Daily News Briefs, August 21, 2024

Several New Jersey Lawmakers Propose State Tax Deductions For Tolls

NJ.com reports in depth on proposals by several lawmakers to give state income tax breaks to New Jersey motorists who’ve experienced a series of toll rate increases. “The deductible amounts vary, according to drafts of the various bills. But the idea of allowing drivers to write off tolls on their state income taxes has faced a slippery legislative road, failing to gain traction in New Jersey in past years and in other states. One of the only two states in the nation that allowed state tax deductions for drivers who paid tolls by E-ZPass [that was West Virginia] repealed it in 2021.” According to the article, “Massachusetts remains the only state that still allows deduction of tolls and transit fares from state income tax if they exceed $150 per person and with a maximum deduction of $750 since 2006.”

Proposed New Jersey bills cited by NJ.com are S520, A764, A2600, and S514. One thing they have in common is that they would disallow deductions for tolls claimed as reimbursed business expenses. NBC News New York  has a report on S520. Both articles note the tax deduction idea isn’t new and similar legislation failed to gain approval in earlier legislative sessions.

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US House Bill Would Increase Vessel Owners' Monetary Liability For Key Bridge Collapse

Transportation Today reports on the recent introduction of HR 9348, the “Justice for Victims of Foreign Vessel Accidents Act,” by two members of the US House. The bill was inspired by the ship collision that caused the collapse of the Maryland Transportation Authority’s Francis Scott Key toll bridge in March. Under current law adopted in 1851, a ship owner may petition a federal court to limit its liability for damages to the value of the vessel and its cargo, minus expenses. The owners of the ship involved in the March collision have taken advantage of that statute.

The new bill, which would be retroactive to the day before the Maryland incident, would substantially increase the liability limit for foreign-flagged vessels while maintaining the current liability threshold for US-flagged vessels, which are subject to regulatory inspections.

In a news release announcing the introduction of HR 9348, one of the sponsors, Representative John Garamendi (D-CA 8) commented, “If the foreign owners of the cargo vessel [Dalia] that took down the [Key Bridge] think they can leave American taxpayers holding the bag, I have a message for them: you broke it, you bought it. Access to America’s ports and our consumers is a privilege, not a right. If the foreign owners of the Dalia want to keep that privilege, they can break out their checkbooks, call their insurance company, and pay their fair share of the bridge replacement costs and compensation to the families of the six workers who died tragically that day.”

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Golden Gate Bridge Suicide Deterrent Is Saving Lives

Eight months following its completion, the Golden Gate Bridge’s $224 million “suicide deterrent net” is proving to be an effective deterrent, The San Francisco Standard reports. So far this year, the number of deaths by suicide, 4, is just 20 percent of the annual average. There was one three-month period when, for the first time in the bridge’s history, there were no suicides. The barrier is also acting as a deterrent to suicide attempts, something it was expressly designed to do. According to bridge district spokesperson Paolo Cosulich-Schwartz, “In a typical year before the net, our staff would successfully intervene with between 150 to 200 people,” however, over the first seven months of 2024, there have been just 66 successful interventions. The article looks at the barrier’s origin and design, and gets an insight into its efficacy from a suicide prevention advocate who survived a leap from the bridge in 2000.

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These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.

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