Tolling, Possible Savings on Transportation Funding Commission Agenda

The executive commission examining transportation funding in Pennsylvania will hear a proposal June 6 that could hit the wallets of commuters in the Philadelphia suburbs. 

The 30-member commission, appointed by Gov. Tom Corbett, will see a presentation demonstrating how tolls on Route 422 in Montgomery, Chester and Berks counties could serve as a model for similar projects statewide. The commission is looking for a way to generate more than $2.5 billion in annual transportation funding in the post-stimulus environment of declining federal spending on infrastructure. 

State Secretary of Transportation Barry Schoch, who also serves as chairman of the commission, said the Route 422 model would allow county or municipal authorities to form a “local taxation authority” and keep the revenue from tolls and local taxes dedicated for local highways.

That revenue would be “above and beyond” transportation spending at the state level, Schoch said. 

In the case of Route 422, the tolls also could pay for a commuter rail line to take some of the pressure off the highway, which links Reading and the northwestern Philadelphia suburbs with the Pennsylvania Turnpike and Interstates 76 and 476.

Charging tolls on state roads would require permission from the federal government through an agreement between the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the federal Department of Transportation.The proposal would require approval from the state legislature as well. 

State Rep. Warren Kampf, R-Chester, whose district includes a portion of Route 422, said any tolls on the road would put an “excessive burden” on commuters. 

“Tolling is another way of taxing people,” Kampf said. “People in my district pay a lot of money in gas taxes and a lot of money in motor licensing fees.” 

Kampf said he opposed using state and local funds to build, operate and maintain a commuter rail line that would benefit rail commuters at the expense of others. 

Someone, sooner or later, will have to pay for the state's--and the nation's--infrastructure. A 2009 report from Gov. Ed Rendell's Transportation Advisory Commission said Pennsylvania needed to increase transportation spending about $3.5 billion annually to keep up with declining infrastructure. A report last week from the Urban Land Institute, a Washington D.C.-based policy center, said the nation needed $2 trillion to fully rebuild and expand the transportation network.

Members of the General Assembly from both sides of the aisle say developing new revenue for transportation is needed, but there is little in the way of unified plans on how to accomplish it. 

Many are waiting for the outcome of the governor’s commission on transportation and hoping the final report--due Aug. 1--will serve as a guide. But if history is any guide, the existence of an executive report on transportation problems is no guarantee of legislative action. 

Executive reports in 2006 and 2009 detailing the scope of Pennsylvania’s transportation funding issues resulted in very little legislative action--including a special session on transportation last summer that failed to produce a single piece of approved legislation. 

Schoch said the earlier commissions and reports had given broad statements about possible solutions, but the current commission would ask the governor and legislature to approve very specific short- and long-term funding solutions--possibly including higher license fees, privatization of highways and changes to the sales tax system to dedicate money for transportation. 

“We’re also going to provide the contrast of what is going to happen going forward, if the state doesn’t make those investments,” Schoch said. 

The commission hopes to find more than $2 billion in annually recurring revenue to help fill a $3.5 billion annual need. 

Additional funding also could be achieved through reductions or reallocations in existing transportation spending. A 2006 report from Rendell’s commission on transportation funding suggested a full review of existing spending before pursuing additional revenue. 

The commission’s next meeting--scheduled for June 6 in Harrisburg--will focus on ways to make transportation spending more efficient and effective, including cost-saving proposalswith revenue-raising options, Schoch said. 

“I think it is appropriate for any commission that is examining financing to look at how we are spending the current dollars,” Schoch said.

State Sen. John Rafferty, R-Montgomery, said savings should be looked at as part of the solution, but savings alone will not solve the problem. 

“You can always save money, but you’re not going to save that kind of money,” Rafferty said. 

The senator said he was awaiting release of the governor’s commission’s report before commenting on specific proposals--including the possible tolling of Route 422, which runs through his district. 

State Rep. Rick Geist, R-Blair, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, said politicians should not duck the responsibility of raising revenues to replace 7,000 miles of roadway that must be rebuilt statewide. 

“We have an absolute responsibility to take care of the physical infrastructure,” Geist said. 

When the federal government passes an updated transportation funding bill, Pennsylvania likely will be facing a 30 percent reduction in federal transportation dollars, Geist said. 

State Rep. Mike Carroll, D-Monroe, said there are not too many ways to raise revenue for transportation that do not include taxes, tolls or fees. 

“We absolutely have to have more money for roads and bridges,” Carroll said. “It’s going to be a painful conversation, but it has to be done.” 

State Rep. Joseph Markosek, D-Allegheny, the former majority chairman of the House Transportation Committee who now serves as the Democrats’ top man on the Appropriations Committee, during a budget hearing last month predicted a coming “infrastructure catastrophe.” 

Last week, he said he also was waiting on the final report from the governor’s commission, but was concerned the legislature again would fail to act on the proposals.

Eric Boehm is a reporter for PA Independent.