Pa. Lawmakers Propose Penndot Fee Hikes To Fund Transportation Projects
By Tony Romeo
HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) -- Vehicle license and registration fees in Pennsylvania, and fines for moving violations, would all increase under a transportation funding plan rolled out today by Republicans in the GOP-controlled state senate.
Now, State Senate Transportation Committee chairman John Rafferty, a suburban Philadelphia Republican (at lectern in photo), proposes to also adjust vehicle fees upward for inflation.
And like Gov. Tom Corbett's own plan to raise new money for roads, bridges, and mass transit, Rafferty's proposal would lift the cap on wholesale gasoline prices, albeit on a faster timetable than the governor proposes.
"We recognized the need to do a little bit more in the way of transportation funding to meet the needs of the commonwealth going forward," Rafferty said today.
Registration fees -– which are currently $36 per year –- would rise to $104 every two years ($52 per year). Driver's license fees would go from $29.50 every four years ($7.38/year) to $50.50 every six years ($8.42/year). And there would be increases going forward tied to inflation.
In addition, motorists would pay an extra $100 for each moving violation fine.
Gov. Corbett, on a conference call today with reporters, would not say whether he'd actively consider increasing vehicle fees.
"I can't say I would, I can't say I wouldn't," the governor said. "We made our proposal -– it didn't increase fees. I'm very careful of what would happen to the cost to the taxpayers in Pennsylvania directly."
The governor's transportation secretary, meanwhile, gives a rough estimate of an extra $2.50 per week as the cost to the average motorist of the state senate proposal.
