A quartet of current and former state legislators have entered the legal battle against Gridlock Gov. Hochul’s decision to pause congestion pricing, arguing that the governor overstepped her authority by halting the toll without legislative approval. In a brief filed in support of the City Club of New York’s lawsuit, the legislators emphasized that the power to cancel the toll was never granted to Hochul or any governor by the legislature.
Assembly Members Phil Steck (D-Schenectady) and Andrew Hevesi (D-Queens), state Sen. Julia Salazar (D-Brooklyn), and former Assembly Member Dick Gottfried (D-Manhattan) all signed the document, pointing out that the 2019 law authorizing congestion pricing did not give the governor the authority to interfere with the tolling plan. They highlighted the legislative history of public authorities in New York, noting that elected officials are typically given specific powers over these entities through explicit statutory text.
During the 2019 debate on congestion pricing, lawmakers discussed the toll as being under the purview of the Traffic Mobility Review Board and the MTA, with no mention of gubernatorial control. The legislators cited examples of other public authorities where governors were granted veto power over certain decisions, but such provisions were absent in the Traffic Mobility Act.
Furthermore, the legislators argued that while elected officials can influence the MTA and pass laws affecting the agency, the MTA Board is governed by state law mandating that its members act in the authority’s best interests. Hochul’s decision to pause congestion pricing was seen as an overreach, imposing her own policy preferences on an independent authority tasked with implementing the tolling plan.
Legal experts have criticized Hochul’s actions as arbitrary and capricious, suggesting that they do not align with rational governance principles. The governor’s rationale for the pause, citing cost-of-living concerns and comparisons to other cities‘ congestion pricing schemes, has not been backed by a legal basis. Hochul’s contradictory statements about her authority over congestion pricing have raised concerns about transparency and accountability in decision-making.
If the court were to uphold Hochul’s pause on congestion pricing, the legislators warned that it could set a dangerous precedent for gubernatorial interference in MTA decisions. This hybrid system of control, they argued, would leave voters in the dark about who truly governs transportation infrastructure in the state.
Despite requests for comment, representatives for Gov. Hochul did not respond to inquiries about the lawsuit. The legal battle over congestion pricing continues to unfold, with the legislators and the City Club of New York challenging the governor’s unilateral decision to pause the toll without legislative approval.