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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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CONTACT: Tom Andrews 717-783-4267 |
Majority Leader Bill
DeWeese |
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House Democratic proposal would fix roads, bridges and transit
McCall amendment to revamp transportation passes House
HARRISBURG, June 25 – House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese and Whip Keith McCall said House Democrats led the charge today to solve Pennsylvania’s transportation crisis, setting up a permanent funding solution to repair roads and bridges as well as fund mass transit systems of all sizes across the state.
“We have more than a quarter-million miles of roads that need to be maintained, more than 6,000 bridges that are in need of immediate repair and transit systems that are facing collapse. The time to act was long overdue,” said McCall, D-Carbon. “The plan that passed the House today provides a stable funding source that will give us the tools we need to keep our economy moving by improving our transportation system and makes getting from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’ as easy and safe as possible.”
“Every year our transit systems, from the smallest in the rural counties to the giants of the cities, had to struggle with an unpredictable, untenable and unmanageable funding plan,” said DeWeese, D-Greene/Fayette/Washington. “This plan, shepherded through the legislature by Keith McCall and Transportation Committee Chairman Joe Markosek, gets the job done for a better future for every county in our Commonwealth.”
The Democratic lawmakers said the plan addresses the road and bridge issue as well as the transit crisis by issuing bonds against the value of the Pennsylvania Turnpike to raise more than $4 billion in revenue and by placing a toll on Interstate 80 to capture revenue from the out-of-state traffic – more than 75 percent of the total traffic on that highway.
The Turnpike Commission will manage the I-80 toll road and return funding to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation in the following manner:
- $700 million in 2007-2008;
- $750 million in 2008-2009;
- $800 million in 2009-2010;
- $800 million plus 2.5 percent annual increase from 2011-2057 plus the revenue from the I-80 tolls (estimated at $500 million/year by 2013).
The plan also provides $35 million per year to counties and municipalities to repair and maintain roads and bridges not owned by the state.
“Highway and bridge funding is only half the story, however,” McCall said. “For the first time, we are creating a Public Transportation Trust Fund that will be used only for public mass transit, using part of the bond revenue and the I-80 toll revenue. We also will require local municipalities to match 20 percent of the state’s funding and give them the power to raise funds for their own systems via the power to levy taxes on income, sales, hotel rooms or vehicle rentals, making sure the people of a region have more of a stake in their system.”
The lawmakers said the increased local matching money in the legislation is just one requirement for transit systems. Also for the first time, transit systems taking state dollars would have to pass rigorous performance audits based on passengers, costs, revenue and number of trips.
“The idea of a ‘blank check’ is simply unacceptable,” DeWeese said. “This plan ensures that the taxpayer, the rate-payer and the toll-payer gets maximum value for mass transit.”
The comprehensive transportation bill, H.B. 1590, passed the House Wednesday and awaits action by the Senate.
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