The bill is headed to the House where it faces opposition from Democrats.
The Republican-controlled State Senate passed a new SEPTA funding bill late Tuesday night after stalled negotiations with Senate Democrats. The bill now must clear the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, where it faces an uphill battle. An initial amendment to the bill passed first, by a 27-22 vote that was voted along party lines. The bill would postpone impending service cuts to SEPTA, but is unlikely to pass the House in its current form.
House Democrats indicated that the Senate’s version of the bill would be stalled, leaving the two sides in a time crunch to reach a deal that would bypass SEPTA’s fare hikes and service cuts deadline. As of now, those changes are locked in to take effect on August 24. Democrats, including Gov. Josh Shapiro, have criticized the bill for not being a long-term solution, while Republicans have touted the creation of a state fund that will improve accountability to the transit service.
“Well, listen, I think we’re at a really distant point right now,” said Lancaster County Republican Scott Martin. He added that the bill in its current form would successfully fund SEPTA for two full years, and would not require any service cuts. SEPTA officials had warned as of last month that an inability to breach months of gridlock would lead to a “point of no return.”
Democrats have Republicans in the Senate to increase the urgency of negotiations, warning of the potential harm to lower income riders or those reliant on public transportation for daily commutes. Gov. Shapiro’s office responded to State Sen. Martin’s comments on Wednesday morning, but did not address plans to improve the bill to pass the House.
“While Governor Shapiro appreciates Senate Republicans finally acknowledging the need to fund mass transit systems across the Commonwealth, this is clearly not a serious, long-term proposal that can pass both chambers,” a spokesperson for Shapiro said in a statement. “It’s time to get back to the table and keep working at it.”
The total new funding bill that passed the Senate is worth roughly $47.6 billion and would hold spending at the current levels for 2025-26. The SEPTA-focused portion of the bill that Senate Republicans included a two-year, $2.1 billion transportation plan that would fund SEPTA and pay for repairs to outdated rural roads. According to State Sen. Martin, all funding for the $2 billion plan would be drawn from capital in the Public Transportation Trust Fund. State Republicans also included plans to increase revenue from taxing skill games, a policy supported by Gov. Shapiro.
The original bill brought forth by State Sen. Joe Picozzi (R-Philadelphia) matched Gov. Shapiro’s original request for $292 million to address transportation and infrastructure across the state. Democrats expressed frustration with the original bill and the amendment that passed on Tuesday night, saying the funds referenced by Picozzi and Martin had already been earmarked for necessary safety upgrades. Republicans have rejected Democrats’ calls to increase that funding, saying the remaining $1.1 billion in the fund was sufficient to cover the expenditures.
In a statement from Democratic National Committee Vice Chair Malcolm Kenyatta, Democrats accused Republicans of political games with SEPTA and putting public transportation “on the chopping block.” Failure for the two sides to reach an agreement well in advance of August 24th would reportedly lead to significant fare cuts for SEPTA.
