HARRISBURG – After Commonwealth Court Judge Ellen Ceisler placed an injunction on the continuation of the Wolf administration’s bridge tolling plan, Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff (R-Centre/Mifflin) made the following statement:
“Halting the Wolf administration’s bridge tolling scheme is the right move so there can be greater community involvement and legislative oversight before these types of projects are approved. In fact, the more we learn about the administration’s current bridge tolling plan, the more it should worry Pennsylvanians.
“This bridge tolling scheme, which is nothing short of a backdoor tax increase on Pennsylvanians who are already struggling to make ends meet because of record inflation and higher gas prices, was hastily approved in a process well outside the intention of the P3 law. Today’s injunction reflects that a better process is needed.
“While the House Republican Caucus works to deliver on ensuring our roads and bridges are safe and critical infrastructure projects have necessary funding, we will also continue our work to ensure that the inappropriate process used to arrive at the current bridge tolling plan never occurs again.”
In November 2021, the House passed Senate Bill 382, which strengthens oversight of the approval process for P3 projects, including enhancing the General Assembly’s role.