HLS 22RS-1551 ORIGINAL
2022 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 63
BY REPRESENTATIVE FARNUM
BRIDGES/FERRIES: Suspends provisions of law relative to the imposition of tolls and fees
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To suspend until sixty days after final adjournment of the 2023 Regular Session of the
3 Legislature of Louisiana that portion of R.S. 48:2084.5(A), relative to the exception
4 that allows a private entity to impose tolls or user fees on any existing free road or
5 system of roads, bridge, tunnel, or overpass, if the road or system of roads, bridge,
6 tunnel, or overpass is improved or expanded.
7 WHEREAS, a toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a road for which a
8user fee is assessed for passage; and
9 WHEREAS, a toll or user fee is essentially a tax only charged to the persons
10accessing the road; and
11 WHEREAS, the citizens of the parish or municipality in which the toll or user fee
12is charged are effectively being double taxed when they are required to pay the toll or user
13fee; and
14 WHEREAS, this excessive taxing on citizens of the parish or municipality can have
15a negative impact on the spending power of those citizens, the patronage to local businesses,
16and the overall health of the local economy; and
17 WHEREAS, a study conducted by the Washington State Transportation Center
18found that the financial costs of tolls and user fees are regressively distributed and thus have
19a disproportionate effect on low-income families; and
20 WHEREAS, according to The Advocate, in 2020 more than half of Louisiana
21households are operating either below federal poverty standards or in the realm of "working
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HCR NO. 63
1poor" families as defined by ALICE, a United Way measure applied to people who are Asset
2Limited, Income Constrained, and Employed; and
3 WHEREAS, adding an additional burden on these families, through toll or user fee,
4may have a chilling effect on an already sluggish economy attempting to rebound from a
5pandemic and various natural disasters; and
6 WHEREAS, the implementation of tolls can limit the mobility of citizens from one
7parish or municipality to another which places a burden on intrastate commerce; and
8 WHEREAS, R.S. 48:2084.5(A) prohibits the implementation of tolls by a private
9entity but provides an exception to the general prohibitions; and
10 WHEREAS, the exception to the general prohibition allows a private entity to
11implement a toll or user fee if "such road or system of roads, bridge, tunnel, or overpass is
12improved or expanded"; and
13 WHEREAS, the term "improvement" is not defined in the "Louisiana Transportation
14Authority Act" which contains the exception; and
15 WHEREAS, pursuant to R.S. 1:3, the term shall be read with its context and shall be
16construed according to the common and approved usage of the language; and
17 WHEREAS, the common and approved usage of "improvement" is "to make
18something better"; and
19 WHEREAS, the broad definition of the term would allow private actors to utilize the
20exception and charge tolls simply for "making things better"; and
21 WHEREAS, something as simple as picking up trash could be considered an
22"improvement" pursuant to R.S. 48:2084.5(A) and thus allow a private actor to charge a toll
23or user fee to Louisiana citizens for picking up a few pieces of litter; and
24 WHEREAS, considering the potential economic effects of implementing a toll or
25user fee in this state, the exception is overly broad and would allow private actors to
26fundamentally change aspects of Louisiana's economy and the daily lives of Louisiana
27citizens with minimal investment, and those changes could last far into the future.
28 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana hereby suspends
29that portion of R.S. 48:2084.5(A) relative to the exception that allows a private entity to
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HCR NO. 63
1impose tolls or user fees on any existing free road or system of roads, bridge, tunnel, or
2overpass, if the road or system of roads, bridge, tunnel, or overpass is improved or expanded.
3 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this suspension shall become effective upon
4adoption of this Resolution and shall extend through the sixtieth day after final adjournment
5of the 2023 Regular Session of the Legislature of Louisiana.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 63 Original 2022 Regular Session Farnum
Suspends a portion of law that allows a private entity to impose tolls or user fees on any
existing free road or system of roads, bridge, tunnel, or overpass, if the road or system of
roads, bridge, tunnel, or overpass is improved or expanded.
(Suspends portion of R.S. 48:2084.5(A))
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