Gov. Ron Desantis suggests eliminating tolls for Florida residents

No more tolls for Florida residents? Gov. Ron DeSantis floated the idea Wednesday during the final Florida cabinet meeting of the year.

During the meeting, the governor suggested eliminating tolls for residents.

"And I was just thinking, we’re knocking out tax-payer-supported debt, and I know that other people kind of have purview over this, but I’d love to be able to knock out the tolls and stuff that people are paying," DeSantis said. 

DeSantis said that out-of-state visitors or tourists could foot the bill instead and give Floridians a "break." 

"Look, you could charge the visitors, and they could probably support it all and give our Florida residents a break," he said. "I think that would be really good."

"We’ll take a look at that, governor," said Ben Watkins, Director of the Florida Division of Bond Finance, in response to DeSantis’ suggestion. 

DeSantis didn't provide details about how a new toll collection model would work.

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Florida's toll road

Florida has more than 700 miles of toll roads, according to state data.  The largest toll system in the state is Florida's Turnpike, which consists of 483 miles of limited-access toll facilities. 

The Turnpike system collected nearly $1.4 billion in operating revenue last year, according to a recent report from Florida's Turnpike System. 

Tolls collected on the Turnpike and other toll roads are used to fund maintenance and operation of the toll roads. The money is also used for construction projects such as new highways or updates to existing roads. 

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Previous measures to give Floridians toll relief

The state previously offered a one-year toll relief program. Under the program, Florida residents received a 50% credit on 35 or more toll transactions a month.

In its first year, the program benefited more than 1.2 million Floridians, with an estimated total savings of more $470 million, according to the Florida Department of Transportation. The program was extended last year and expired in March of this year.

The governor has also suspended tolls during emergency situations and hurricanes.