A bill filed in the N.C. Senate earlier this month would remove all tolls for ferry use in North Carolina.

Senate Bill 307, if passed and signed into law, also would appropriate $5 million annually from the state’s highway fund to the N.C. Ferry Division’s capital account. If enacted, the legislation would take effect July 1.

The bill’s primary sponsors, Sen. Bill Cook, who represents the 1^st District in the state Senate, and Sen. Norman Sanderson, who represents the 2^nd District in the state Senate, filed the bill March 17. The next day, it was approved on its first reading and referred to the Committee on Rule and Operations the next day.

They filed a similar bill last year, but to no avail.

“Even if all the ferry routes were tolled, it would not generate that much revenue when considering the cost of collecting the toll. There are several other alternatives to ferry tolling such as advertising or concession contracts that could make up for the lost in revenue,” Cook wrote in an email. “I will continue to advocate for responsible alternatives to ferry tolling on behalf of the constituents in Senate District 1. I am opposed to any type of a ferry tax, and I have been opposed to the institution of tolls or increasing tolls on all ferry routes in North Carolina since beginning my legislative career.”

A similar bill (House Bill 93) was filed by state Reps. Michael Speciale, who represents the 3^rd District in the state House, and John A. Torbett, who represents the 108^th District in the state House, on Feb. 16. It was approved on its first reading and referred to the House’s Committee on Transportation and to the Appropriations Committee, if it received a favorable response in the Committee on Transportation.

If each chamber of the Legislature approves its respective bill on the issue, any differences between the two bills would be worked out by a panel comprised of House and Senate members.

Some Republicans in the state Senate want to privatize the state’s ferry system. Sens. Bill Rabon from Southport, Kathy Harrington of Gastonia and Wesley Meredith of Fayetteville filed a bill that states, “The General Assembly finds that the privatization of the North Carolina Ferry System would provide a more cost-effective service model for the citizens of the State.” The bill also states the N.C. Board of Transportation shall solicit requests for information concerning the privatization of the ferry system and report to the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee and Fiscal Research Division on the results of its RFI request no later than Feb. 1, 2016, and if it is more cost-effective to privatize the ferry system.

Rabon is chairman of the Senate’s Transportation Committee, with Harrington and Meredith serving as vice chairman of the panel.

The bill, Senate Bill 382, was filed Tuesday.

In recent years, Rabon, Harrington and other Senate leaders have advocated for reducing or eliminating the state’s subsidies for the ferries. North Carolina operates the second-largest ferry system in the nation.

Supporters of the state’s ferry system contend it is an extension of the state’s highway system and should be funded with money generated by the state’s gasoline tax and other state revenue sources.

During a hearing in February 2014, many area residents made it clear they oppose tolls for the Bayview-Aurora ferry. Some of them also oppose any tolls on ferries.

The ferry-toll issue is one that’s attracted much interest, especially in coastal areas, during the past several years. In 2011, the Legislature ordered tolls for all ferry routes. Since then, the issue has been acted upon in the General Assembly, with reactions resulting in delays in implementing tolls on all ferry routes. Some ferry routes have had tolls for years.

In 2013, the General Assembly mandated that new ferry acquisitions be funded through Strategic Transportation Initiative funding or by revenue-raising initiatives such as tolling, advertising and concessions. The General Assembly also mandated that all tolling increases be requested by the regional Rural Planning Organizations or Metropolitan Planning Organizations before being approved by the Board of Transportation. In its December 2013 meeting, the Board of Transportation approved a tolling methodology which tolls routes by distance travelled and raises approximately $5 million a year for ferry replacement. This methodology included the establishment of tolls on the Hatteras-Ocracoke, Currituck-Knotts Island, Bayview-Aurora and Cherry Branch-Minnesott Beach routes, as well as increases in tolls on the Southport-Fort Fisher, Cedar Island-Ocracoke and Swan Quarter-Ocracoke routes.

To date, no new ferry tolls have been imposed on the free ferry routes — Bayview-Aurora, Minnesott Beach-Cheery Branch, Currituck-Knotts Island and Hatteras-Ocracoke. Tolls are charged on three ferry routes — Cedar Island-Ocracoke, Swan Quarter-Ocracoke and Southport-Fort Fisher.