PA: Pa. transit funding bill gets House's final approval as budget divide deepens

The Democratic-controlled Pennsylvania House on Monday gave final approval to a transit and transportation funding bill that reflected an increasingly fractured process in which state leaders are seeking a budget that is now six weeks overdue.

The constitutional deadline for a budget was June 30. Pressure on top lawmakers and Gov. Josh Shapiro is building as agencies begin to feel the effects of held-up payments and the lack of a spending plan.

Leaders of the divided Legislature — Democrats control the House, Republicans the Senate — have been negotiating behind closed doors with the Shapiro administration. So far, no overall deal has been reached.

Descriptions of the private talks have called them cordial and respectful. But any deal they reach must be conveyed in bills that get public votes in both chambers — and the latest burst of activity makes it appear the two have differing priorities.

The Monday House vote came after a two-day string of voting sessions that were its first since mid-July. By a vote of 108-95, it passed a bill that uses an increased transfer of state sales taxes into the Public Transportation Trust Fund to generate $293 million in additional funding for mass transit. It also contained hundreds of millions of dollars for road and bridge work, and requirements for more scrutiny and accountability at Pittsburgh Regional Transit and the Philadelphia area's SEPTA.

The bill had strong support from Mr. Shapiro, who at a Sunday news conference in Philadelphia said "mass transit is critical" and "the time to act is now." Without new money, SEPTA plans to start cutting routes in the next two weeks.

Rep. Matt Bradford, the Democratic House majority leader, said Monday this was the fifth time the House has passed a transit-funding package. The Senate, he said, had failed to act on all four of the previous bills. He attacked the Senate leadership.

"They have been on vacation. They have not shown up. That is not acceptable. That is refraining from the task," Mr. Bradford said.

But Republican House Minority Leader Jesse Topper of Bedford County said the Monday vote on the bill "is taking us down a path that is further away from a budget agreement."

Passing a bill that House leadership knows will not be passed by the Senate, Mr. Topper said, is not the right approach. "This is not the time to pass bills back and forth and claim some sort of moral high ground," Mr. Topper said.

The Senate, meanwhile, is scheduled to return Tuesday for its first voting session since July 17.

Republican President Pro Tempore Kim Ward of Westmoreland County has said the chamber should focus on a partial budget bill that would fund schools, hospitals, nursing homes and other basic services while the rest of the budget is negotiated.

She has dismissed the House action on the transit bill as "a play" so House Democrats "can say they have done something."

Mr. Shapiro on Sunday said he has no interest in the partial-year budget supported by Ms. Ward.

"The time for short-term spending plans is long over and will not be entertained by me," he said. "We need to pass an annual budget, and that annual budget needs to fund mass transit."

Also on Sunday, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis met with PRT to underscore the urgency of obtaining more funding for mass transit.

Allegheny County Republican Rep. Valerie Gaydos, speaking Monday on the House floor, said she supported funding mass transit but the bill under debate "rips off Pittsburgh" by letting SEPTA "take a disproportionate amount of the money." She called SEPTA a "failing system" and said Pittsburgh was not getting a fair share.

She was rebutted by Philadelphia Democratic Rep. Ed Neilson, chair of the House Transportation Committee. He said the bill was fair to both regions. SEPTA, Mr. Neilson said, is an economic engine in Pennsylvania, and a lack of money would help shut it down.

"I'm getting angry," Mr. Neilson said. "And I don't want to be angry."

All House Democrats voted in favor of the bill, with the exception of Rep. Frank Burns of Cambria County. They were joined by seven Republicans: Reps. Joe Hogan, Shelby Labs, and Kathleen Tomlinson of Bucks County; Tom Mehaffie of Dauphin County; Martina White of Philadelphia; Dane Watro of Schuylkill County; and Craig Williams of Delaware County.

© 2025 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Visit www.post-gazette.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.