The Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry recognizes that a modern, safe and efficient transportation infrastructure is necessary for the free flow of goods and commerce and the mobility of its citizens for business and recreational activities. Managing congestion on over 41,000 miles that are maintained by the Commonwealth is essential to the safety of its citizens and a vital part of the efficient distribution of products and services. The Chamber believes a greater focus on the implementation of reasonable and consistent regulations, the promotion of car pooling and various safety initiatives and improvements to the engineering and design of the transportation infrastructure, as well as thoughtful consideration of additional modalities, will help enable the Commonwealth to alleviate congestion.
 
The Chamber also supports the following concepts that are vital to the creation and maintenance of Pennsylvania’s transportation infrastructure:
 
Motor License Fund and Motor Fuels Taxes
The Pennsylvania Constitution mandates that monies generated from all liquid fuels taxes be placed in a dedicated revenue account – the Motor License Fund – and used solely for highway-related transportation improvements. This portion of the Constitution is known as the “non diversionary clause.” Given the importance of maintaining a secure funding stream for highway-related purposes, the Chamber opposes any changes to the non diversionary clause of the Pennsylvania Constitution.
 
Liquid Fuels Taxes includes various types of fuels taxes, including those commonly characterized as motor fuels taxes. Motor fuels taxes include separate taxes on Liquid Fuels (primarily gasoline), Fuels (primarily diesel), Alternative Fuels (i.e. ethanol). The Chamber believes that motor fuels taxes are the clearest examples of user fees and therefore supports reasonable increases to the motor fuels taxes.
 
Mass Transit
Pennsylvania’s mass transit system, which consists of roughly 70 different systems within the Commonwealth, is critical to business operations in Pennsylvania by providing bus and rail service to the workforce. While the Chamber is open to considering secure funding streams for these systems, the first step should be to pursue greater efficiencies in those systems, including, but not limited to, the exploration of public/private partnerships and/or other privatization efforts.
 
Tolling
Limited funding streams exist in Pennsylvania for the maintenance of its total transportation infrastructure. For this reason, the Chamber supports the tolling of newly created highways as an additional funding mechanism to maintain the roadways in the Commonwealth.
 
Auto Emissions
The continuation of the auto emissions testing program is a vital component to the preservation of the federal highway dollars that Pennsylvania receives each year. Under the Clean Air Act, Pennsylvania is legally obligated to continue its auto emissions testing program. The Chamber supports the program’s continuation and opposes any such measure to either expand the program beyond federal requirements or eliminate or create a moratorium on the emissions program within the Commonwealth.