The State House of Representatives reconvened on Aug. 10 for a rare Sunday Session Day and on Monday, Aug. 11, continued in session to address mass transit funding.
The state budget is already two months past due. While the House passed an on-time budget in June, the Republican- run Senate has yet to pass its own version of a budget, let alone even consider the House version. They have not acted on it in any manner.
The House and Governor’s Office stand ready to negotiate. Both are waiting on action from the Senate. Several budget bills have been sent over to the Senate, but none have been sent back from them.
Without a budget, Pennsylvanians will soon start feeling the impact of the lack of a working budget. School districts as well as services to seniors and children may soon be affected.
The House came back into session to consider another transit bill. Transit funding is an integral part of the state budget. A stand-alone bill may be unusual, but many feel it is necessary to get things moving.
Transit funding at the state level has many components. What most people think of first is public transportation, specifically our bus systems. The two largest systems in the state are SEPTA, which serves the southeastern counties including Philadelphia, and PRT, which serves Allegheny County.
Each county in Pennsylvania has its own form of public transportation that requires state funding to keep the systems running. From the most rural to the most urban, citizens rely on public transit.
There are 10 municipalities in the 45th Legislative District, each relying on PRT for bus service. Our current system is a “spoke system,” where riders, for the most part, must take a bus to downtown and transfer to get from one part of the county to another.
In recent years, service has been improved with such routes as the Carnegie Busway, that can get riders to places like the Airport area more easily. But with limited funding, new routes are not possible.
The reality is that in the 45th District, we do not have the high ridership that is seen in other parts of the county. But this does not mean that people do not rely on bus service to get to work, to doctors’ appointments or to go shopping.
Public transit is not limited to just bus service. Public transit includes medical transportation, paratransit and the Share-Ride Program for Seniors and persons with disabilities.
The House Bill is an omnibus bill that not only provides transit funding for all of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, but also substantial funding for roads and bridges.
The building and maintenance of our roads and bridges is vital to each municipality across the Commonwealth. For our society to thrive economically, we must have safe roads and bridges to get people and goods around the Commonwealth.
The transit bill is only stronger because it includes funding for roads and bridges. Transit is not only about buses and vehicles, but also about the roads traveled.
This bill provides substantial funding for transit. The governor is proposing a $292 million investment. There would also be a $325 million bonding investment in roads and bridges. Under this bill, there will be no tax increase to fund these projects. Monies will come from bonding and sales and use tax allocations. These sources of revenue are controversial, but it is hoped that this will open much-needed discussions with the Senate to get the budget on the whole moving.
Oversight of SEPTA and PRT is part of the bill. I believe that both transit systems should have strong oversight to make sure they are run better. Too many questions exist as to how these systems are managed, and there is nothing wrong with oversight to make sure Pennsylvanians’ monies are being well spent. Sound fiscal management is essential.
For more information, contact my office at 412-264-4260 for assistance.
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