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Plaquemines tolling: committee adopts customer‑service, fee limits after testimony about high bills
Summary
After extended testimony from parish officials and residents, the Senate Transportation committee adopted an amendment requiring customer‑service centers near toll facilities and moved HB896 forward to help limit administrative and billing fees that produced unusually large invoices for local drivers.
The Senate Committee on Transportation and Public Works on Thursday adopted an amendment to House Bill 896 aimed at curbing what parish officials described as excessive tolling invoices and improving customer service near toll facilities.
The bill’s sponsor framed HB896 as a consumer‑protection and statutory‑cleanup measure after consumers in Plaquemines Parish received recurring, large bills tied to crossings of a privately operated bridge. The sponsor told the committee that, in some cases, drivers were billed $57.10 for a single crossing that carried an advertised $1.13 toll because billing practices added multiple per‑crossing charges, a $25 administrative fee and additional processing charges.
‘‘You’d get a bill thinking that you’re gonna get charged for a dollar 13, but you’d actually get a bill for $57.10 because that would include $2.26 for each crossing, plus a $25 admin fee for each crossing... which is crazy,’’ the sponsor told the committee.
The adopted amendment (set 33‑88) requires a customer service facility near toll sites so residents can obtain tags and resolve account issues without traveling long distances, and it includes language intended to limit or clarify administrative fee practices (the sponsor cited Texas a comparison for an $48 per‑year cap on certain administrative charges). The sponsor and parish officials noted litigation is pending in some cases and said retroactive relief may be legally complicated; the committee did not adopt retroactive language but asked staff and DOTD to continue coordination.
Parish leaders and business groups testified in support. Keith Hinkley, the parish president, told the committee that Plaquemines Parish is geographically long and that many residents face lengthy trips to reach existing tag or customer‑service centers. Witnesses said tolls and filing fees damaged small businesses and household finances during a period where some residents and businesses received multiple large invoices.
Committee members debated whether statutory reform could or should be made retroactive, and whether a private operator is subject to the Administrative Procedure Act. Committee members adopted the amendment and reported HB896 as amended without objection.
What’s next: The committee reported HB896 as amended; staff will continue coordination with DOTD and stakeholders, and any litigation or retroactivity issues will proceed outside the committee record.
