WidenI77 Press Conference Video
This morning, WidenI77 filed suit in Mecklenburg Superior Court to stop the I-77 toll lane project. Following the filing, the group conducted a press conference on the steps of the attorney’s office. That video is above.
The complaint contains twelve separate counts. I’ll talk about the two that I can most easily grasp and articulate.
First, the current plan converts a stretch of an existing general purpose lane into a toll lane. State law allows for this if the number of general purpose lanes remains the same. In other words, a general purpose lane must be added for every one that is converted to a restricted lane. However, for a stretch of I-77 the plan eliminates a general purpose lane. We think that’s a violation of state law.
The second issue is taxation. I-77 toll proponents have been adamant that tolls are not taxes; they are fees-for-use. You pay the toll and use the lane. We disagree. Among other things, a provision in the contract allows NCDOT to collect a percentage of toll revenues. (NCDOT and Cintra are supposed to negotiate the actual percentage before construction begins.) We think sending a percentage of revenue to the government is a tax. That’s significant because the North Carolina Constitution grants taxation powers to the General Assembly, not government agencies. In the current scenario we have an unelected bureaucracy negotiating a de facto tax rate with a private company. We call that taxation without representation. Ultimately, of course, that’s for the courts to decide.
So what’s next? Right now (January 20th) it looks like Cintra is going to miss the January 22nd deadline for obtaining financing. That’s the good news. In fact, if they miss they are supposed to pay NCDOT $15 million in liquidated damages. The bad news is NCDOT can extend the deadline. We’re all but certain that will happen
So we’ll press on with the lawsuit. There are many moving parts to this, and we plan to discuss all the aspects at a series of town halls next month. I hope you can make at least one of them:
February 2, 7pm
Vinyl Pi
15906 Old Statesville Road
Huntersville
February 17, 7pm
Charles Mack Center
215 North Main Street
Mooresville
February 19, 7pm
Waltrip Racing
20310 Chartwell Drive
Cornelius
You can download the filed complaint here:
2015-01-20 Complaint
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