relative to toll rate adjustments for the New Hampshire turnpike system to support the 2027-2036 ten-year transportation plan

The Senate version required the statewide transportation improvement program to include a comparison of current toll rates against the DOT project inflation rate for review by the governor's advisory commission and legislature. The House removed this entirely.

The House added a new provision requiring the Department of Transportation to issue, at no cost, a New Hampshire E-Z Pass transponder to anyone who opens or currently maintains a funded NH E-Z Pass account if requested, for a period of 210 days from the effective date.

Paragraph III (E-Z Pass rates) was reworded from 'shall remain current as of the effective date of this statute and at a minimum as follows' to 'shall be based on toll plaza and vehicle classification...the minimum toll rates shall be as follows.' This removes the 'remain current' language and reframes the rates as minimums tied to the classification system.

The Senate version applied higher toll rates to vehicles 'not registered to a funded New Hampshire E-Z Pass account.' The House broadened this to 'vehicles using the New Hampshire electronic toll system not listed on a funded New Hampshire E-Z Pass account,' which captures a wider set of users including those with unfunded or non-NH E-Z Pass accounts on the NH system.

Vehicle classification was changed from being defined by 'Tra 701.02(j) of the New Hampshire administrative rules' to being defined as 'the classification of vehicles by type, height, number of axles, and dual tires established by the commissioner of transportation in rules adopted under RSA 541-A.' This adds height as a classification factor and shifts the legal authority.

The House added explicit 'Beginning January 1, 2027' effective dates before both the cash/non-E-Z Pass rate table (paragraph II) and the E-Z Pass minimum rate table (paragraph III). The Senate version had no such date attached to the rate tables.

The Senate version set a single effective date of 90 days after passage. The House split this: Section 3 (repeal of the E-Z Pass discount in RSA 237:11, V) takes effect December 1, 2026, and the remainder of the act takes effect January 1, 2027.

Fiscal note revenue estimates were revised upward: FY 2027 from $26.4 million to $27.7 million, FY 2028 from $53.2 million to $56.2 million, and FY 2029 from $53.8 million to $56.8 million. The methodology assumptions were also revised, removing the '14 days to pay' cash-payer assumption and simplifying the scenario table.

The bill's scope narrowed from three components (toll increases, frequent customer discount, I-93 conveyance) to two (toll rate restructuring and inflation-based toll reviews). The I-93 Concord conveyance section was removed entirely.

Toll rates were restructured from simple flat increases ($1.00, $0.75, $0.50) into a detailed statutory schedule with 12 vehicle classes at each of 7 plazas, with separate rate tables for cash/non-NH E-ZPass users (higher) and NH E-ZPass funded account users (lower, set at current rates as minimums).

A new paragraph (II-a) added to RSA 228:99 requires the statewide transportation improvement program to include a comparison of current toll rates against DOT's projected inflation rate for consideration by the governor's advisory commission on intermodal transportation and the legislature.

The frequent customer discount allowing NH E-ZPass users to make up to 40 toll transactions per calendar month without charge was removed. The existing E-Z Pass discount in RSA 237:11, V is also explicitly repealed.

Revenue projections were reduced significantly: FY2027 revenue dropped from $53.3M to $26.4M, FY2028 from $72.9M to $53.2M, and FY2029 from $74.0M to $53.8M. A new expenditure of $232,960 in FY2027 was added for software changes and issuance of approximately 136,000 free transponders to NH E-ZPass customers.

Gender-neutral language was applied throughout, changing 'he shall' to 'he or she shall' in the toll collection and bond payment provisions.