A transportation funding proposal unveiled by Pennsylvania lawmakers last week would raise $2.5 billion by changing how the state collects transportation money, including eliminating the cap on the state’s wholesale fuel tax.
The 15.35% tax on the wholesale price of both diesel and gasoline currently applies to only the first $1.25 of the wholesale price and hasn’t been increased since 1983.
Under the plan proposed by Sen. John Rafferty (R), chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, the tax would apply to the entire wholesale cost of fuel, raising $1.8 billion in the third year after the bill is passed, the bulk of the $2.5 billion of the plan.
“Maintaining a safe and reliable transportation network is a core function of state government and necessary to a strong economy,” Rafferty said in a statement. “This funding proposal is an investment not only in our transportation infrastructure but in our state’s future.”
Rafferty’s plan would also change vehicle registration and driver’s license expiration fees, add surcharges to some moving violation fines and modernize operations of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, he said.
The plan would also phase out a requirement that the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission transfer $450 million per year to PennDOT.
