State Rep. Matt Bradford watched for 2½ hours last week as some of his colleagues criticized Transportation Secretary Yassmin Gramian for proposing tolls on nine bridges to pay for their replacement.
They also asked her about other issues, such as reviving vehicle registration stickers and allowing state roads to be used for community events.
When it was his turn, Mr. Bradford, the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, blasted his colleagues for again failing to deal with the looming financial crisis in transportation. In July 2022, the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s mandate to pay PennDOT $450 million a year is scheduled to drop to $50 million.
In essence, it’s the perfect financial storm.
The immediate need to find another source of transit funds, a problem that has been known since 2013, comes at a time when PennDOT’s financial future already is in question due to its reliance on gasoline taxes for 74% of its revenue.
Gas tax revenue has been dropping due to more efficient gas vehicles and the growth in electric vehicles. Plus, reduced driving during the pandemic could cut revenue by another $400 million to $500 million in the fiscal year ending June 30.
So far, the General Assembly has done little to deal with transportation funding, despite intense lobbying from PennDOT, the turnpike and the state’s biggest transit agencies, Port Authority and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority around Philadelphia.
Clearly, that frustrated Mr. Bradford, who represents part of Montgomery County. During Tuesday’s PennDOT budget hearing, he accused colleagues of ignoring the “real challenge” — the approaching financial “cliff” that also includes the turnpike’s “crushing, mounting debt” of more than $14 billion.
“There are big bills coming due,” Mr. Bradford said. “Let’s start acting like serious people facing serious problems.”
The Legislature had been poised to deal with the issue in the 2020-21 budget, with bills that would have reduced the transit payment incrementally and allowed state police to keep money from traffic tickets. That would have freed $700 million in gas tax money for road work that would have gone to state police.
But with the pandemic also reducing income and sales tax receipts, those plans were scrapped. Still, PennDOT only has about $6.9 billion of the $15 billion a year it needs for road and bridge work.
In an interview after the budget hearing, Mr. Bradford said the Legislature must deal with transportation funding this year.
That’s because he believes it would be difficult to persuade elected officials to shift costs, raise fees and increase taxes during an election year for a new governor, the full state House and half of the state Senate.
“This can’t wait until next year,” Mr Bradford said.
The question, though, is whether the GOP-controlled Legislature and Gov. Tom Wolf can reach a deal.
“In a time of heightened partisanship, will they work with a Democratic governor?” Mr. Bradford said.
In the budget hearing last week, Rep. Mike Carroll, D-Pittston and minority chair of the Transportation Committee, said he doesn’t understand criticism of PennDOT for exploring new ways to generate funds, such as tolling bridges. The department also is looking at charging motorists who use congested roads during rush hours and allowing private firms to install express lanes that would charge a fee through the Office of Alternative Funding it established last fall.
Mr. Carroll and others noted the Legislature last year had bills in both chambers to charge a higher registration fee for electric vehicles, since they don’t generate gas tax revenue. The bills died for lack of action in both the House and Senate.
“I’m not sure what PennDOT is supposed to do [for needed revenue],” he said. “It’s time for us to be responsible.”
In an interview, Ms. Gramian said in a way the pandemic has created a greater urgency to deal with transportation financing because it is “shedding light on all of our deficiencies.” It’s normal for states to revisit transportation funding every five to seven years, she said, and Pennsylvania’s last big effort was Act 89, passed in 2013.
She also agreed with the need to settle the issue before next year’s campaign season.
“I believe it has to happen this year,” she said. “We need to figure out how we’re going to cover the cost of state police.”
“I believe the leadership of the General Assembly and the governor will come together to get it done.”
Rep. Stan Saylor, R-York and chairman of the Appropriations Committee, said he considers it “reasonable” for PennDOT to consider raising funds through public-private partnerships such as bridge tolls. He expressed optimism the General Assembly will develop a new funding formula for transportation.
“We’ll get there, but only if we work together,” he said.
Mr. Bradford said he will keep the pressure on. Businesses that depend on a strong road system to ship products and receive supplies could play a key role in pushing for a solution, he said.
“Demagoguery never repaired one road, demagoguery never fixed one deficient bridge and it’s never fixed transportation funding in Pennsylvania,” he said. “We need to have this discussion right now. It’s only going to get done if everybody can get together.”
Ed Blazina: blazina@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1470 or on Twitter @EdBlazina.
First Published: February 28, 2021, 12:15 p.m.
