New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu is not taking kindly to the idea of tolling drivers entering Massachusetts at the state border, a proposal that was floated last week by Bay State Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt during an advocacy event.
Tibbits-Nutt said a group tasked with developing recommendations for a long-term, sustainable transportation finance plan was discussing charging drivers at the state border in an effort to support road, rail, and transit systems throughout Massachusetts.
The concept has since drawn criticism from conservatives.
“Looks like Massachusetts has found yet another way to unnecessarily take your money,” Sununu, a Republican, said in a statement to the Herald on Friday.
“All the more reason for more Massachusetts residents to make the permanent move to New Hampshire,” the Granite State governor added. “The Live Free or Die state continues to be the place to be.”
The self-described “unfiltered” remarks from Tibbits-Nutt pricked up some ears on Beacon Hill, where reports from task forces and commissions can often come and go with little fanfare. The transportation secretary said this group is “actually different because we’re not censoring” conversations.
During an event hosted by WalkMassachusetts, she also touched on charging transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft more, upping the cost of package deliveries, tackling speeding on local roads, and charging more for the state payroll tax.
“When I’m talking tolling, I’m talking at the borders. I’m not talking like within Massachusetts. I pay the tolls so it is one of those … where people are like ‘you just want tolls.’ I’m like ‘I pay the toll. This is not in my best interest to raise it.’ But we’re going after all the people who should be giving us money to make our transportation better and our communities better,” she said during remarks first reported by CommonWealth Beacon.
In response to a Herald inquiry, a MassDOT spokesperson said Tibbits-Nutt “was conveying that we need to have difficult conversations about how to make our transportation system work best for everyone.”
“This task force is in its early stages and no decisions have been made about its potential recommendations. Any proposals would be made in collaboration with the Legislature and other stakeholders and would carefully consider any affordability and competitiveness implications,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
The transportation funding task force first met at the end of February and is scheduled to provide a final written report to Gov. Maura Healey by the end of the year.
Tibbits-Nutt also took a shot at pickup truck drivers when asked by an attendee at the event if MassDOT can do anything “to help protect us a little bit from them, or at least disincentivize people from buying them.”
“We can’t price them high enough or put enough fees on them … that’s going to stop the type of person who wants to buy that car, and I am 100% passing judgment on someone who wants to drive basically an 18-wheeler as their personal car, we have no control over it,” Tibbits-Nut said. “We can’t. There’s nothing we can do. At least legally, there’s nothing we can do about it.”
But the transportation secretary did not bat down the idea of raising the vehicle excise tax.
“Oh, I’m going after that,” she said when asked if the state would “touch” the fee. “That’s already on my list. You don’t need to worry about that. That might do it. That’s not a bad idea. I did not agree to it. I just said it’s not a bad idea that I will actually look and see if any other state’s done it.”
Local conservatives criticized Tibbits-Nutt’s remarks.
Massachusetts Republican Party Chair Amy Carnevale said Tibbits-Nutt showed the “true nature” of the Healey administration.
“Already grappling with the burden of unaffordability, the prospect of more tolls, increased taxes on Uber and Lyft rides, Amazon deliveries, and payroll taxes only adds to the struggle of Massachusetts residents. No Massachusetts resident wants that. It’s abundantly clear that the Healey-Driscoll administration’s approach to governance is government versus taxpayer,” Carnevale said in a statement.
Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance spokesman Paul Craney said Tibbits-Nutt’s comments during the event were “simply reprehensible.”
“Decisions to raise taxes, fees, or adding tolling should be made by our elected legislature, not announced by an overzealous, unelected bureaucrat before a special interest advocacy organization,” Craney said in a statement. “The people she’s villainizing are just ordinary people trying to go about their everyday lives. Our state government should make life easier for people, not harder.”
