NJ, NY lawmakers propose legislation to lower toll violation fees
If the bill goes into effect, drivers who receive fewer than two violations in a 90-day period would be liable only for the toll itself.
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Lawmakers in New Jersey and New York are introducing legislation to curb fees for toll violations.
If the bill goes into effect, drivers who receive fewer than two violations in a 90-day period would be liable only for the toll itself, not an additional fee of $50 per toll.
“This isn't just about inconvenience. It's about a system where a missed toll can often quickly turn into a fee, one that can be far greater than the toll itself,” says Republican state Assemblyman Paul Kanitra. “Too often, the people hit hardest are not repeat offenders. They're ordinary drivers who made a mistake or were caught in a system failure. That's not how the system was meant to work."
For drivers with more than two violations, the law would require any fee to be in line with the real cost of processing violations.
"With modern license plate readers, integrated data systems, and new AI technologies, we should be driving costs down and not inflating them," Kanitra said.
Kanitra and his counterpart in the New York state Senate, Monica Martinez, announced the legislation for their respective states Friday afternoon.
"It's a scam. They're running a game to make their money, and they're doing it well, I guess," said New Jersey driver Calvin Nwosu. "The toll itself will be like $6 or like $5 and then the fees will be $50 in administrative fees, and then in order to waive it, you have to wait on a two hour hold to get it waived."
A representative for Port Authority said the fee goes toward costs like staffing, mailing, collections, and legal work.
Some drivers, though, tell News 12 they believe the current fees are working.
"You do have to keep the scofflaws at bay, and sometimes a fine like that is what it takes to get through to them," said NJ driver Peter McCarthy.
