Del. Patrick L. McDonough will announce Tuesday his plan to freeze highway tolls and secure transportation funding.
McDonough (R-Dist. 7) of Middle River wants to divert the power to set toll rates from the Maryland Transportation Authority to the Maryland General Assembly while locking up the Transportation Trust Fund, which has been raided in recent years to balance the state budget.
The legislation would take transportation decisions out of the hands of bureaucrats, said McDonough, who also said he has pre-filed the bill to be part of the special session that will be called this fall to handle congressional redistricting.
Last month, the authority proposed statewide toll increases to raise $77 million, including a hike from $2.50 to $5 to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, starting Oct. 1. If the plan is adopted, that rate would increase to $8 in 2013.
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