IDS 1: Toll Road Abolishment Act (Passed)

[Dereich]

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Sponsor: Maxwell

[Maxwell]

It's time for the IDS to get rid of toll roads. I am here to answer questions and hear out alternative revenue sources in lieu of this, but I think this is the best thing we can do.

[Maxwell]

Are some of these toll roads owned by private firms?

this was something that I proposed and it failed in the Midwest. I can't imagine it is here, but I will go through the law books.

[windjammer]

It's time for the IDS to get rid of toll roads. I am here to answer questions and hear out alternative revenue sources in lieu of this, but I think this is the best thing we can do.

You want to end toll roads?

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I'm definitely going to need to see the budgetary impact of this, but putting that aside, I'm not sure if eliminating toll roads is the best idea.  Other regions still have tolls and I don't think it's fair to give people traveling through here from those regions a free ride while our citizens continue to fund their roads.  I also think any long-term impact this will have on our economy will be dismal, so I don't see the urgency for us to pass this bill.

[Maxwell]

I'm definitely going to need to see the budgetary impact of this, but putting that aside, I'm not sure if eliminating toll roads is the best idea.  Other regions still have tolls and I don't think it's fair to give people traveling through here from those regions a free ride while our citizens continue to fund their roads.  I also think any long-term impact this will have on our economy will be dismal, so I don't see the urgency for us to pass this bill.

I think this bill encourages people to come here, and they will spend money elsewhere. I agree it's a small change, but I think it will be a positive change. However, I am willing to use this bill to talk about toll roads in general, and what we should do about them or with them, because I think there should be a change in the future, even if this bill may go too far for some.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I'll let others chime in, but at the moment I'm very much against this bill.  We've already fumbled with the budget enough and I'm very uncomfortable with the idea of Southerners paying for other regions' roads while getting nothing in return.

We are going to need to see some budget numbers no matter what, though.

[Dereich]

I don't like the idea of this bill. Toll roads seem like a really good idea to me (even if I have bad experiences having to go through them). They do a really good job of charging most to those who both use the services most and can best afford them. From my experiences you never HAVE to take a toll road, what you end up paying for is nothing more than a convenience cost. Plus, toll roads are almost always better maintained than normal roads and the money goes (I think) to fund our infrastructure and transportation budgets, which are now in dire straits because of recent cuts.

[Maxwell]

I looked into some research, while I don't have anything exact, An elimination of Texas 103 toll road would cost the Government $3 Billion dollars. likely abolishing toll roads all together in the IDS would cost us a lot more. I'm starting to turn against my own idea, since any cuts would be to the bone of a lot of these programs we have.

Is there anything we can do instead here? I'll be reading up on toll roads to see anything we could change. If nothing, then I'm wondering what the procedure is for pulling a bill and moving on to the next big thing.

[Hamster]

Toll roads are awful, please get rid of them.

[Maxwell]

Do you guys in other states have a system similar to PikePass? You can put money into a card and that pays for tolls? We could just eventually transfer to a system where we only do this.

https://www.pikepass.com/

[Dereich]

You can buy a sunpass here that does the same thing. What did you have in mind?

[Maxwell]

I had in mind creating an Infrastructure Department website where people can buy passes, and eventually making that the system in which toll roads are paid.

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I want to see if there's anything else I can add to make this better.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I thought all the states already had a 'pass' system.  Those are typically bought by people who need to frequently cross state lines to get to work, if I'm not mistaken.

How would this amendment ensure that the region still gets revenue from people who use our roads?

[Maxwell]

I thought all the states already had a 'pass' system.  Those are typically bought by people who need to frequently cross state lines to get to work, if I'm not mistaken.

I was thinking of doing a regional pass system then.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I thought all the states already had a 'pass' system.  Those are typically bought by people who need to frequently cross state lines to get to work, if I'm not mistaken.

I was thinking of doing a regional pass system then.

Would that be any different from the status quo?  I might be completely wrong about this, but I always figured that each individual state in Atlasia, for the sake of aesthetics, had its own governing body along with towns and municipalities, just with very limited power.

[Maxwell]

I thought all the states already had a 'pass' system.  Those are typically bought by people who need to frequently cross state lines to get to work, if I'm not mistaken.

I was thinking of doing a regional pass system then.

Would that be any different from the status quo?  I might be completely wrong about this, but I always figured that each individual state in Atlasia, for the sake of aesthetics, had its own governing body along with towns and municipalities, just with very limited power.

Regions seem to function as state governments in this scenario, so maybe bringing it up a level so that it makes more sense? The only difference would be, instead of being in the states hands, it would be in the regions hands.

I'm kind of running out of ideas on this topic.

[Dereich]

I can think of one thing that would make the pass idea make sense; how about we increase the number of toll roads and use them as the primary funding method of infrastructure? With a consolidated pass system it'd be a lot easier to handle and would continue charging more for those who use roads most. The only problem is its kind of literally exactly the opposite of where this bill intended to go

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Maxwell, what do you think of Dereich's suggestion?

[Maxwell]

Maybe this is purely from a game perspective, but I'd be supportive of that change. Status Quo is a no go, and I think this expansion may make our roads better.

[Maxwell]

Amending the bill by replacing the original text with this:

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[Dereich]

Wonderful! Debate on this has gone on for quite a while now, so if there are no more comments in the next few hours I'll begin the vote.

[Dereich]

Seeing no further debate I bring this bill to a vote. Legislators have 48 hours to vote aye, nay or to abstain.

Final Text:

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[Maxwell]

Changing the title of this thread would be helpful.

Aye, change either direction on this issue is fine for me.

[Oak Hills]

Nay.