OOIDA Call to Action – Pennsylvania members
July 24, 2009

Heads Up: Pennsylvania truckers! They are at it again. A bill awaiting consideration on the floor of the Pennsylvania Senate would allow for public-private partnerships to pay for road and bridge work.

A year ago, Senators approved the same bill only to see it rot in a House committee. But we CANNOT rest on this issue and hope for the same outcome. Contact your Senator NOW to oppose this bad bill.

SB693 would allow state government and local transportation authorities to partner with private groups to fund the design, construction, maintenance and management of state and local roads, bridges and more. It does exclude handing over the Pennsylvania Turnpike to private groups.

Since supporters of privatization aren’t backing down, we MUST do the same. It is imperative to communicate with lawmakers on this matter.

SB693 would give the state’s Transportation Commission sole responsibility for oversight and administering public-transportation agreements.

They have got to be kidding! This independent commission would make decisions on things that should be in the hands of elected officials. Not only is this an awful idea, but there are definite questions about the constitutionality of such a maneuver.

Also, lawmakers need to know that instead of chasing various “innovative” methods, such as privatization deals, to come up with revenue they would be better served to focus on addressing wasteful and abusive spending by PennDOT and the Turnpike Authority.

Contact your Senator about SB693. For their contact information, click here. You can also call the OOIDA Membership Department at 800-444-5791, and they will look up the information for you.