A key provision included in the state of Pennsylvania’s $45.45 billion budget bill starts the process to end routing revenue away from roads and bridges to the State Police.
Gov. Josh Shapiro has signed into law a spending bill that is touted to invest heavily in public safety primarily by providing sustainable funding for the Pennsylvania State Police.
“This initiative will provide annual predictable funding for state law enforcement and will free up more capacity for road and bridge projects,” the budget introduction states. “It also proposes hiring and training nearly 400 additional PSP troopers.”
A history of diversion
For years, money from the state’s Motor License Fund has been transferred to the State Police. The amount reached $800 million by the 2016 budget year, according to state figures.
As a result, money that was intended for essential road and bridge work was instead being used to cover trooper expenses.
In 2016, the state slowed the transfers. A process was implemented to gradually reduce the amount of money routed from roads and bridges to the state police. Specifically, funding from the Motor License Fund transferred to troopers was capped at $800 million with a schedule to decrease that amount to $500 million over the next decade.
Overall funding to troopers was not affected. The state’s general fund was tapped to cover the difference.
Expediting the end of transfers
The Motor License Fund is described by the state as a special revenue and major operating fund of the Commonwealth.
Funds are required by the Constitution of Pennsylvania “to be used only for costs of construction, reconstruction, maintenance, repair of and safety on highways and bridges, and for the payment of debt service on obligations incurred for such purposes.”
The major sources of revenue for the fund are fuel taxes, vehicle registration and titling fees, and permit and operator license fees.
The spending bill signed into law by the governor decreases overall State Police reliance on the Motor License Fund to $400 million in 2023-2024. The action is described as necessary to assure state match requirements for federal transportation infrastructure funding.
The budget agreement further reduces the reliance on the fund by $100 million annually until the support is eliminated in 2027-2028.
“(The budget) creates a sustainable funding source for the Pennsylvania State Police while ending dependence on funding we rely on to fix our roads and bridges, and ensures the criminal justice system functions fairly and efficiently, as it should for all involved,” Shapiro wrote.
New funding source for troopers
The budget creates the Public Safety and Protection Fund to sustainably fund troopers while reducing the reliance on the Motor License Fund.
The new fund will be financed with revenue transferred from the state’s liquor tax, other tobacco products tax, a portion of the motor vehicle sales and use tax and other restricted revenues related to State Police services.
Over the next five years, the action is estimated to result in an additional $1.5 billion allotted for road and bridge projects. The change also allows the state to maximize the expected federal funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. LL
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