Kail: ‘We Must Put an End to this Money Grab by the State’
HARRISBURG – Rep. Joshua D. Kail (R-Beaver/Washington) announced today he voted in support of
Senate Bill 382, which would end a Wolf administration plan that would toll nine Pennsylvania bridges as a mechanism to fund their repair or reconstruction.
In 2012, the General Assembly adopted a law to authorize the use of public-private partnerships to aid with construction and financing of transportation projects. However, the law required significant transparency on the part of the Public Private Partnership Board, and those requirements were not met when the Pathways Major Bridge P3 Initiative was presented late last year.
“This plan is a blatant money grab by the Wolf administration,” Kail said. “My colleagues and I are saying enough is enough and want to end this warped proposal forever.”
He said the idea proposed by the Wolf administration was to charge drivers $1 to $2 minimum each way for 30 years.
“Let’s say 400,000 drivers travel along those bridges each day,” Kail said. “If PennDOT charges them $1 each way for 50 weeks a year with a two-week latitude, that means the Commonwealth would have raked in $3.84 billion over a 20-year span. If drivers are charged $2 each way, that is $5.76 billion of hard-earned money from Pennsylvanians during a 30-year stretch. That is way more than the Wolf administration’s estimated cost of $2.2 billion. These tolls could then increase to account for inflation. The state needs to stop digging its hands deeper into the pockets of the hard-working Pennsylvanians, and I am proud to be a vocal supporter of this bill.”
Senate Bill 382 now heads back to the Senate for consideration.
Representative Joshua Kail
15th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives