PRINTER'S NO. 109
No. 33 Session of 2005
INTRODUCED BY GEIST, McCALL, BALDWIN, EACHUS, HARPER, MAHER AND
SURRA, JANUARY 26, 2005
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION, JANUARY 26, 2005
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 WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Turnpike was created as the first
8 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 collective
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; and
23 WHEREAS, House Resolution No. 581 of 2004 established a
24 select committee on toll roads, which completed an interim
25 report with the recommendation that the committee continue its
26 work in the next session of the General Assembly; therefore be
27 it
28 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives, recognizing the
29 importance of maintaining safe highways and road conditions,
30 direct the Speaker to appoint a select committee on toll roads;
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1 and be it further
2 RESOLVED, That the committee be composed of four members of
3 the majority party and three members of the minority party and
4 shall include the chairman and minority chairman of the
5 Transportation Committee of the House of Representatives; and be
6 it further
7 RESOLVED, That the chairman of the Transportation Committee
8 serve as the select committee chairman; and be it further
9 RESOLVED, That the select committee at a minimum examine the
10 financing of transportation projects, the saving of public
11 funds, the safety and maintenance features and the economic
12 development opportunities at public/private transportation and
13 private tolling facilities and recommend alternatives to public
14 funding of highway, road and overland transportation facilities,
15 including commuter and intercity rail through highway tolls; and
16 be it further
17 RESOLVED, That the committee may hold hearings, take
18 testimony and make its investigations at such places as it deems
19 necessary and that each member of the committee have power to
20 administer oaths and affirmations to witnesses appearing before
21 the committee; and be it further
22 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives direct the
23 Transportation Committee to assist the select committee on toll
24 roads to the fullest extent possible; and be it further
25 RESOLVED, That any and all necessary, appropriate and
26 reasonable expenses incurred by the select committee in carrying
27 out its responsibilities, including, but not limited to, per
28 diem and travel expenses incurred by members and staff,
29 stenographic charges and other incidental expenses and special
30 contracting and consulting services expenses, be paid from
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1 appropriate accounts under the control of the Chief Clerk of the
2 House of Representatives; and be it further
3 RESOLVED, That the committee report to the House of
4 Representatives on its activities, findings and recommendations
5 within six months of adoption of this resolution and issue
6 interim reports to the House of Representatives as the committee
7 deems necessary.
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