Republicans say tolling is the best way to fix Wisconsin's roads

MADISON - GOP legislative leaders threw their support behind tolling Wednesday, saying they saw it as the best way to infuse Wisconsin’s highway system with cash.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos of Rochester and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald of Juneau described placing tolls around the state as a way to fix the state's highways and bridges. 

"You can do it on bridges. You can do it in an awful lot of places. So I think there’s a lot more flexibility (on where tolls can be placed) and that’s why we wanted this study,” Vos said.

They said a tolling study would help guide lawmakers on the issue but emphasized they see it as the best way to pay for roads. But they came short of committing to implementing tolling in the state budget they pass this year.

They made their comments to reporters after they and their Democratic counterparts addressed the Wisconsin Counties Association.

RELATED:Toll roads in Wisconsin? Make it the road not taken, says Mark Gottlieb, former top state official

At that forum, Fitzgerald said raising the gas tax by 10 cents a gallon — from 32.9 cents to 42.9 cents — wouldn’t raise enough to fix the state’s roads. An increase of that size would funnel more than $330 million a year into transportation.

“We still have five $1 billion projects in southeastern Wisconsin and then obviously a lot of needs outstate,” Fitzgerald said afterward. “If you’re thinking kind of overall what does the statewide (system) need, that’s when I think you look at some of those smaller numbers (generated by raising the gas tax or registration fees) and you say that could be part of it, but it’s not going to solve Wisconsin’s transportation issue.”

Fitzgerald said he believed Congress could change federal laws and clear the way for states to more easily implement tolling.

In comments to reporters, Transportation Secretary Craig Thompson questioned the wisdom of waiting for Congress to act because it has not addressed the issue for years.

“We’ve got immediate problems that we need to move on,” Thompson said.

Republican lawmakers were divided on how to fund transportation in the last legislative session, leading to a three-month delay in approving the state budget in 2017. They said that wouldn't happen again. 

"I can promise you one thing," Vos said at the forum with county officials. "The Assembly Republicans and the Senate Republicans are not going to fight about transportation. We are going to find a way to work together."

Senate Democratic Leader Jennifer Shilling of La Crosse, in jest, stage-whispered to Fitzgerald, "Is this news to you?" He laughed and said Vos was right about Republicans working together. 

Limits under federal law

Federal law tightly limits tolling on roads that receive federal funding.

At the moment, Wisconsin could try to get permission from the federal government for one of three pilot projects on tolling for federally funded roads, Thompson said. That would provide limited revenue.

But Vos noted the state could put tolls on state-funded roads and bridges without federal permission. He said he wants to find out more about how such a system would work.

Assembly Minority Leader Gordon Hintz of Oshkosh said he wants more money for roads but considers tolling the worst way to do it.

He questioned the Republicans’ sincerity, saying it would take years to implement tolls and much of the money would go toward operating the tolls instead of building roads.

“That’s not a solution,” Hintz said. “We need money today, and it’s going to have to be something like a gas tax or some additional immediate revenue to stop the hole that we’ve dug to pay for the things that we need to do."

"Sen. Fitzgerald and Rep. Vos have been talking about tolling for six years. It seems to be one of those things they throw out there to act like they’re doing something, but they never actually do something."

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has emphasized the need to fix the state's roads and said he is open to any ideas, including tolling, that will generate more money for them. 

Thompson is working with a task force to come up with ideas by the end of the month. Evers will give his state budget to the Republican-dominated Legislature soon afterward.

Vos was skeptical of Evers' task force, saying it was "cute" that it was trying to move so fast on a complex issue.

Assembly GOP protests Virginia abortion bill 

Also Wednesday, Assembly Republicans held a news conference to protest a proposal rocking Virginia that would loosen late-term abortion restrictions.

The bill put Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam at the center of the firestorm after he said late-term abortions are "done in cases where there may be severe deformities. There may be a fetus that's nonviable. So in this particular example, if a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen: The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that's what the mother and the family desired. And then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother."

The Wisconsin lawmakers are not proposing any legislation but pledged to block any similar proposals from Democrats and to seek more funding for adoption services.

Democrats introduced a bill last session that would repeal some abortion restrictions signed into law in recent years but have not introduced the proposal this session. Republicans control the Legislature and do not support bills loosening restrictions on abortions. 

Evers on Tuesday said he believed Northam should resign after a photo surfaced of two men dressed in blackface and a KKK outfit that was published on Northam's medical school yearbook. 

Molly Beck of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.