SEPTA Funding Is Coming, Baby!
$2.3 billion transportation bill passes Senate, headed to Corbett's desk.
After a late, late, late-night vote on Tuesday to pass the State House, the state’s big transportation bill passed the Senate easily on Wednesday, 43-7. It’ll go back to the House, which will pass it, and then to Corbett’s desk for a signature. This not only gives Corbett one of the big legislative accomplishments he’s been striving for for three years, but some much-needed cash for roads, bridges, and even little old SEPTA.
The basics:
- SEPTA will get about $340 million a year in transportation funding, which is good, because it says it has about $500 million worth of projects to get started on right now.
- Gas taxes and motor vehicle fees can now be levied, and the average driver will now be paying about $2.50 more a week for the trouble.
- Only projects costing $100,000 or more must pay workers prevailing, or union-scale wages, instead of just projects that cost $25,000 or more. This was the key compromise that got Republicans to go for the plan in the House.
Whenever Corbett signs the bill (could be today), he will also have in effect violated Grover Norquist’s almighty completely meaningless in Pennsylvania tax pledge. And, because of that, decrepit and structurally deficient brides can now be fixed. Penny-foolish, pound-wise.
[Tribune]
