A group of trade associations led by NATSO recently urged members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to oppose legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) that would permit convenience stores and restaurants at interstate rest areas.
Banks’ bill, H.R. 1990, seeks to alter federal law to expand the types of commercial activities allowed at rest areas along the Interstate Highway System, claiming the added activity would generate more infrastructure funds.
In their April 7 letter, NATSO and its partner trade associations said “that H.R. 1990 is ill-conceived and counter-productive, creating far more problems than it would solve.”
The letter continued to state that the reliability of exit-based businesses and the jobs they support are crucial to the state and local communities that surround them. Losing the tax revenues from those businesses, should they close as a result of the legislation, would require the towns and counties relying on the generated economic activity to make up for the missing tax revenues elsewhere.
Additionally, the group explained the impact of commercial food sales at the rest areas on the blind entrepreneurs, who currently have priority for installing and operating vending machines at interstate rest areas.
“Many blind entrepreneurs throughout the country rely on this exception to the ban on rest area commercialization to earn a living, support their families, and realize the American dream,” the letter said.
Signees of the letter included NATSO, the National Federation of the Blind, National Association of Convenience Stores, National Council of Chain Restaurants, Petroleum Marketers Association of America, and the Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America.