The McCall amendment was narrowly approved, 101-100, last night, but lawmakers still have to consider 45 additional amendments to the transportation funding bill today with a final vote expected tomorrow. The House, under new rules, cut off debate at 11 o'clock last night.
"It's a good start," said Rep. Dwight Evans (D., Phila.), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. "In [Rendell's] first term, in no time did Republicans give us a vote on it. I've drawn a line in sand. The governor's drawn a line in the sand. The Senate will have to deal with it."
House Republicans criticized the panoply of potential new and increased taxes, and some rural lawmakers said they were angry their constituents would be forced to subsidize urban transportation.
"We deserve a better understanding of where the money is going to be spent," said House Minority Leader Sam Smith (R., Jefferson).
At a news conference yesterday, Rendell said he would not sign a state budget unless it contained at least $1 billion this coming fiscal year in new mass transit and highway funding.
That's down from his original proposal of $1.7 billion - a figure he said was needed to repair failing bridges and highways across the state and to bail out struggling mass transit agencies, such as SEPTA.
"It's inadequate. It's not going to solve the problem," said Rendell. "What we do here on transportation and mass transit has to solve this problem for the long run."
The new fiscal year begins Sunday.
In previous years, transportation spending was provided for only in the general budget.
SEPTA faces the prospect of steep fare hikes and service cuts without $100 million in additional state money, transit agency officials said.
The House Democrats funding plan emerged as the governor said last week he would drop his original transportation plan: to lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike to a private company and impose a tax on oil company profits.
