PRINTER'S NO. 3344
No. 581 Session of 2004
INTRODUCED BY GEIST AND McCALL, MARCH 8, 2004
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION, MARCH 8, 2004
A RESOLUTION
1 Recognizing the responsibility of the Commonwealth to examine
2 the quality and efficiency of its State highway system; and
3 establishing a select committee to consider toll roads.
4 WHEREAS, Pennsylvania has always been a world leader and has
5 had a rich history of success in toll financing, beginning as
6 early as 1794 with the Philadelphia to Lancaster Turnpike and
7 continued as recently as the Pennsylvania Turnpike was created
8 as the first all-weather superhighway in the nation in 1940; and
9 WHEREAS, State highways are an integral part of the economic
10 and social livelihoods of Pennsylvania's citizens, and this
11 functioning State highway system is only as good as the
12 components which comprise it; and
13 WHEREAS, The State highway infrastructure, if ignored, can
14 severely impact the economic and environmental well-being of
15 this Commonwealth and its various communities; and
16 WHEREAS, The Commonwealth should periodically study any and
17 all opportunities to improve the safety, maintenance and
18 efficiency of all modes and methods of public and/or private
1 transportation available to citizens and travelers in and about
2 this Commonwealth; and
3 WHEREAS, Funding of Pennsylvania's highway system from
4 Federal, State and local government is not expected to
5 adequately finance the expanding demands to preserve and grow
6 our massive transportation facilities; and
7 WHEREAS, Modern roadway design and construction techniques
8 provide significantly enhanced environmental protection and
9 control measures for adjoining natural and manmade environments;
10 and
11 WHEREAS, The construction of new and enhanced roadways as
12 toll facilities is a means of providing a critical
13 transportation facility when it is needed, rather than when or
14 if funding becomes available through conventional funding
15 mechanisms; and
16 WHEREAS, Toll facilities more directly link user cost with
17 user benefit and provide a dedicated source of revenue to be
18 directed toward project cost recovery; and
19 WHEREAS, Implementation of electronic toll collection
20 technology can minimize the disruption to motorists often
21 associated with toll collection activities; and
22 WHEREAS, Toll facility electronic toll collection systems
23 provide the basis for an advanced traveler information system,
24 intelligent transportation system implementation and
25 collaborative electronic payment systems incorporating agencies
26 and services beyond toll road applications; and
27 WHEREAS, Toll facilities have proven to provide greater
28 opportunities for enhanced highway safety and operational levels
29 of service, and the construction of user fee-based roadways
30 provides an equitable manner of distributing cost to both in-
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1 State and out-of-State users; and
2 WHEREAS, Revenues collected from user fees can be used to
3 leverage conventional transportation financing mechanisms and
4 create innovative means of enhancing current revenue sources
5 without impacting anticipated authorization of funds; and
6 WHEREAS, Alternative transportation modes such as commuter
7 and intercity rail can benefit from highway toll revenues; and
8 WHEREAS, Specifically the Schuylkill Valley Metrorail
9 project, and other such projects in the Capital Region and
10 elsewhere in this Commonwealth, could be constructed and/or
11 operated from highway toll revenues; and
12 WHEREAS, Current Federal transportation authorization,
13 referred to as TEA-21, and likely subsequent versions encourage
14 the use of innovative finance methods, including tolls, to
15 address shortfalls of conventional revenue; and
16 WHEREAS, TEA-21 currently contains provisions for tolls to be
17 placed on existing highways through the use of pilot program
18 projects and value pricing alternatives; and
19 WHEREAS, Other states have identified the use of toll
20 roadways as a means of providing highway capacity at the time of
21 need rather than on a pay-as-you-go basis and have established
22 new state toll road agencies; therefore be it
23 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives, recognizing the
24 importance of maintaining safe highways and road conditions,
25 direct the Speaker to appoint a select committee on toll roads,
26 which committee shall be composed of four members of the
27 majority party and three members of the minority party and shall
28 include the chairman and minority chairman of the Transportation
29 Committee of the House of Representatives; and be it further
30 RESOLVED, That the chairman of the Transportation Committee
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1 shall serve as the select committee chairman; and be it further
2 RESOLVED, That the select committee at a minimum specifically
3 examine the financing of transportation projects, the saving of
4 public funds, the safety and maintenance features and the
5 economic development opportunities at public/private
6 transportation and private tolling facilities and recommend
7 alternatives to public funding of highway, road and overland
8 transportation facilities, including commuter and intercity rail
9 through highway tolls; and be it further
10 RESOLVED, That the committee may hold hearings, take
11 testimony and make its investigations at such places as it deems
12 necessary in this Commonwealth and that each member of the
13 committee have power to administer oaths and affirmations to
14 witnesses appearing before the committee; and be it further
15 RESOLVED, That the committee report to the House of
16 Representatives on its activities, findings and recommendations
17 within six months of adoption of this resolution and issue
18 interim reports to the House of Representatives as the committee
19 deems necessary.
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