Pa. Legislators Approve $2.4 Bln. Road Plan

Pennsylvania state lawmakers gave final approval Nov. 21 to a transportation spending bill that will raise $2.4 billion more annually for the state’s roads, bridges and transit systems.

The plan is headed for Tom Corbett’s desk after the Republican governor spent a year pushing for it. The House voted 113-85, after the Senate’s 43-7 vote for the bill, which includes the first fuel tax increase in 15 years to pay for upgrades to the state’s ailing infrastructure.

By 2018, the five-year plan will provide an additional $1.6 billion annually for roads and bridges; $30 million for dirt, gravel and low-volume roadways, and $86 million for Pennsylvania Turnpike expansion projects, according to the governor’s office.

The new revenue will come from increases in the fuel taxes, licensing renewal fees and traffic fines.

The plan would repeal 12 cents per gallon of the state’s fuel tax now paid at the pump and shift it to the wholesale level, where the $1.25 cap on the state’s wholesale oil franchise tax would gradually be lifted. Wholesalers would then decide whether to pass all or some of the tax increase onto consumers, and some estimates say it could be as much as 28 cents per gallon if consumers absorb the full cost.

In addition, the plan would increase licensing renewal fees and traffic fines. Heavy-truck registration fees would increase 33 percent over the first four years of the plan. The fee for a truck weighing more than 80,000 pounds would increase from $1,687 to $2,244, said Jim Runk, president of the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association. After 2018, fee increases would be tied to inflation.

Runk said he’s awaiting fresh estimates from the Revenue Department on how much fuel taxes could increase.

Corbett hailed the bill’s passage as a “landmark day for Pennsylvania.”

“This bold transportation plan demonstrates that our elected officials are serious about keeping our resident safe and our economy strong,” Corbett said in a news release.