There is still hope for $2.3 billion coming to complete long-overdue repairs to Pennsylvania’s aging transportation infrastructure. In a sudden reversal of Monday’s 103-98 vote against legislation that would allocate the funds, the State House of Representatives voted 104-95 in favor of funding the repairs to the state’s transportation infrastructure.
But the Commonwealth’s roads and bridges aren’t safe yet. The legislation still has to clear the Senate and go back to the House once more before final approval. Governor Corbett is expected to sign it whenever it gets to his desk. If the transportation funding bill doesn’t make it through this time, it may not come up again until 2015.
The chances of revisiting the transportation bill in 2014 don’t look good. Next year is an election year where State House Representatives will face the voters.
The funding bill would provide money to repair hundreds of miles of roads and fix or replace thousands of bridges – spans that continue to be downgraded in weight limit forcing heavier vehicles on local roads ill-equipped to handle the extra weight or traffic.
The legislation would also pump about $480 million into mass transit. SEPTA reports that seven regional rail-lines will be shut down over the next decade due to a crumbling infrastructure.
Some legislators didn’t like where the money to fund the legislation was coming from. It will lift the cap on the oil-franchise tax which most likely will increase prices at the pump by more than 25 cents per gallon. It also calls for an increase in driver’s license and vehicle registration fees beginning in 2015. Traffic law violators will see fines go up to help pay for it.
Some legislators didn’t care for the amount that was being allocated to public, mass-transit systems.
Some legislators wanted no part of the wording that contained a controversial change to prevailing wage laws. The amendment will raise the current threshold on construction projects from $25,000 to $100,000 next year, saving local governments millions but angering union leaders because of the risk of driving down wages.
The Pennsylvania Senate passed a similar transportation spending bill earlier this year without the prevailing wage provision. Now the legislation goes back to them with the prevailing wage provision attached.
Area representatives voting for the transportation bill included: Paul Clymer (R-145), Robert Godshall (R-53) and Marcy Toepel (R-147).
Area representatives voting against the transportation bill included: Matthew Bradford (D-70), Ryan Mackenzie (R-134), David Malony (R-130), Mark Painter (D-146) and Justin Simmons (R-131).
If the bill fails there will be no spike in fuel prices at the pump; there will be no increase in the cost of vehicle registrations or driver’s licenses; there will be no increase in the amount on which prevailing wages have to be paid.
There will, however, be an increase in the number of bridges whose weight limit will be lowered; there will also be an increase in the number of deteriorating state roads; there will be an increase in the number of deteriorating local roads as vehicles navigate the detours caused by closed bridges and there will be an increase in vehicle exhaust emissions when more people are forced to drive to work because public transit in and around the state’s major cities will decrease.
It is a controversial subject for legislators to tackle with the 2014 elections looming, but with something as important as a solid transportation funding bill, they should not let another year go by without a plan.
It will only get worse.