Sources told NY1 Sunday that a specially-appointed state panel is reconsidering the mayor's congestion pricing plan, which was defeated by the state Legislature in April.

That panel is also considering putting tolls on at least some of the city-owned East River bridges.

It's all part of an effort to help plug a major hole in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's budget.

Sources say that on Monday the agency will announce a deficit of more than a billion dollars. An MTA spokesman declined to comment.

The city and state would both have to approve tolls on the Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg, and 59th Street bridges, because although the city owns them, the MTA is a state agency.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg's plan to charge all drivers entering Manhattan south of 59th Street never made it out of the New York State Assembly.

Drivers, who already pay to cross the MTA owned Triborough Bridge, the Midtown Tunnel, and the Brooklyn-Battery tunnel, said they were not thrilled with the proposal.

"I don't think it's a good idea because you'll cause more congestion," said one driver. "We got enough angry people here."

"I think it would just raise the air pollution index," said another. "That's all I'm concerned about at the moment."

"The minorities, people who take a cab to work, and cab drivers will suffer," said cab driver Julio Antigua. "We are going to have to raise prices, too. We don't wanna do that."

The idea of new bridge tolls is getting slammed by the head of the City Council's transportation committee.

Council member John Liu released a statement Sunday saying, "East River bridge tolls get bandied about every time there is a fiscal crisis. The mayor tried to impose them during the dire fiscal straits in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, and even then it went over like a lead balloon. This time it will sink equally fast -- to the bottom of the East River."

Liu says while there's no question the MTA needs a bailout, it should come from "a broad-based revenue source."

Congressman Anthony Weiner also chimed in on the proposal, saying that the idea "should stay dead."

"It's a regressive tax on middle class and working New Yorkers," said Weiner in a statement. "It falls on residents of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island, and it would create untenable traffic jams."