A proposal to increase Pennsylvania's gas tax died last week, as lawmakers ended their 1996 session without taking up the measure.
Although Gov. Tom Ridge still hopes to see a gas tax hike in 1997, even Ridge's press secretary admits that this session was the most opportune time for action.
"I think it's a near universal political assessment that this was the best time to get it," said Tim Reeves, the Republican governor's spokesman. "If the stars should align, Gov. Ridge is ready."
Raising the gas tax is always a politically volatile issue, but the need may prove overwhelming, said David Atkinson, spokesman for Senate President pro tem Robert Jubelirer, R-Blair.
"You can't discount it (in 1997)," Atkinson said. "It's not an easy proposition, but it may be one we are forced to confront."
Many communities are dissatisfied with the state's construction program, as well as the amount of funding and the distribution method. Moreover, a number of urban centers have "mass transit systems that are reeling," he said.
Michael Rosenstein, executive director of the House Appropriations Committee, said that it will be more difficult to pass a gas tax hike next year, but it could still happen.
"If taxes were going to be increased, the most logical and opportune time would've been in the post-election session," Rosenstein said.
The Ridge administration in March proposed hiking the tax 6.5 cents to help pay for maintenance and repair of state highways.
Although the initial proposal called for the incremental tax revenues to back a $100 million bond issue, Pennsylvania sold the bonds as general obligation debt and the tax hike took form as a stand-alone measure.
The version of the plan that seemed to have the most support was a 3.5 cent gas tax increase, combined with a 50% increase in the motor vehicle registration fee, to $36 from $24. The measure would raise about $400 million annually, which would be constitutionally dedicated to pay for road and bridge maintenance and construction.
"As time passes the need to invest more money grows only more acute," Reeves said. "There is no government service that more Pennsylvanians rely on. And we invest significantly less than our neighboring states."
He added that Pennsylvania's network of roads is larger than that of New Jersey, New York, and New England combined, with 60,000 bridges and highways that are constantly freezing and thawing, requiring a lot of maintenance. The state's registration fee is only the 46th highest in the nation.
