HB 1008 – Toll Road

Updated material in bold based on an Indy Star article.

The Senate overhauled HB 1008 on the 75 year Toll Road lease. The Senate Committee on Appropriations adopted a committee report that stripped everything out of the version that passed the House and inserted its own language. When I drafted legislation, I had mixed feelings about the “strip and insert” method of drafting amendments. Mainly, I tried to avoid it, but occasionally it was the best way to get the job done.

The biggest problem with writing an amendment that way, instead of the more traditional method of directing the printer to strike or insert language at particular page and line numbers, is that when you totally strip the original bill, it’s difficult to tell exactly how the new version differs from the prior version. Where you’re putting something entirely different in, that’s not a problem. But, where you’re replacing the original with something similar, it’s useful to be able to quickly pinpoint the changes.

The advantage of writing a strip and insert amendment is that it’s a lot easier to tell what the actual law would look like if it’s adopted in its amended form. The page and line editing instructions of the typical amendment make for slow reading.

In any case, on this bill, I do not have time for an exhaustive reading, but some provisions of note:

1. Some protection for Public Employee Retirement Fund rights of state employees displaced because of privatization.
2.  A tax credit (for any taxpayer, I believe) of up to $300 for tolls paid.
3.  A different distribution scheme  with Toll Road Counties getting the biggest share.
4.  A “Next Generation Trust Fund” that is to be held in trust until it reaches $1 billion. After that, the interest on the billion is to be distributed to the “Major Moves Construction Fund.” The initial “seed” money from the Toll Road proceeds is $400 million. The transportation building lobby seems a little piggish about this amendment, complaining that they’re afraid the Next Generation Trust Fund will be raided for non-transportation purposes, even though the legislation specifies that the interest is to go to the Major Moves Trust Fund and the principal isn’t allowed to be touched. The only more certain alternative would be to just blow the money all at once, beneficial to the construction industry certainly; the next generation, not so much.
5.  A provision of which I do not know the import which prohibits termination of a tollway route “along any part of a highway that has at least 4 lanes and is located in a township having a population of at least 80,000.” This would effectively prohibit the construction of a stretch of I-69 through Perry Township on Indianapolis’ Far Southside. The provision is meant to shore up support from some area lawmakers who support the governor’s plan but oppose the proposed I-69 route.
6.  Prohibits solicitation of a future public-private agreement allowing an operator to impose tolls unless the General Assembly first adopts a statute authorizing the imposition of tolls.
7. Allows a 75 year lease — Sen. Meeks (I think) had mentioned a shorter time span, but that would have scotched the offer on the table.
8. The terms of losing bids aren’t to be made public until termination of the RFP process or after closing takes place on the winning proposal.
9. Allows installation of “automated traffic law enforcement systems” to enforce collection of the private operator’s tolls.
10. Removes provisions in the original bill that provided for the Governor to enter into future transportation privatization agreements.