Smith Supports Bill to Abolish PA Turnpike Commission
Rep. Sam Smith (R-Jefferson) this week voiced his support for legislation, House Bill 2134, that would abolish the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.
“The recently resubmitted application to toll Interstate 80 has again shed light on the Turnpike Commission, its questionable activity and irresponsible spending habits,” Smith said. “If this body were abolished, I believe Pennsylvania residents would not only see an end to a bloated and wasteful bureaucracy but also a diminished need to toll I-80.”
Under the provisions of the new legislation, the Turnpike Commission would be dismantled and brought under the control of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. A new deputy secretary for toll administration – who would need to meet strict engineering qualifications – would be created within PennDOT to oversee the state’s toll road.
Smith noted that a recent construction project in the Philadelphia area overseen by the Turnpike Commission came in $80 million over bid. He stressed that this situation further compounds the problems the commission is facing with debt.
“Part of the Turnpike Commission’s rationale for needing to toll I-80 is meeting pressing bond obligations,” the legislator said. “It seems obvious to me that having PennDOT assume the duties of the Turnpike Commission would result in an immediate cost savings to the state and thus eliminate the need to toll I-80.”
The intent of House Bill 2134 is not to impact the Turnpike’s existing maintenance staff, engineers, and law enforcement personnel. “These family-sustaining jobs, as well as the existing collective bargaining agreements, would remain in place,” Smith said. “The focus of the bill is to eliminate the nine executives who head the organization, as well as the commission itself.
“When you compare PennDOT and the Turnpike Commission, you have to ask yourself why we have these separate organizations that are tasked with essentially the same duties,” Smith said.
A side-by-side comparison shows PennDOT with seven executives in charge of more than 41,000 miles of roadway and the Turnpike Commission with nine executives in charge of just 545 miles of a state highway.
“We must continue to demand efficiently and end duplication of services in state government,” Smith said. “The Turnpike Commission is an agency that has outlived its usefulness and cost the taxpayers much more than it should. I am supportive of current efforts to dismantle the agency and will work diligently with my colleagues to that end.”
Representative Sam Smith
Republican Leader
PA House of Representatives
Contact: Kelly Fedeli (717) 787-3845