Judge rules in favor of turnpike
Truckers to appeal dismissal of lawsuit
Pennsylvania and the state Turnpike Commission found out Thursday that they had successfully defended the state’s right to use turnpike tolls to help pay for public transit, but it’s unclear whether that means the commission will be able to resume borrowing to make payments to local transit agencies.
That’s because hours after U.S. District Judge Yvette Kane dismissed the lawsuit in Harrisburg, the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association Inc. and others filed a notice to appeal the decision.
Judge Kane found against the truckers’ claim that using turnpike tolls for transit and other non-turnpike expenses violated the federal dormant commerce clause, which they say means tolls can only be used for turnpike expenses.
If the appeal means that borrowing is still restricted, the state Department of Transportation has warned that transit agencies and services such as Amtrak will face serious problems in the fiscal year that begins July 1.
Under a 2007 state law, the turnpike initially was required to pay $900 million a year to Penn-DOT in anticipation of federal approval for tolls on Interstate 80. Federal officials rejected the tolls, but the
payments remained, although they later were reduced to $450 million a year through 2022.
The truckers had sought up to $6 billion in damages for tolls they claimed had been collected illegally since 2007.
As a result of the suit initially filed in March 2018, the turnpike suspended its payments to PennDOT because it couldn’t issue bonds for the money. The money is used for capital and operating costs for the Port Authority in Allegheny County and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority in the Philadelphia area, and both agencies have delayed projects as a result.
Turnpike CEO Mark Compton said in a statement that the agency hopes to catch up on the delayed payments of $337.5 million by the end of the year. The agency said it was in discussions with its bond attorney to decide whether it can issue bonds while the case is on appeal.
Todd Spencer, president of the trucking group, said he was disappointed by the decision but not discouraged.
“This lawsuit is far from over,” he said in a news release.
In their case, the truckers claimed the state violated federal commerce law by charging interstate truckers higher tolls than necessary to maintain the turnpike and by taking away their federal right to travel freely.
In a complicated decision, Judge Kane found that although toll money was used for purposes other than turnpike maintenance, it was allowed under a 2014 law that permitted tolls to be used for “any other purpose for which federal funds may be obligated.” She called the state’s transportation funding “a statutory scheme that disproportionately burdens turnpike travelers with the costs of a statewide transportation system that is of no direct benefit to them,” but she ruled that was not illegal.
Judge Kane also dismissed the right-to-travel argument, saying truckers could use other routes that don’t charge tolls.
PennDOT and turnpike officials said they were pleased with the decision, but they used it as an opportunity to call for a change in the system for funding public transit to eliminate the payments by the turnpike.
The turnpike is about $11.8 billion in debt, according to a report from state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale last month. About $6 billion of that is from making payments to PennDOT. The turnpike has raised tolls 11 years in a row, partially to cover increasing debt service, but efforts to eliminate the PennDOT payments have stalled in the Legislature due to other state funding problems.
“The lawsuit … propelled our burdensome funding obligation to the commonwealth (and its effect on our customers and finances) into the limelight, revealing an unsustainable obligation that must be addressed to ensure the fiscal well-being” of the turnpike, Mr. Compton said. “While the debt load is manageable for now, the fact is we cannot continue down this path unless something changes.”
The agency is working with the Port Authority and SEPTA on studies to recommend other sources of transit funding as part of a push to change the law before 2022.
PennDOT also called for a funding change.
“The decision issued [Thursday] does not change the fact that there are still significant challenges facing Pennsylvania’s transportation network,” spokeswoman Erin Waters-Trasatt said in a statement. “Turnpike tolls are too high, and current funding levels will not allow us to develop new projects or address the full portfolio of needed repairs.
“Mass transit is still underfunded and the turnpike contributions will decrease to $50 million in 2022.”
As a result of the delayed funding, Port Authority has put 44 capital projects from last year and this year worth $65.3 million on hold because it didn’t expect to receive $75 million in state operating and capital funds. SEPTA has delayed 65 projects worth $63 million.
That will only get worse under the new state budget, with PennDOT warning SEPTA in recent weeks that its subsidy next year would drop from $351 million to $107 million if the lawsuit isn’t resolved. At that time, spokesman Adam Busch said the agency would be reduced to performing maintenance-only projects if that occurred.
Amtrak, which carries 1 million passengers in Pennsylvania every year, could lose its $8.13 million operating subsidy. Another $1.1 billion in projects such as new Amtrak cars, transit subsidies for people with disabilities, and upgrades to statewide transit facilities also would be in jeopardy.