With less than a year left in office, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has handed legislators â especially Democratic legislators â a series of unpalatable choices, in the form of recommendations to reinstitute highway tolls and adopt a variety of new and increased taxes and fees.

The governor and transportation officials have said that, because of declining tax revenues, the Special Transportation Fund was on the brink of insolvency.

It turned out that the transportation fund was fine, but new money was needed to allow part of Malloyâs 30-year, $100 billion transportation program to go forward. The legislature authorized almost $3 billion in bonding for the first five years of the program in 2015. However, it never provided funding to pay for the bonds it authorized.

Because the governorâs term is ending there are two questions facing the legislature. First, whether to adopt a long-term fix, such as the one proposed by Gov. Malloy, which effectively ties the hands of the new governor, or opt for a short-term fix which keeps essential projects moving forward until the new chief executive takes office. Second, the details of whatever fix they decide upon.

Having been on both sides of gubernatorial transitions, I almost always come down of the side of preserving the new governorâs options. In this case that may also be the course more likely to achieve legislative support.

Gov. Malloy is seeking the return of highway tolls, a series of increases in the gas tax, a new, $3-per-tire fee on tire sales and the accelerated transfer of the revenue from the sales tax on new cars to the transportation fund. Most of these proposals are likely to face a rough time in the General Assembly.

The state is going to need to make massive investments in its interstate highway system, much of which is more than 50 years old and showing its age. On I-84, for example, the Hartford viaduct and the I-84/Route 8 interchange in Waterbury are expected to cost more than $15 billion. Given that magnitude of expense, tolls may be inevitable.

But tolls are politically toxic in much of the state. If the proposal is going to have any chance the governor and state Department of Transportation must do more to convince the public and the legislature of the need for tolls.

: The governor is proposing to raise the gas tax by seven cents a gallon over four years. When fully implemented the increase will generate about $100 million a year in new revenue. That proposal will also be a tough sell. There is a reason why the gas tax hasnât been raised in 20 years. It is widely regarded as almost as unpopular as bringing back tolls.

The governor is proposing to make the transfer of the sales tax revenue from the sale of new cars, which currently goes into the general fund, to the transportation fund effective next fiscal year, rather than in 2020 as planned. This change would go a long way toward addressing the short-term need while leaving the long-term solutions to the new governor and legislature.

The timing for Gov. Malloyâs request couldnât be much worse.

The governor is in the final year of his term and not running for re-election. He is coming off a year marked by brutal battles with legislative leaders of both parties. Itâs fair to say that his influence isnât what it once was.

Itâs an election year and the legislature is almost evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. The Democrats hold a narrow majority in the House while the Senate is evenly divided between the two parties. None of the toll and tax recommendations are likely to be popular back home.

Meanwhile the state remains deeply mired in debt with another debate over increased taxes and spending cuts on the horizon. Difficult decisions are ahead. In the real world there are only so many tough votes that you can ask legislators to take in an election year.
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