DENVER -- Colorado State Representative Robert Ramirez (R) and State Senator Ellen Roberts (R) have co-sponsored a bill in the Colorado General Assembly that would prohibit the state or any state agency from operating a truckstop, fueling station or convenience store on or near public land, including state highways, toll roads or any other infrastructure supported by state revenues, according to a NATSO report.
The bill also seeks to prohibit the state or any of its agencies from contracting with private entities to establish such businesses.
If adopted, House Bill 12-1136 effectively would prohibit the state from seeking to generate budget revenues through retail sales on public land, the association said.
It does not prohibit the state from maintaining existing interstate public rest areas or constructing new interstate public rest areas. The bill also specifies that the prohibition is not retroactive and does not apply to restaurants or service centers related to a golf course or any souvenir shops that are on or near public land.
Click here to read the full text of the legislation.
In other association news, NATSO, a member of the Partnership to Save Highway Communities representing truckstops and travel plazas, is urging Missouri lawmakers to oppose a proposal to toll Interstate 70 between St. Louis and Kansas City.
In a letter to State Sen. Bill Stouffer (R) and State Rep. Charlie Denison (R), co-chairs of the state's Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight, NATSO said both traditional tolling and public private partnerships negatively impact consumers and interstate businesses that have grown up in towns and communities near interstate exits.
Click here to view the full text of the letter.
NATSO said while it recognized the need to maintain I-70, studies shows that tolls carry astronomically higher capital and overhead expenditures compared with the fuel tax.
NATSO also expressed concern with the structure of public-private partnership deals that typically offer states most of the revenues upfront and that are most often used by states to fix short-term budget woes.
"For highway users and taxpayers, the long-term leases that typically last for 75 to 100 years mean nothing more than tolling without input from elected officials," NATSO said.
Founded in 1960 as the National Association of Truck Stop Operators, Alexandria, Va.-based NATSO represents the industry on legislative and regulatory matters; serves as the official source of information on the diverse travel plaza and truckstop industry, provides education to its members, conducts an annual convention and trade show and supports efforts to generally improve the business climate in which its members operate.
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