For Immediate Release
August 25, 2010
Contact: Nathan Flood
717-787-4420
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A Conversation with Senator Brubaker

Transportation Funding Issues Require Additional Study

In a recent column, I discussed the importance of investing in our transportation infrastructure to improve the condition of our roads and bridges. The Senate Transportation Committee is holding a series of public hearings on a wide range of transportation issues throughout the summer and fall, and the information gathered at these hearings will be an important part of crafting a comprehensive transportation funding plan that will meet the state's long-term transportation needs.

The governor unveiled his transportation funding proposal at a recent bipartisan transportation hearing involving leaders from the Senate and the House of Representatives. The governor's plan would require a wide range of license and registration fee increases that would make more money available to repair our highways and bridges. The plan would increase annual registration fees for passenger vehicles from $36 to $49 per vehicle and increase driver's license fees, vehicle inspection fees, title fees, learner's permit fees, temporary plate fees and a number of other fees paid by motorists. Annual registration fees would also increase for motor homes, motorcycles, school buses, ambulances, farm vehicles, trailers, taxis and antique cars, and commercial truck registration fees would increase by hundreds of dollars. The 64 fee increases proposed by the governor would bring in a total of $400 million in new funding for road and bridge repairs and mass transit.

While I am thankful that the governor is taking an active role in helping to address the state's most pressing infrastructure needs, I am concerned about the effect that these fee increases could have on local families whose budgets are already stretched very thin as the economy struggles to emerge from the recession. I am also concerned that the transportation funding plan does not take a holistic approach to the transportation challenges facing Pennsylvania in the coming years. It is important to invest in our infrastructure, but we must ensure that every dollar we invest brings the maximum benefit to motorists and taxpayers.

The transportation funding problem is deeply complex, and exploring new revenue options is only a small part of the issue. It is vital to ensure that we improve our roads and bridges, but we must take great care to pass a transportation funding plan that also ensures these funds are spent wisely and efficiently, allocates money fairly among rural and urban areas and addresses all facets of transportation in the state. All of these issues are important and deserve further study, and we must continue to work toward a comprehensive transportation funding plan that will help ensure that our long-term infrastructure needs are met.

The Senate will return to session in September to wrap up the 2009-10 legislative session. Senate leaders have announced that we will not meet in a lame duck session following the November elections, so we will have a number of pressing issues to address in a short period of time before the end of the two-year legislative session. I am hopeful that we will be able to use this time to begin laying the groundwork for a fiscally responsible and comprehensive transportation funding plan that can be signed into law next year.