Fontana Discusses Transportation Funding Source

Pennsylvania has one of the largest highway networks in the country and is one of the most heavily traveled, ranking fifth nationally in miles of state-maintained highways.

In March, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) released its first ever Transportation Performance Report which details the Commonwealth’s efforts in safety, mobility, system preservation and accountability. The results of the report underscored the need for a significant transportation investment in the coming months.

The Transportation Performance Report highlights how Pennsylvania’s transportation infrastructure continues to deteriorate at an alarming rate without a long-term solution or sufficient investment into the problem.  Everything from bridges to highways to mass transit is competing with one another for any funding that is available.

The report stresses that a gap exists between transportation funding and the infusion of money the Commonwealth needs. That gap is estimated at $3.5 billion annually and will grow to $7 billion by 2020.

This report was issued 20 months after the Governor’s own Transportation Funding Advisory Committee reported Pennsylvania had a $2.5 billion annual transportation funding gap and released recommendations, in July 2011, on how to help close the gap. It wasn’t until the release of his proposed budget in February this year that the Governor began to embrace some of the suggestions from the commission’s report.

Governor Corbett’s budget proposal would pump $1.8 billion into transportation funding for our state for roads, bridges and mass transit over the next five years. Much of this new revenue would come from gradually lifting the cap of the state’s Oil Company Franchise Tax which is levied on gas distributors. At the same time, the Governor’s plan calls to reduce the state gasoline tax paid at the pump from 12 cents a gallon to 10 cents a gallon over two years.

Even though $1.8 billion is a considerable amount, it is far from the commission’s estimate that $2.5 billion is needed annually to repair the aging transportation infrastructure in Pennsylvania. Considering especially that the $1.8 billion would be allocated over a 5-year period, the Governor’s proposal is only a starting point. The Senate and House Transportation Committees have joined forces and are holding bipartisan discussions aimed at finding additional funding sources for Pennsylvania’s mobility network’s needs. The Senate committee is scheduled to release a proposal this month that will mirror a figure closer to what the commission has previously recommended.

I will continue to advocate for swift legislative action on a plan that will address all components of transportation in our state: highways, bridges, transit systems, railways, ports and airports. It’s particularly crucial that any acceptable proposal provide sufficient and predictable funding for mass transit with growth potential to address future operational and capital needs. After all, a comprehensive transit system is a core function of a vibrant, modern state.

Senator Wayne D. Fontana

42nd Senatorial District

www.senatorfontana.com