This week, Senator Jake Corman (R-34) introduced three separate bills to the Senate to improve Pennsylvania’s transportation system. The bills, SB 4, SB 1326, and SB 1327 address the issues and recommendations that were included in the Transportation Funding Advisory Commission Report, which was released August 1, 2011. Addressing transportation funding is the first and crucial step in improving Pennsylvania’s transportation infrastructure.

SB 4 amends Title 75, Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Code, to provide for increasing licensing, registration and inspection fees; increasing violations of traffic-control devices; and removing the cap on the tax placed on the wholesale price of oil.

SB 1326 amends Title 74 and Title 75 and provides for an intermodal transportation fund that will fund: aviation, rail freight, passenger rail, ports and waterways; increases vehicle registration from one year to two years; eliminates the need for a vehicle registration sticker; allows for private companies to administer the vehicle operator’s license exam; extends the license renewal period to eight years; and exempts new vehicles from state inspections.

SB 1327 amends Title 74 and Title 75 to direct all funds deposited to PennDOT from the Pennsylvania Turnpike to the Public Transportation Account, totaling $450 million. It will also allow for public transportation operators to merge and form larger systems.

These three bills are consistent with the recommendations of the Transportation Funding Advisory Commission Report, and are supported by the Keystone Transportation Funding Coalition. PA Walks and Bikes is a member of the Keystone Transportation Funding Coalition, a statewide non-partisan group of transportation professionals that advocate for improving the transportation infrastructure of Pennsylvania. PA Walks and Bikes has taken an active part with the group to ensure that bicycle and pedestrian needs are fully addressed in any transportation reform.

These bills were introduced on Tuesday; November 1, 2011 and currently do not have any co-sponsors. We urge you to contact your state senator and ask them to support this comprehensive funding measure. Absent any radical change in how we fund our transportation infrastructure, PennDOT will not have the proper means to invest in, or expand its network, let alone maintain the roads, bridges, ports, and rail systems already in place. It is during reconstruction projects that we are able to realize improvements to the bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. PA Walks and Bikes will continue to track the progress of these bills as they advance through the legislature.