Rhode Island Wins Appeal on Truck Toll Case
Two years ago, we wrote about how Rhode Island planned to appeal the RhodeWorks truck toll case, which was ruled in favor of truckers by declaring it to be unconstitutional. Now, an appeals court has reversed that decision, saying that the Class 8 truck tolls can continue on one condition.
Details
The original case was decided in favor of truckers by citing the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution, saying that it failed to apply tolls in approximation to use of the bridges.
The appellate court disagreed, citing legal precedent to say instead that it does not hamper competition between Class 8 trucks and cars because they serve two very different purposes, one of which is significantly heavier–wearing down bridges more over time–and has an explicit financial incentive.
The appellate court in its ruling also cited airport user fees, something of a toll to land at smaller airports, as a previously established example where frequent and heavy users pay fees that others do not, saying that similar logic applies considering how often heavy-duty trucks use these bridges, and how much wear-and-tear is generated with each crossing compared to a 4,200 pound car.
The condition that the appellate court gave that we alluded to earlier is that the daily cap for tolls regarding Rhode Island natives is unconstitutional, as it gives some truckers, those headquartered in the Ocean State, a competitive advantage over truckers from other states, standing in direct contrast with the Commerce Clause. These will be removed, to the chagrin of Rhode Island drivers.
Conclusion
The most likely next step is for the plaintiffs to appeal to the Supreme Court themselves, which will ultimately decide whether or not to take the case. Because of how many cases arrive on their doorstep each year, the Supreme Court will likely not hear the case if it initially believes it will rule with the appellate court, perhaps like what happened with the California AB-5 case. Hopefully we will not have to wait an additional two years for this saga to come to a close!
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