Gasoline Tax

The flurry of political recriminations following the collapse of plans to increase the state gasoline tax obscured the findings of Gov. McGreevey's blue-ribbon transportation commission. The commission reported in depth on New Jersey's long-term transportation needs and the reforms necessary to ensure the solvency of the Transportation Trust Fund. Those subjects deserve a place atop the public agenda and the attention of policymakers who are focused on New Jersey's future, rather than on finger-pointing.

Barbara Hafer, the Republican candidate for governor, yesterday proposed a six-cent-per-gallon increase in the state's gasoline tax, in part to help SEPTA. Boldly pronouncing the T-word that other Republicans have shunned and that her Democratic opponent, Gov. Casey, has tried to keep at a safe distance, Hafer said a six-cent increase in the state's existing 12-cent tax "would meet the needs of the highway department, and it would meet some of the needs of SEPTA. " "It may seem like a lot of money," she acknowledged in Suburban Station at a news conference that was frequently interrupted by train announcements, "but I think it takes leadership to talk about some of the things that are needed in Pennsylvania.

Read their lips. The prospering businesses and booming communities of the Lehigh Valley are practically begging for a tax increase. As they compete for limited state money, local officials say they are willing to pay a higher gasoline tax to upgrade their highways. The Casey administration, however, remains firmly against an increase in the gasoline tax. Motorists already pay 17.4 cents per gallon in state taxes, plus 9 cents per gallon in federal taxes, for a total tax outlay at the pump of 26.4 cents per gallon.

A legislative budget-writing committee yesterday recommended increasing the state's gasoline tax by two cents a gallon to finance repairs to suburban streets and highways. The increase would take effect Oct. 1 and raise the gas tax to 13 cents per gallon. Legislators said it was expected to win approval in both houses of the legislature before lawmakers adjourn this year's session on Monday. Even with the increase, Delaware's gas tax would be lower than Pennsylvania's tax of 16 cents per gallon.

If President Reagan would speak but four simple words, he could immediately ease four serious national worries - the budget deficit, the trade imbalance, the nation's increasing dependence on imported oil and the doubts about his ability to lead the government. The magical incantation? Raise the gasoline tax. Politically the timing is perfect. Mr. Reagan has refused to face budgetary realities for years, but now he is under growing pressure to do so through a compromise with congressional leaders at a "budget summit.

As lawmakers and others continue to focus on our state's transportation-funding challenges, they'd be wise to look beyond the gasoline tax as a long-term solution. Raising the gasoline tax fails to reflect a major shift in national energy policy, Americans' changing driving habits, and, finally, hard political realities in Harrisburg and in Washington. The fact that the gasoline tax no longer works as the principal means of funding transportation projects should be axiomatic by now: If it did work, we would not be in a crisis.

The state Transportation Commission voted yesterday to send its proposal for a 5-cent-a-gallon increase in the gasoline tax to Gov. Casey for review, maintaining that the raise was needed for a $11.7 billion road program. Casey spokesman Robert Grotevant said the governor opposed any tax increase. But Transportation Secretary Howard Yerusalim, chairman of the commission, told the members that one of the governor's aides was quoted as saying Casey would consider a recommendation by the commission.

Congressional negotiators are near agreement on key elements of a budget plan that would raise gasoline taxes by 4.3 cents a gallon but cut the federal deficit by less than $500 billion over the next five years. House and Senate Democratic leaders hope to seal the deal at a meeting this morning. If all goes well, President Clinton will announce it this afternoon, congressional sources said. The most controversial element of the agreement is likely to be its failure to meet Clinton's initial deficit-reduction target of $500 billion.

The ripple effect created by the escalating price of gasoline, along with a Republican vow to roll back part of the federal fuel tax, has doomed any possibility of SEPTA's benefiting from a proposal to boost gas taxes in Pennsylvania. But City Councilwoman Happy Fernandez remains undaunted in her campaign to win for SEPTA funds from gas taxes in the event similar legislation is proposed in the future. "Proposing that SEPTA share in gasoline taxes isn't a short-haul project, so we're in this fight for the long haul," said Fernandez, chairwoman for Council's Transportation and Public Utilities Committee.

President Clinton has proposed a tax, soon to be submitted to Congress, that focuses on the energy content - the British thermal unit - in each form of energy. There would be a special, higher surcharge on oil. The tax, a major element of the economic program, was initially projected to collect $72 billion over five years. It is a tax designed by politicians for politics. Its purpose is to get revenues from oil without a gasoline tax. The tax is designed to be so murky the public probably wouldn't blame Washington for pass-along effects.

WASHINGTON - Here is how Philadelphia-area senators voted on major issues last week (House in recess): Senate Surface-transportation programs. Voting 74-22, the Senate on Wednesday passed a bill (S 1813) to authorize federal road, bridge, transit, and highway-safety programs through September 2013 on a budget of $109 billion that would maintain present funding levels. All but $10 billion of the bill's cost would be funded by the Highway Trust Fund, which draws its revenue from the 18.4-cent-per-gallon federal gasoline tax and the 24.4-cent-per-gallon federal diesel tax. The bill also would employ revenue measures such as higher taxation of Individual Retirement Account inheritances, changes in certain pension-fund calculations, and diversions from a federal fund to finance cleanups from leaking underground storage tanks.

If nothing else, motorists and mass transit users across Pennsylvania are learning a great deal about patience from Gov. Corbett. While setting out his latest budget proposal last week, the governor deferred yet again on mapping out his strategy to repair the state's crumbling highways and prevent its 5,000 structurally deficient bridges from falling down. Corbett even trimmed transportation funding by about 9 percent, slashing several hundred million dollars from the $6.43 billion being spent this year.

Any driver idling in traffic while Gov. Corbett agonizes over whether to get off the dime on a transportation funding initiative had better hope his car doesn't stall on a bridge in this region. With a new report ranking the Philadelphia area third in the United States in deficient bridges, motorists also need to hope that state lawmakers face up to the urgent need for action over a projected $3.5 billion annual cost to repair roads and bridges across the state. As state Auditor General Jack Wagner said last week, "It's either pay me now, or pay me later.

The Philadelphia region has the third-highest percentage of structurally deficient bridges among large U.S. metropolises, behind only Pittsburgh and San Francisco. Data analyzed by Transportation for America, a group advocating for more spending on the nation's infrastructure, showed that 20 percent of the Philadelphia region's 4,500 bridges have significant deterioration. The bridges are not unsafe, but many need prompt repairs or limits on the weight they can carry. Pennsylvania continues to lead the nation in the number of bad bridges, with about 26 percent of its bridges structurally deficient.

Gov. Corbett's Transportation Funding Advisory Commission met Monday for the second time to discuss ways of closing perennial shortfalls in bridge, road, and public-transit funding. At stake are needs that have become all too familiar to anyone who drives or commutes in Pennsylvania: aging bridges, potholed roads, and financially struggling bus and train lines. Among the dozens of ideas being floated: increases to vehicle and driver license fees, tire-disposal fees, and car-rental fees.

THE PRICE of gas is at $4 a gallon and rising, and that includes lots of state and federal taxes. So why doesn't the federal government cut some of the federal tax that we pay on a gallon of gas? These bums in Washington are so desperate they won't let up on the federal tax. But the bum in the White House could issue an executive order. Let some of the reserves go to ease up on the price of gas. But no, too much greed - and all these bums and thieves live high on the hog. Pat Panichelli, Philadelphia

The U.S. economy can't seem to catch a break. Just as the recovery was set to hit its stride, new threats emerged: Unrest in the Middle East has caused oil prices to surge, and Japan's unfolding disaster has hung a cloud of uncertainty over financial markets. While the economy has enough going for it to weather these problems reasonably well, it could suffer a significant setback if anything else goes wrong. Few things are worse for the U.S. economy than high energy prices. As more consumer cash is spent on gasoline, less is available for everything else.

Commuters and businesses can't afford for legislators to ignore Gov. Rendell's call to raise at least $1 billion more for roads, bridges, and mass transit. The state's transportation network is badly underfunded. Pennsylvania has the most structurally deficient bridges in the nation - 5,646. About 10,000 miles of state roads are also in poor condition, and many capital-improvement projects have been postponed at dozens of mass-transit agencies across the state. Deficient roads and bridges pose a public-safety hazard, and they cost car owners for wear and tear on their vehicles.

Beneath a 115-year-old SEPTA bridge, Gov. Rendell on Tuesday renewed his call for more money to fix roads and bridges, kicking off a four-day statewide tour to try to prod the General Assembly to action. Rendell also sent a letter to legislators on Tuesday, asking them to reconvene in Harrisburg on Aug. 23 to come up with at least $472 million more for transportation. Rendell plans to make 20 stops in four days, seeking to create public pressure for the legislators to act. "I don't have leverage," said Rendell, whose term in office ends in January.