Virus derails plans to fix Pa. funding for public transit needs
After years of inaction, the state Legislature appeared ready in November to deal with longstanding transportation funding issues, such as transit partially being funded by Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls and state police traffic enforcement being paid for with Motor License Fund revenue.
The state House and Senate each had a package of bills that would reduce the $450 million transit payment incrementally until it expired in 2023 and allow state police to keep money from traffic tickets instead of putting it into the general fund, freeing $700 million used for traffic enforcement to be available to the state Department of Transportation for roads and bridges. The goal was to take advantage of the strong economy and pass the bills as part of the 2020-21 budget that began July 1. Then the pandemic happened. As a result, House hearings on the legislative changes were postponed from spring until last week. Senate hearings haven’t been set yet. And the atmosphere has changed dramatically, with the economy reeling in general and transportation suffering specifically, with reduced travel cutting revenue from the gasoline tax and reducing tolls paid to the turnpike.
The state also has lost billions in sales, income and other taxes while costs to pay unemployment have skyrocketed.
With all of the uncertainty, the state adopted a stopgap budget in June and will consider a full package when the Legislature reconvenes in November. It’s unclear when transportation funding will be back on the table.
“COVID[-19] hit, and the money stopped,” said Sen. Kim Ward, RHempfield, chairwoman of the Senate Transportation Committee.
“Right now, we can talk about it, but we have to make sure we’re on steady financial ground. I think we’ll know more in November.”
House Transportation Committee Chairman Tim Hennessey, R-Pottstown, couldn’t be reached for comment, but Minority Chairman Mike Carroll, DPittston, said he doesn’t believe there are any plans to move the bills in the near future. The package includes other bills that would encourage PennDOT to contract out projects on a design-build basis in which one firm does both phases to speed up the work; allow counties to set up infrastructure banks for small communities to borrow money at reduced rates; and expand public-private partnerships.
“There’s no doubt these are important issues,” Mr. Carroll said. “Critical issues that require a lot of money are difficult to move in Harrisburg, especially 60 days before an election.”
During two days of House hearings, representatives from PennDOT, the turnpike, Port Authority and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority testified. One by one, they described the serious financial problems they face — enhanced by the pandemic — and the need for quick action.
Melissa Batula, PennDOT’s deputy secretary for highway administration, said the agency already cut spending from about $2.5 billion in 2018 to $2.2 billion this year because increased vehicle fuel economy has reduced the money it receives from the gasoline tax. After the virus hit and sharply cut travel, the agency reduced spending to about $1.9 billion this year and next.
“This discussion is critical, as we are at a turning point in infrastructure funding,” she said. “PennDOT has seen revenue losses from increased fuel efficiency, the growing impacts of climate change and, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We were already taking steps to adjust our long-term funding planning and our planning partners have made changes to planned projects as a result. The national and local forecast of 30% revenue reduction as a result of COVID-l9 makes this even more concerning.”
Having the $700 million that now goes to state police would help ease those cuts, Ms. Batula said.
The turnpike, which has deferred one quarterly payment of $450 million for transit and asked to defer a second, and the transit agencies all have suffered because fewer people are traveling, reducing revenue by tens of millions of dollars. Traffic may not return to pre-pandemic levels for two years or more, experts say.
Ms. Ward said she understands the needs, but she is less concerned about transit agencies that have received federal stimulus money to carry them through next year. PennDOT, which is tarring and chipping some roads rather than full repaving, and the turnpike, which has more than $13 billion in debt partially due to the transit payments, are different issues, she said.
“The only thing we can do is look at the funding,” she said. “Do we have the money to make the needed changes? Hopefully by next year our economy is back up and moving so we can deal with this.”