Harrisburg – March 15, 2021 – Sen. John Sabatina (D-Philadelphia) is pleased to announce he will serve on a bipartisan commission to study phasing out Pennsylvania’s gas tax.
The Transportation Revenue Options Commission was put together by Governor Tom Wolf. The members will be from both sides of the aisle, all areas of the state, and many different industries. Sabatina looks forward to finding an effective funding solution.
“It’s my honor to accept the appointment to this commission to find solutions to Pennsylvania’s transportation funding crisis,” Sabatina said. “I’m looking forward to working with the other commission members, who come from a wide variety of transportation industry backgrounds.”
The commission will first meet on March 25th. The goal is to have a new plan by August.
Pennsylvania has one of the largest state-owned transportation networks in the country, with nearly 40,000 miles of roads and over 25,400 bridges under its direct purview. PennDOT also oversees aviation, rail freight, public transportation, ports, pedestrian and bicycle programs.
In 2019, the Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) identified major risks to transportation funding such as reduced fuel revenues, unpredictable federal funding, and legislative changes to reduce commitments.
PennDOT’s latest assessment places the annual gap of its needs in all modes and facilities at $9.3 billion, growing to an annual $14.5 billion gap by 2030.
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