House Committee Puts Toll Removal on Hold

The bill to remove toll collection on Exit 12 has officially stalled at least until the end of the year, after the House Public Works and Highways Committee voted to retain the bill during a hearing this afternoon.

Unlike previous attempts by Merrimack lawmakers to have one or some of the tolls moved, this bill is not dead in the water. A bill introduced last year regarding toll removal was given the stamp of inexpedient to legislate in committee, a status that was upheld by the house.

The committee voted to retain the bill and include it in big-picture discussion of the turnpike system in New Hampshire and its needs in relation to toll collection and widening projects. The committee is due to compile a written report on their findings related to the turnpike system at the end of the year.

Senate Bill 3, introduced in the Senate by Senate President Peter Bragdon, R-Milford, could be re-examined later this session if brought back as part of another bill, though Bragdon told the Union Leader he didn't have plans to resurrect it in the next couple months.

Bragdon's bill initially called for the removal of all three toll booths in Merrimack, but the Senate's Ways and Means Committee amended the bill, reducing the plan to removal of just Exit 12. Turnpike administrators say the toll booth at Exit 12 brings in about $500,000 in revenue each year.

The amended bill was pushing it into the House committee led by Rep. David Campbell, D-Nashua.

The decision today to retain the bill was not surprising. Campbell suggested it as an option during the committee's previous hearing of it on May 8.