§ 13 — Toll roads, bridges and tunnels; authority to collect tolls; limitations; use of revenue

Section 13. (a) The department may charge and collect and, from time to time, fix and revise tolls for transit over the turnpike and the different parts or sections thereof, subject to such classifications of vehicles and manners of collection as the department determines desirable and subject to section 3. Such tolls shall be so fixed and adjusted as to provide, at a minimum, funds sufficient with other revenues, if any, to pay: (i) costs incurred in furtherance of this chapter related to the turnpike including, but not limited to, the cost of owning, maintaining, repairing, reconstructing, improving, rehabilitating, policing, using, administering, controlling and operating the turnpike; and (ii) the principal of, redemption premium, if any, and the interest on notes or bonds relating to the turnpike as the same shall become due and payable and to create and maintain reserves established for any of the department's corporate purposes. Such tolls shall not be subject to supervision, regulation, approval or disapproval by any department, division, commission, board, bureau or agency of the commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof. The department shall maintain the confidentiality of all information including, but not limited to, photographs or other recorded images and credit and account data relative to account holders who participate in its electronic toll collection system. Such information shall not be a public record under clause Twenty-sixth of section 7 of chapter 4 or section 10 of chapter 66 and shall be used for enforcement purposes only with respect to toll collection regulations. An account holder may, upon written request to the department, have access to all information pertaining solely to the account holder. For each violation of applicable department regulations related to electronic toll collection, a violation notice shall be sent to the registered owner of the vehicle in violation. The notice shall include the registration number of the vehicle, the state of issuance of such registration and the date, time and place of the violation. The notice may be based, in whole or in part, upon inspection of any photographic or other recorded image of a vehicle and the written certification by a state police officer or other person employed by or under contract with the department or its electronic toll collection system contractor that it is so based shall be prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein and shall be admissible in any administrative or judicial proceeding to adjudicate the liability for such violation. The department shall devise and implement a fair and reasonable fee structure to charge and collect tolls for transit over the turnpike between interchange 1 in the town of West Stockbridge and interchange 6 in the city of Springfield at interstate highway route 291.(b) The department may charge and collect and, from time to time, fix and revise tolls for transit over or through the metropolitan highway system or any part thereof subject to such classifications of vehicles and manners of collection as the department determines desirable and subject to clause (j) of section 4. Such tolls shall be so fixed and adjusted as to provide, at a minimum, a fund sufficient with other revenues, if any, to pay: (i) costs incurred in furtherance of this chapter related to the metropolitan highway system including, but not limited to, the cost of owning, constructing, maintaining, repairing, reconstructing, improving, rehabilitating, policing, using, administering, controlling and operating the metropolitan highway system; and (ii) the principal of, redemption premium, if any, and the interest on notes or bonds relating to the metropolitan highway system as the same shall become due and payable and to create and maintain reserves established for any of the department's corporate purposes. The department shall not charge or collect a toll for transit through the Callahan tunnel or the Sumner tunnel or over the Tobin memorial bridge or through the Ted Williams tunnel by official emergency vehicles of the commonwealth or any municipality, political subdivision or instrumentality thereof, while such vehicles are on official business; provided, however, that the department may not charge and collect tolls for transit through the Callahan tunnel, the Sumner tunnel or the Ted Williams tunnel by private passenger vehicles registered in the East Boston section of the city of Boston or the South Boston section of the city of Boston, as the Boston transportation department has determined the geographical boundaries of said sections of Boston, that are greater than the tolls in effect for such vehicles registered in said East Boston section at existing tunnel toll facilities on the effective date of section 14 of chapter 102 of the acts of 1995; provided, further, that the department may not charge and collect tolls for transit through the Callahan or Sumner tunnels to private passenger vehicles registered in the North End section of the city of Boston, as the Boston transportation department has determined the geographical boundaries of such section, that are greater than the tolls in effect for such transit through either the Sumner tunnel or Callahan tunnel for such vehicles on the effective date of said section 14 of said chapter 102; provided further, that the department shall continue operation of the 50 per cent toll discount program for account holders who participate in the department's electronic toll collection system approved by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority board of directors on June 28, 2002 and provided in section 45 of chapter 246 of the acts of 2002 and such 50 per cent discount shall be applied to all toll increases implemented after the effective date of this act; and provided further, that the tolls collected for transit over or through the Maurice J. Tobin Memorial Bridge by private passenger vehicles registered in the city of Chelsea or the Charlestown neighborhood of the city of Boston, as the Boston transportation department has determined the geographical boundaries of such section, shall not be greater than the tolls in effect for such vehicles as of January 1, 2009 pursuant to the Resident Commuter Permit Program, so called. The department shall maintain the confidentiality of all information including, but not limited to, photographs or other recorded images and credit and account data, relative to account holders who participate in its electronic toll collection system. Such information shall not be a public record under clause Twenty-sixth of section 7 of chapter 4 or section 10 of chapter 66 and shall be used for enforcement purposes only with respect to toll collection regulations. An account holder may, upon written request to the department, have access to all information pertaining solely to the account holder. For each violation of applicable department regulations related to electronic toll collection, a violation notice shall be sent to the registered owner of the vehicle in violation. The notice shall include the registration number of the vehicle, the state of issuance of such registration and the date, time and place of the violation. The notice may be based, in whole or in part, upon inspection of any photographic or other recorded image of a vehicle and the written certification by a state police officer or other person employed by or under contract with the department or its electronic toll collection system contractor that it is so based shall be prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein and shall be admissible in any administrative or judicial proceeding to adjudicate the liability for such violation.(c) All revenue received from tolls, rates, fees, rentals and other charges for transit over or through all tolled roads, bridges or tunnels shall be applied exclusively to: (i) the payment of existing debt service on such tolled roads; and (ii) the cost of owning, maintaining, repairing, reconstructing, improving, rehabilitating, policing, using, administering, controlling and operating such tolled roads.