PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Pennsylvania House Transportation chairman is pushing a bill that would stop sending state money earmarked for road and bridge repair to the State Police.
Committee chairman, Philadelphia Democrat Ed Nielsen, says since the late 1930s, a portion of the Motor License Fund, which is supposed to go to road and bridge repair, has gone to Pennsylvania State Police. Nielsen says since 2013, over $6.3 billion that should have been spent on roads and bridges, has instead gone to State Police.
“The state police, as much as we love them, need to be paid out of the general fund as they should be, instead of redirected at a motor vehicle fund,” Nielsen said.
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s plan would step down the portion that goes to State Police by $50 million per year, with a goal of ending it by 2030. But Nielsen’s bill, which moved out of the Transportation Committee unanimously with bipartisan support, would zero it out in fiscal year 2026-2027.
“In the fiscal code, without legislation, it will allow a future governor to take $500 million out of this fund just by waving their hand. We want to make sure we put it in legislation,” Nielsen said.
Committee minority chair, Republican Kerry Benninghoff, is a co-sponsor of the bill, which now heads to the full House for consideration.