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MAKING SENSE of Pennsylvania’s transportation funding is as tricky as navigating the region’s deteriorating highways – though peppered with obstacles, it ultimately is a journey worth taking.
The state House Transportation Committee is zigzagging across the commonwealth this month to seek public comment on how to boost funding for highways, bridges and mass transit. Eyeing a $472 million shortfall in the 2010-11 transportation budget, the needs are as real as the potholed roads most motorists routinely encounter.
A committee goal is to develop a plan that provides a sustainable $3.5 billion annual maintenance fund. The committee road show also will explain the ominous infrastructure ramifications of coming up short.
It’s imperative that the committee explains fully how Pennsylvania found itself in this predicament. Then, drawing a fiscal roadmap to prevent the recurrence of the dollar-short-day-late theme can be done with authority and precision.
As outlined by the House committee, some of the economic drivers that put Pennsylvania in a pickle were unforeseen. For example, its chairman contends on his website that decreased gasoline tax revenue due to a reduction in fuel consumption has put a serious dent in state collections.
Though a fiscal setback for the state, the change in driving patterns this reflects is a positive trend. For the first time in U.S. history, motorists are using less fuel, which means the country could reduce dependency on foreign oil if the habits become ingrained.
While forced to adapt to the recession-driven economic realities, the state and its legislative branches have some housekeeping issues of their own to take care of before laying more mandates on taxpayers’ doorsteps. Just last week, Gov. Ed Rendell disbanded a wasteful Pennsylvania Department of Transportation unit set up to expedite paperwork for lawmakers seeking favor with voters. And last month the governor correctly noted the Legislature should give up some of its $200 million surplus to put toward the growing deficit, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Can the House committee members tell the public with straight faces that legislative bodies have tightened belts like most Pennsylvania households? Growing annual budgets don’t reflect that.
We submit that Pennsylvania’s transportation needs are real, but it is important for the committee – and taxpayers – to view the deficit funding in the context of a larger issue: a government in need of a tune-up.
Otherwise, Pennsylvania will continue down a road of irresponsibility with short-term fixes that are as effective as the patch put on the re-appearing potholes.
Offer your input
The state House Transportation Committee’s public hearing in Northeastern Pennsylvania will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday in The Latour Room at Marywood University’s Nazareth Hall, 2300 Adams Ave., Scranton.