Updated: 1:51 PM EDT Mar 17, 2021
Tom Lehman
Reporter
A bill that would block PennDOT's plan to toll several bridges in Pennsylvania is moving forward.A Senate committee advanced the legislation Wednesday to the full Senate for a vote.Senate Bill 382 would halt a plan to toll nine bridges to cover the costs of reconstruction or replacement.PennDOT has said gas tax revenue is declining, which will make it harder to pay for road projects in the coming years.Republicans backing the bill acknowledged the need for a larger discussion about how to pay for road projects but said tolls are not the solution."We need to have this conversation now instead of continually kicking the can down the road and just passing it off on the residents of Pennsylvania by another tax or another fee," Sen. Wayne Langerholc (R-35) said.Gov. Tom Wolf said last week he supports phasing out the gas tax and created a commission to examine alternative ways to fund the state's transportation network.