Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,I,C-Batavia) is co-sponsoring legislation to create the Thruway Authority Accountability Act, a measure to rein in the agency’s irresponsible spending and disregard for toll-payers. The bill would merge, audit and restructure the authority, which has shown a dangerous indifference toward the families and businesses that rely on New York’s highways. Since proposing an astronomical 45 percent toll hike on commercial trucks over the summer, the Thruway Authority has wavered under pressure from business advocates and lawmakers, like Hawley, who have sounded the alarm and waged a public battle against the proposed increase.

“When faced with fiscal challenges, rather than looking inward and reining in spending like New York’s families and businesses have, the Thruway Authority has tried to pass the buck onto toll-payers to bail out its financial mismanagement,” said Hawley. “This rudderless bureaucracy has proven that the Authority cannot be trusted to keep its fiscal house in order without an overhaul of the way it does business. To protect the businesses that create jobs through the commerce they conduct via New York’s highways, we must reform the state’s approach to maintaining these critical roads.”

The bill would merge the Thruway Authority with the state Department of Transportation (DOT) and create a new Thruway Authority board featuring members with transportation expertise. A forensic audit of the Thruway’s finances would be conducted every three years and any proposed toll increases would be identified and explained in DOT’s budget.