HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Tom Corbett's transportation funding commission on Monday endorsed a mixture of revenue sources to generate about $2.5 billion in additional annual spending for Pennsylvania's roads, bridges and mass transit. It was projected to cost trucking companies more than $500 per year for each tractor-trailer.
However, that $500 figure is calculated by adjusting for inflation, which would mean a 35 percent increase of the current registration fee, according to Jim Runk, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association.
Runk, a member of the commission, said the funding plan still must go through the legislative process and may not make it into final legislation. Even if it does, he said any increases would likely be phased in over a number of years.
Vehicle and driver fee changes they endorsed would bring in nearly $600 million, with the annual cost for the average Pennsylvania driver not expected to be more than $132.
There were no "no" votes cast and only a single abstention as the commission voted to recommend increased wholesale taxes on oil companies, higher vehicle and driver registration fees and to dedicate a fraction of sales taxes for mass transit needs.
Its final report to the governor, due Aug. 1, will lay the groundwork for potential negotiations between Corbett and the Legislature after Labor Day on a long-term approach to transportation funding.
A key element of those talks will be a list of the projects the state could complete over the next decade if the money is approved. That list is currently being developed internally by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, with input from local and regional transportation planning organizations, and could be on the PennDOT website by the end of August, said Transportation Secretary Barry Schoch.
"I think everybody deserves to say, 'If you are charging me, what do we get for it?'" said Schoch, who presided over the commission meeting.
The Transportation Funding Advisory Commission, all Corbett appointees, consisted of government officials, people who work in the transportation industry, representatives of mass transit and others. They were directed at the start not to consider raising the gasoline tax that drivers pay at the pump.
The commission looked for ways to pay for statewide needs estimated in one recent study at about $3.6 billion a year. Those include dangerous bridges, crumbling asphalt and underfunded mass transit systems.
The proposals that were approved would bring in $2.5 billion per year, the bulk of it generated by taking a cap off the oil company franchise tax. At the end of a five-year phase-in period, that alone would create about $1.4 billion.
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However, that $500 figure is calculated by adjusting for inflation, which would mean a 35 percent increase of the current registration fee, according to Jim Runk, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association.
Runk, a member of the commission, said the funding plan still must go through the legislative process and may not make it into final legislation. Even if it does, he said any increases would likely be phased in over a number of years.
Vehicle and driver fee changes they endorsed would bring in nearly $600 million, with the annual cost for the average Pennsylvania driver not expected to be more than $132.
There were no "no" votes cast and only a single abstention as the commission voted to recommend increased wholesale taxes on oil companies, higher vehicle and driver registration fees and to dedicate a fraction of sales taxes for mass transit needs.
Its final report to the governor, due Aug. 1, will lay the groundwork for potential negotiations between Corbett and the Legislature after Labor Day on a long-term approach to transportation funding.
A key element of those talks will be a list of the projects the state could complete over the next decade if the money is approved. That list is currently being developed internally by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, with input from local and regional transportation planning organizations, and could be on the PennDOT website by the end of August, said Transportation Secretary Barry Schoch.
"I think everybody deserves to say, 'If you are charging me, what do we get for it?'" said Schoch, who presided over the commission meeting.
The Transportation Funding Advisory Commission, all Corbett appointees, consisted of government officials, people who work in the transportation industry, representatives of mass transit and others. They were directed at the start not to consider raising the gasoline tax that drivers pay at the pump.
The commission looked for ways to pay for statewide needs estimated in one recent study at about $3.6 billion a year. Those include dangerous bridges, crumbling asphalt and underfunded mass transit systems.
The proposals that were approved would bring in $2.5 billion per year, the bulk of it generated by taking a cap off the oil company franchise tax. At the end of a five-year phase-in period, that alone would create about $1.4 billion.
full story