PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Time is running out in the current legislative session, but Democrats in Pennsylvania are trying to push through a mass transit funding bill.
State House Transportation Committee Chairman Philadelphia Democrat Ed Neilson says his bill would provide an additional $1.5 billion for mass transit without raising or adding any new taxes by shifting a higher percentage of the existing state sales tax.
“We’ve heard directly from the Department of Revenue that sales tax collections are 2% above projections, and that 2% will allow us to invest more into transit in all 67 counties without raising a tax,” Neilson said.
While the bill moved out of the House Transportation Committee, it did so without a single Republican vote. Committee Minority Chair Kerry Benninghoff says the Republican Caucus will be against it.
“As the old finance chairman, I’m also concerned about whether or not we can actually contain or retain having that additional 2% because obviously if we don’t, that’s revenue that’s currently being spent in the budget,” Benninghoff said.