With state governments still struggling to balance their budgets, several state lawmakers have eyed rest areas as a potential revenue stream. In at least four states, legislators have introduced bills examining the possibility of commercializing rest areas, signaling a heightened interest in this issue. Let’s hope these lawmakers consider the impact of such a policy on local communities and businesses, which would suffer tremendously if commercialization were allowed.
So far in 2010, commercialization bills have been introduced in:
- Virginia – a state which attracted widespread criticism in 2009 for shutting down 23 rest areas. State representative David Nutter introduced legislation (HJ 126) that, if approved, would study the feasibility of rest area commercialization.
- Mississippi - similar legislation has been introduced by state Representative John Mayo (HB 374), calling on Mississippi to investigate the prospects of commercialization.
- Washington - five state senators introduced a bill (SB 6465) allowing full-scale commercialization of rest areas if approved by the federal government.
- Georgia – six state senators introduced legislation (SR 822) urging the Georgia Department of Transportation to seek a waiver from the Federal Highway Administration allowing retail developments at Interstate highway rest areas. The Chair of the Georgia State Transportation Committee has even said he supports a “yard sale” for the state, selling off any land possible.
We recognize that these are tough economic times. But the ban on commercialized rest areas has been good public policy for over 50 years, fostering intense competition among businesses for the services of interstate motorists. Changing this policy now would serve as an act of desperation to combat the short-term challenges of a down economy.