Connecticut governor signs controversial truck miles tax into law
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed into law a provision that will saddle the trucking industry with a tax for miles driven within the state as a means of generating revenue for infrastructure improvements.
On June 25, Lamont signed H.B. 6688 into law after it was approved by the Connecticut General Assembly earlier this month.
The truck tax is expected to generate an estimated $90 million in revenue for infrastructure funding per year by implementing a costly Highway Use Tax on truckers only. Fees would range from 2.5 cents per mile for vehicles weighing 26,000 to 28,000 pounds up to 17.5 cents per mile for trucks weighing over 80,000 pounds.
The tax will go into effect on January 1, 2023.
Dairy trucks will be exempt from the tax under some circumstances.
Shortly after the Connecticut General Assembly approved the bill, Lamont responded to outcry from the trucking industry by seeming to encourage drivers to avoid his state via his official Twitter account.
The trucking lobby is threatening to have drivers go around Connecticut because of the Highway User Fee. That’s fine. We’ll have less air pollution, safer and better quality roads, and less people with asthma. Looks like the Highway User Fee is already working. pic.twitter.com/yrVYROf0Qq
— Governor Ned Lamont (@GovNedLamont) June 10, 2021
In a video accompanying the Tweet, Lamont says that Connecticut “will still have the resources we need” even if truckers choose to avoid his state in response to the trucker tax.
Those who oppose the highway use tax have pointed out that costs will be passed down to consumers and that the measure threatens the state’s economic recovery in the wake of the pandemic.