2.4 Billion Dollar Transportation Bill Clears Legislature – Hanna Votes ‘Yes’

HARRISBURG – The State House Thursday gave its approval to a $2.4 billion transportation bill. The bi-partisan vote was 113-85 in favor, state Rep. Mike Hanna (D-Lock Haven) among the “yes” votes.

The measure now goes to Gov. Tom Corbett for his expected signature; it provides for the first major increase in transportation funding since a 3.5 cent per gallon gas hike 17 years ago.

Most of the new funding is to result from a phase out of the cap on the oil company franchise tax. Analysts have said that phase out, over five years, will ultimately add another 28 cents to the cost of a gallon of gas.

Hanna earlier in the week had voted against some proposed amendments aimed at altering the state’s prevailing wage law. But the measure approved Thursday raises the threshold, from $25,000 to $100,000, at which minimum-wage requirements kick in on transportation construction projects.

Hanna told therecord-online he was among 48 Democrats (along with 65 Republicans) to vote for the measure. He said the state’s transportation needs dictated the measure’s passage even though in earlier votes he could not support the change in the prevailing wage law threshold.

He said there was no other option to get the needed transportation dollars approved so he was happy to add his support, despite his aversion to the change in the prevailing wage law.

With the influx of new dollars, Hanna said, it should make it easier to complete projects such as the Fairground Road-Route 220 intersection in Lamar Township and “hopefully” a repaving of sections of Route 220 in need of an upgrade.

Hanna, House Minority Whip, said the minority caucuses in both the House and Senate felt the state’s transportation needs were so important the leadership “could not play politics” with the issue, a pet project of Republican Gov. Corbett.