The Rhode Island Trucking Association, Inc. (RITA) is decrying Governor Dan McKee’s call for a two-cent reduction in fuel tax in light of Mckee’s plans to reinstate truck-only tolls in 2027.

“The Governor is leaning on affordability as a theme for his reelection, but truck tolls and affordability are incompatible.  A token, two-cent reduction in fuel tax is ‘penny-foolish’ and inconsequential when compared to the pain all Rhode Islanders will feel if uncapped, truck-tolls are reinstated”, said RITA President Chris Maxwell.

In 2024, the First Circuit Court of Appeals partially overturned Judge William Smith’s 2022 decision and allowed tractor-trailer tolls to resume, but without protective caps that were a cornerstone of the 2016 legislation set forth by then-Governor Gina Raimondo, who sought to protect the state’s small businesses that operate trucks from amassing repeated and unsustainable tolls.

“Trucks move 88% of everything we consume and 98% of everything our manufacturers produce.  The uncapped tolling program will place a 94% burden on our supply chain, our businesses and, most importantly, the consumer.”

“The McKee Tolls will not be kind to Rhode Island.  The math is simple: the Governor is giving back $9 million one-time with one hand while planning to take $40 million annually with the other,” Maxwell added.