Posted: | December 1, 2020 09:53 AM |
---|---|
From: | Senator Lindsey M. Williams and Sen. Katie J. Muth |
To: | All Senate members |
Subject: | Amending the Fiscal Code to Protect Transportation and Infrastructure Jobs |
When the General Assembly passed our supplemental budget on November 20, language giving PennDOT the authority to bond up to $600 Million for ongoing projects was noticeably missing from the Fiscal Code. By intentionally excluding this language, the General Assembly jeopardized the employment of more than 240,000 of our hardworking neighbors in the middle of a pandemic and the 2020 holiday season. The Administration has worked out short-term solutions to ensure that more than 6,000 ongoing construction projects don’t come grinding to a halt until February. However, these projects need funding through the end of June. It is on us in the General Assembly to pass a long-term solution to the decrease in revenue to the Motor License Fund. We have the power to ensure that hundreds of thousands of our constituents are not in danger of losing their jobs. That is why Sen. Muth and I will be introducing legislation to provide PennDOT with the necessary authority to bond the funding they need to continue ongoing construction projects across the Commonwealth. Pennsylvanians have suffered enough economic and social anxiety from the ongoing pandemic plaguing our Commonwealth. The General Assembly shouldn’t be adding to Pennsylvanian’s stress by playing fast and loose with their livelihoods when they could just as easily protect their jobs with the stroke of a pen. We encourage you to review the language attached to this memo that we will be introducing, and we urge you to co-sponsor this vital piece of legislation. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to our legislative directors, Ardie Griffin or Sonia Kikeri. |
||
View Attachment |