Rhode Island’s Toll Victory Also Florida’s Victory

Defeat of Rhode Island truck-only toll a victory for entire industry

By Steve Brawner Contributing Writer

A court decision declaring a Rhode Island truck-only tolling scheme unconstitutional came after the trucking industry, including FTA, banded together in opposition.

District Judge William Smith ruled Sept. 21 that the RhodeWorks plan tolling only Class 8 trucks at selected bridge sites violated the U.S. Constitution’s dormant commerce clause because it was discriminatory in intent, discriminatory in effect, and didn’t approximate fair use by charging all bridge users.

Smith permanently enjoined the state from continuing the program, though he did not require it to reimburse truckers for tolls already paid. The state quickly closed its toll-collecting facilities. Rhode Island appealed to the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals Oct. 19.

Chris Spear, American Trucking Associations president and CEO, declared victory in a press release, saying, “We told Rhode Island’s leaders from the start that their crazy scheme was not only discriminatory, but illegal. We’re pleased

“We speak as one voice. The trucking industry is more powerful when we all come together. The Rhode Island tolling is not an aberration. It’s how we operate day-in, day-out working together when there are challenges, and the industry is facing headwinds.”

—Alix Miller, president & CEO, Florida Trucking Association

the court agreed. To any state looking to target our industry, you better bring your A-game because we’re not rolling over.”

Rhode Island Trucking Association

President Chris Maxwell said the court victory demonstrated the power of a unified truck ing industry.

“This really shows the might of how a federation works,” he said. “The country’s smallest state was attacked, and we fought like hell locally knowing that in the end, the federation would close ranks, and the ATA would do what it did, which was fight on behalf of all 50 states. We will continue to do so whether it’s truck-only tolling or any other issue.”

Alix Miller, FTA’s president and CEO, said the association financially supported ATA’s litigation center. While there’s been no movement toward truck-only tolling in Florida, she said it’s important for FTA to support other states when an issue affects the trucking

“We speak as one voice,” she said. “The trucking industry is more powerful when we all come together. The Rhode Island tolling is not an aberration. It’s how we operate day-in, day-out working together when there are challenges, and the industry is facing headwinds.”

In his 91-page ruling, Smith wrote RhodeWorks was intentionally discriminatory. An early version based on a consultant’s recommendation would have included Class 6 and 7 trucks, but those classes were dropped in a second draft that also addressed repeat per-day visits to a particular toll gantry. Lawmakers and state officials said those changes occurred because of local businesses’ concerns and to reduce the impact on local industries. Second, RhodeWorks was discriminatory in effect because 80 percent of toll-paying trucks were from out of state, while state-based trucks benefited more from toll caps. Finally, RhodeWorks didn’t approximate fair use because only 3 percent of users paid 100 percent of the tolls.

“Thus, RhodeWorks operates by design in a way that exempts not only most users, but nearly all users,” he wrote in his ruling. “Without looking much deeper, a system that places the entire toll burden on an extreme minority of users is inherently unfair and fails the test.” state officials would shift tax burdens to out-of-state residents who couldn’t hold them accountable in elections. Instead of having a robust national market for goods and services, the nation could be divided into 50 economic units imposing retaliatory economic measures on each other.

Rhode Island’s Maxwell said winning on all three counts increased the likelihood that trucking will win the case on appeal.

“We only had to prove one of those three, and we proved all three, so it’s nearly impossible that the First Circuit is going to overturn a judge’s very, very, very thorough opinion,” Maxwell said.

Rich Pianka, American Trucking Associations general counsel, said courts of appeals usually defer to a lower court’s finding of fact but are more willing to overturn on findings of law.

“The judge laid out the facts very clearly, and there’s really no question that Rhode Island developed this program with the intent of shifting its revenue burdens to out-of-state commercial users and all the while protecting its own residents from being burdened,” he said.

“The judge laid out the facts very clearly, and there’s really no question that Rhode Island developed this program with the intent of shifting its revenue burdens to outof-state commercial users and all the while protecting its own residents from being burdened. That’s exactly the kind of concern the commerce clause was included in the Constitution to avoid.”

—Robert Pianka, general counsel, American Trucking Associations

The state of Rhode Island must clear a high hurdle if it wants to accomplish that task.

Pianka said the Constitution’s commerce clause was written so that Congress would govern interstate commerce. Otherwise,

“That’s exactly the kind of concern the commerce clause was included in the Constitution to avoid.”

Rhode Island became the only state with a policy of tolling only Class 8 trucks in 2015 when then-Gov. Gina Raimondo and the General Assembly created RhodeWorks. The Rhode Island Department of Transportation projected tolls would fund about 10% of the state’s needed bridge repairs. It included a maximum toll cap of $20 for large commercial trucks traveling on I-95 from Connecticut to Massachusetts. A truck could be charged no more than $40 per day. The toll system collected $40 million annually after expenses. The plaintiffs – Cumberland Farms, Inc.; M&M Transport Services, Inc.; New England Motor Freight; and the American Trucking Associations – sued in 2018, leading to a 12day trial in May and June this year. Cumberland Farms, a Massachusetts-based company that services gas stations and convenience stores in New England states, saw its operating costs increase by $100,000, Smith wrote in his ruling. Pianka said the ruling sent a message to other states that were considering singling out trucks to raise revenues.

“I just think people should bear in mind this was certainly about what Rhode Island was doing, and that was important in and of itself,” he said.

“But it was also about the fact that the trucking industry is not a piggy bank for states to try and solve their revenue problems out of.”