The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) recently filed a class action complaint against Gov. Eric Holcomb, Indiana Department of Transportation Commissioner Joe McGuinness, the Indiana Toll Road Concession Co. and the Indiana Finance Authority.
The lawsuit, filed in Federal District Court in Indianapolis, alleges the 35 percent toll increase implemented in October on drivers of heavy vehicles traveling the Indiana Toll Road violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution and are excessive and discriminatory.
The purpose of the toll increase is to raise $1 billion for the state’s Next Level Connections Program.
The lawsuit claims toll revenue is being used to subsidize services and facilities provided that have no relationship to the Indiana Toll Road.
OOIDA requests an injunction to stop the toll and for refunds to be remitted for tolls paid since October.
“The governor has admitted publicly that the increased tolls on truckers were intended for out-of-state users,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer said. “He seems to think that, in his own words, ‘capturing other people’s money’ is okay. He would be very wrong about that. Truckers are not rolling piggy banks.”
The state is putting its bad decisions and financial problems on the shoulders of truckers, Spencer said.