NASHVILLE, TN. Truck stop operators and trucking company executives should try to make more direct and personal connections with their state legislature representatives, according to Richard Alloway, in order to drive home how their businesses generate jobs and tax revenues. And he should know, for he is one.
As a Republican Pennsylvania state senator for the 33rd district, Alloway – a lawyer by trade – spoke here at NATSO Connect, the annual convention of the trade group formerly known as the National Association of Truck Stop Operators, to encourage truck stop operators to get more involved in politics at the “local level,” in his words.
“You are a business owner and the policies we are working on are going to directly affect your business,” Alloway said.
“In a lot of ways we have more impact that the U.S. Congress,” he explained to Fleet Owner. “That’s why the local business input matters. I guarantee as a local business person you’ll be seen by your [state] legislative representative; if you vote here, pay taxes here, and employ people here, you’ll be seen.”
That’s important because not every state legislative representative is fully cognizant of all the different businesses involved in trucking, he stressed. “Attending this show was an eye-opener for me,” Alloway said.
It’s also important as more transportation funding issues are being pushed down to the state level, he noted. For example, Pennsylvania enacted a sweeping three-stage increase in state fuel taxes five years ago – increases that only stopped taking effect in early 2017 – to generate funds for roadway expansion and upkeep.
“I voted for it and I heard about it from my constituents, let me tell you,” he said. “But it is what we needed to do to get the roads back into shape.”
