Transportation Funding and Reform Commission

==Links==
* Flex funding of transit and roads
===Media===
* A rallying cry for Mon-Fay? Post-Gazette, August 2007, The 15-member State Transportation Commission holds statewide hearings every two years as part of updating the Transportation Improvement Program, a document that prioritizes projects and assigns billions of dollars of funding for them.
===Blogs===
* http://theburghblog.com/2006/11/14/kiss-my-ass-state-of-pennsylvania/ from November, 2006
==Media==
====Pa. transportation plan calls for tax, fee hikes ====
: Monday, November 13, 2006, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
HARRISBURG -- A commission formed by Gov. Ed Rendell recommended a variety of tax increases, fee increases and cost savings to provide more-stable sources of funding for roads, bridges and mass transit.
The report by the bipartisan Transportation Funding and Reform Commission is expected to form the basis of negotiations among legislators and the governor to resolve chronic funding problems.
The commission recommended $900 million in additional funding for highway and bridges and $760 million in targeted public transit funding.
If the recommendations are adopted, the average driver would pay $7 more per month so the state could fix deficient bridges, improve the quality of the most heavily used roads, modernize traffic signals and implement new safety features to reduce highway deaths, according to a press release from the state Department of Transportation.
The new funds for public transit would mean a change in realty transfer taxes that would add about $5 a month to a 30-year, $150,000 mortgage.
The commission recommended increasing the ceiling of the Oil Company Franchise tax, which is passed on to drivers at the pump, by 11.5 to 12.5 cents per gallon. It is now 19 cents.
Motor vehicle registration and license fees would be increased to bring in $150 million more each year.
Turning to transit, the commission concluded that "the financial underpinning of the commonwealth's public transit program is inadequate and the program structure is dysfunctional. The program and revenue streams need to be completely revamped."
At the state level, the commission said, "the realty transfer tax represents the best and most appropriate option for raising $576 million in additional state revenue for public transit." The commission recommended an increase of 0.89 percentage points in the state's current 1 percent share of the tax, to generate the needed $576 million.
Since transit agencies are locally controlled, the commission said, "locally generated funds need to be part of the public transit picture."
The commission recommended the General Assembly enact legislation to enable counties and municipalities to raise revenues to underwrite $184 million needed for public transit. This money could be raised by up to a 0.25 percent local sales tax, a 0.20 percent earned income tax or a 0.50 percent local realty transfer tax.
To help ease the tax burden for underwriting public transit, the state should permit use of public-private partnerships and explore the use of additional bonds for capital projects, the commission said. 
category:organizations
category:flow