AN ACT RELATING TO HIGHWAYS -- RHODE ISLAND TURNPIKE AND BRIDGE AUTHORITY

SB 2541 repeals the legal authority allowing the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority to collect tolls on state roads and bridges. This directly affects the Authority and drivers using the Newport Bridge, Mount Hope Bridge, Sakonnet River Bridge, Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge, and the turnpike. The bill removes the provision that permitted the Authority to "fix and revise... tolls for transit" over these facilities, ending the legal basis for toll collection. The change would require the Authority to operate these infrastructure projects without toll revenue, shifting funding mechanisms. No new tolls or changes to existing toll rates are involved - only the repeal of the underlying authorization.