Governor’s plan to boost mass transit aid passes Pennsylvania House, but faces long odds in Senate

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives on Wednesday approved Gov. Josh Shapiro’s plan to boost funding for public transportation systems still trying to recover pre-pandemic ridership numbers and facing a drop-off in funding when federal COVID-19 aid runs out.

The Democratic-controlled chamber voted 106-95, with all but one Democrat in favor, and all but five Republicans opposing it.

The bill would deliver an increase of about 20% in state aid to public transportation systems, proposed by the Democratic governor in his budget plan earlier this year. However, the bill faces long odds in the Republican-controlled Senate, with Republicans protesting the amount of the funding increase and objecting to procedures that House Democrats used to pass the bill.

Under the bill, the state would increase the share of state sales tax collections devoted to public transit agencies from 4.4% of receipts to 6.15%. That would translate to an estimated increase of $283 million in the 2024-25 fiscal year on top of the $1.3 billion going to transit agencies this year.

About two-thirds of the state aid goes to the Philadelphia-area Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, or SEPTA, and another 20% goes to Pittsburgh Regional Transit. The rest goes to 29 public transportation systems around Pennsylvania.

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