Gov. Kelly Ayotte has vetoed a bill for the state’s 10-year transportation improvement plan, a move that Deputy House Speaker Steven Smith, a Republican, said could jeopardize or delay projects statewide.
“As I stated when I vetoed Senate Bill 627, I do not support raising the tolls,” Ayotte said in a veto message released Friday. “I will continue to focus on making New Hampshire more affordable for all and a destination for tourists in the region.”
Smith was quick to take issue with Ayotte’s veto.
“The governor’s veto of HB2026 is short-sighted and puts critical transportation projects across New Hampshire at risk,” said Smith, a Republican from Charlestown. “These improvements would have been funded through dedicated turnpike revenues, not by increasing taxes on the people of New Hampshire.”
The transportation plan calls for toll rate adjustments to support projects from 2027 to 2036, with the rate adjustments tied to a projected inflation index. The revenue funds the turnpike system in New Hampshire.
Ayotte vetoed a different bill last week that sought to double tolls for out-of-state drivers in New Hampshire. That bill, Senate Bill 627, would have used the toll revenue to support transportation and infrastructure projects in the state’s 10-year improvement plan.
