Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,I,C-Batavia)  wrote to Governor Andrew Cuomo today, strongly encouraging the governor to stop the Thruway Authority Board from increasing tolls by 45 percent on commercial trucks with three axles or more. The assemblyman says the measure would slow job creation and increase costs to taxpayers and consumers alike.

In a letter to the govenor, Hawley wrote:

Thruway Authority Chairman Howard Milstein considers the 45-percent hike a "modest increase." A 45-percent spike in tolls is anything but a modest increase. In Western New York, this proposal would increase a trip between Buffalo and New York City for applicable trucks to roughly $127. The $39 cost increase will be passed onto consumers as companies increase the price of their goods in order to recoup the increased cost of doing business.

Trucks will be forced onto local roads in an attempt to avoid the tolls, causing the need for expensive repairs to local roadways -- placing, once again, the expense on the backs of local taxpayers. In addition, driving hazards will increase by adding more large trucks to local traffic.

This proposal will eliminate jobs for New Yorkers as trucking companies move out of the state and avoid doing business in New York entirely. As elected officials, it is our responsibility to work to reverse the irresponsible, job-killing taxes and fees that have plagued our state for years. We need to concentrate our efforts to reopen the "New" New York and empasize we are "Open" for business!