks
  crossing the Delaware River from 4 a crossing to
  16 a crossing.
• Spends money on unnecessary projects

7
According to the Morning Calls Article
Bridge agency hides plans to spend 248 million
on development by Garret Therolf-- printed on
June 8th 2003 The Delaware River Joint Toll
Bridge Commission has secretly embarked 248
million from November's massive toll increase for
economic development while telling the public
the money is only for self-insurance against
terrorism, interviews and documents showThe
commission denies it plans to use the 248
million for development. But the high-level
staffers, who requested anonymity, said the
self-insurance fund is a ruse to hide the
commissions real motive. And State Sen. Lisa
Boscola called the need for terrorism
self-insurance far fetched.
But thats not it!
8

• In that same article
• The commissions 20 bridges are operated
  independent of Pennsylvania and New Jersey
  governments and are headed by 10 commissioners
  appointed by the states governorsCommission
  Executive Director Frank G. McCartney said a plan
  for hundreds of millions of dollars in economic
  development was drawn up but rejectedBut the
  commission has pursued and continues to pursue
  economic development plans beyond the scope
  McCartney has publicly acknowledged. He has said
  privately that the project would be launched
  after public fury over the toll increase dies and
  the commission is in a stronger political
  position to embark on the plans, the two high
  staffers said.

This is not the only reason the law is a problem!
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Why the law is a problem

• The law creates the Delaware River Joint Toll
  Bridge Commission which
• Has recently increase the toll for trucks
  crossing the Delaware River from 4 a crossing to
  16 a crossing.
• Spends money on unnecessary projects
• The toll hikes to get the money for these
  unnecessary projects has caused the loss of jobs.
  

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Eastern PA- Business JournalJan. 21-27, 2002

• Hard hit by the toll hike from 4 to 16
  will be Roadway Express in Tannersville.
  Stroudsburg terminal manager Thomas Smedley says
  his cost will rise by 500,000 yearly.

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Express TimesFebruary 2002

• Alan LaFiura, president of Ultra-Poly Corp. in
  Portland, says the company is considering moving
  if something is not done to soften the financial
  blow the toll hikes have had on his business. He
  estimates Ultra-Poly will spend 100,000 a year
  on tolls in 2004 when the full rate hikes take
  effect for trucks

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Eastern PA- Business JournalJan. 21-27, 2002

• A quadrupling of cost will also effect Pocono
  Produce in Stroudsburg. We dont have an
  option, says Pocono Produce president Terry
  Snyder, We go across every bridge they have 20
  or 30 times a day. Its not something you can
  fight.

13
Eastern PA- Business JournalJan. 21-27, 2002

• Craig Weintraub at Charles Chrinn Companies
  said, We are very disheartened especially during
  these economic times when the government is
  looking to the private sector to stimulate the
  economy. Most companies will have to pass this
  cost on to someone He estimates the higher
  tolls will mean an additional 45,000 annually
  for the company.

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Eastern PA- Business JournalJan. 21-27, 2002

• At Pitt Ohio Express, Allentowns terminal
  manager William Engler says the company would
  have to rethink its rate structure and consider
  passing the cost along to consumersThe impact of
  the toll hike will be dramatic Engler says,
  from 67,000 per year to 750,000 in the upcoming
  year. Its sort of on the outrageous side.

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Eastern PA- Business JournalJan. 21-27, 2002

• The Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association
  (PMTA), a trade association of 2,300 members
  throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania, contends
  that the toll hike is unreasonable.
• Five of PMTAs largest members will see an
  additional 1 million in the tolls they are
  paying.

All of these testimonials plus the companies that
have already left. such as
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BASF in Mt. Olive, NJ

• 1,262 Employees
• Annual payroll 191 Million
• Payment of 4.2 Million in local and state tax
• Closed- Sighting toll hike as contributing factor

17
Nexpak in Rockaway, NJexit 37 off I-80

• Closed
• Loss of 450 jobs
• Sighting too expensive to ship out of NJ as a
  contributing factor
• Moved to Alliance, Ohio
• Losing revenues for NJ

18
Action Technology- Rockaway, NJexit 37 off I-80

• Closed
• Loss of 200 jobs
• Sighting too expensive to operate in NJ as a
  contributing factor
• Moved to Dalton, Georgia
• Losing revenues for NJ

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This problem is so regionalized, isolating the
Northwest corner of NJ and Northeast corner of
PA, that companies can circumvent the problem by
moving a couple hundred miles to places like
Binghamton NY or Winchester VA
Such is the case with Gary W. Gray Trucking inc.
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Gary W. Gray Trucking, INC.

• After a 500,000 annual increase of expense due
  to the toll hike Gary Gray moved part of his
  operation to Goshen NY, where he can avoid the
  toll.
• Losing revenues for NJ

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The Publics Response

• Letters to the editor at The Express Times
• Tell governors we don't need tolls bridge panel-
  Feb. 04, 2003
• Joint Toll Reform- June 20, 2004
• Toll commission needs scrutiny- June 30, 2004
• Crossing Delaware should be free- July 07, 2004
• Highlights of Articles Follow

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Tell governors we don't need tolls, bridge panel
 Tuesday, February 04, 2003

• Most of the money collected goes for wages of
  the top people on the Delaware River Joint Toll
  Bridge Commission and a small part goes to
  maintenance and repairs of the bridges. Frank
  McCartney, executive director of the commission,
  is making 124,000 a year and will get a raise of
  40,000 annually. All of the other top people
  will receive raises on our money.
• No tolls and no bridge commission would be a
  win-win situation for both sides of the river.

23
Joint Toll ReformPa. need to catch up with N.J.
in passing bills to rein in commission. Sunday,
June 20, 2004

• The labyrinthine effort to make the Delaware
  River Joint Toll Bridge Commission accountable to
  the public is following a predictable course--
  New Jersey passes a reform bill and sends it to
  Pennsylvania, where it sits.  And sits. And
  sits.
• Because the bi-site commissions is governed by a
  federal compact, all changes to the compact must
  be approved, in identical language, by both
  houses in each legislature, signed by both
  governors, approved by Congress, and signed by
  the president.  At this rate, the next ice age
  will take care of the bridges before anyone in
  Washington gets around to this. 

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Toll commission needs scrutiny Wednesday, June
30, 2004

• The commission has been operating with no
  accountability to the public. I wonder why the
  candidates for the U.S. House and Senate from
  both states haven't vigorously campaigned on a
  platform for removal of the commission (repeal of
  the law).
• Why do we allow this commission to maintain a
  250 million slush fund (by its own accounts) to
  perform a function that, through proper
  management, would amount to no more than 10
  million dollars worth of annual bridge
  maintenance? The loss of jobs and the tax
  revenues, as well as the damage to the economy in
  the region that the toll commission is
  responsible for is beyond anything the public can
  imagine. A comprehensive cost benefit analysis is
  necessary.

25
Crossing Delaware should be freeWednesday, July
07, 2004

•  The original compact of the Delaware River
  Joint Toll Bridge Commission called for Delaware
  River crossing to be free.
• The commission has cash balances in excess of
  200 million dollars. The commission could retire
  all outstanding debt, pay off all bond holdings
  immediately.
• The commission refuses to do so, so that the
  commission is able to claim that there is
  outstanding debt. On this technicality they are
  able to circumvent the intent of the law and
  continue to have these absurd tolls.

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The Solution

• Repeal the 1934 Charter
• Allow for the interstate highways to serve their
  purpose and promote interstate commerce
• Change the methods currently used to maintain the
  bridges

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Maintenance of Bridges

• There needs to be an independent comprehensive
  study to determine the actual cost of maintaining
  the bridges.

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Maintenance

• 90 of expenses for interstate highways and
  bridges are provided for by the Federal Gas Tax
• The state bridges are normally maintained from
  the State gas tax jointly
• If Quantified it would take a fraction of a cent
  increase in gas tax to maintain these bridges

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This is a Bipartition Cause

• Representatives from both parties have been
  contacted, and there is not one from either that
  disagrees with the removal of the tolls once they
  understand the detriment these tolls are causing
  to the local economy.

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Overview

• The interstate highway system was put in to
  promote interstate commerce
• The Legislation needed in this case pertains only
  to the tolls that are operated by the DRJTBC
  which are the tolls located on the Delaware
  river, north of Trenton
• The toll bridges are located at
  Trenton-Morrisville, New Hope-Lambertville,
  Interstate 78, Easton-Phillipsburg,
  Portland-Columbia, Delaware Water Gap Interstate
  80, and Milford-Montague.

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Whos already begun to help-Pennsylvania

• A good example of the Bipartition effort to
  stop the DRJTBC is the recent House Bill of 1801
  which pass in PA with a 197-1 vote. HB-1801
  allowes for PA and NJ to conduct detailed annual
  audits of the DRJTBC.
• Lisa Boscola State Senator
• Ron Angle  Northampton County P.A. Council
•    
• The entire Northampton County Council 9-0 in
  favor of removal of tolls.
• The entire Monroe County council.-Unanimously
• Kay Bucci  Mayor of Portland P.A.
•                       

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Whos already begun to help- New Jersey

•  
• Rick Gardner  Warren County N.J. Freeholder
•  
•            Warren County Freeholders unanimous
  3-0 in favor of elimination of tolls.       
• MICHAEL J. DOHERTY N.J. Assemblyman
•        REED GUSCIORA N.J. Assemblymen
•          BONNIE WATSON COLEMAN N.J.
  Assemblywoman
•          CONNIE MYERS N.J. Assemblywoman
• Fran Vanhorn  Mayor of Knowltownship N.J

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In Closing

• There is no public official in either state
  that has expressed opposition to such a bill.
  Support would be unanimous and bipartition. The
  impasse has existed due only to the law makers
  unfamiliarity with the severity of the problem
  and the poorly structured initial legislation of
  1934 which built in a formula for gridlock.
  Remember this bill applies only to the DRJTBC
  which affect crossings in the non-urban sections
  north of Trenton.

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Thank you for your timeand help in
passing the necessary legislation to
improve the local economies of NJ and
PA