As SEPTA cuts loom, patience is wearing thin for Democrats in Harrisburg

HARRISBURG — Democratic lawmakers in Harrisburg say they have made their position clear on funding mass transit — and their patience is wearing thin.

“The governor’s frustrated. We’re frustrated,” House Majority Leader Matt Bradford (D., Montgomery) said in an interview Monday. For weeks, Bradford, who represents many Philadelphia and collar county representatives at the negotiating table with Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R., Indiana) and Gov. Josh Shapiro, has met behind closed doors in attempts to hash out a state budget deal.

But as Pennsylvania’s top leaders continue to try to reach consensus between a narrow Democratic House majority and the GOP-controlled Senate, the budget is nearly a month overdue, and less than four weeks remain until SEPTA has vowed to implement a 45% service cut without additional state funds.

“It’s time to move from conversation to final passage,” Bradford said.

» READ MORE: Not just SEPTA: Public transit is in trouble all across Pennsylvania, including in GOP districts

House Democrats have approved mass transit funding increases on four occasions over two legislative sessions, including as recently as June 17. They have attended rallies in support of public transportation riders. They have tried to compromise by including GOP priorities, such as allocations for road and bridge repairs, as they have proposed alternative funding streams for mass transit.

Bradford said that the clandestine state budget talks continue to progress — the same way top leaders have, for weeks, described the closed-door negotiations.

“We’ve done, obviously, our part. But it’s collectively not enough … to get it to the governor’s desk,” Bradford said. “The governor’s led. The House has passed [funding increases for mass transit]. The Senate has got to act. That’s where we’re at.”

Pittman and most Senate GOP members have resisted giving more to SEPTA — which already receives more than $1 billion in state funds annually from the state’s sales tax — saying they see the transit authority as mismanaged and lacking accountability for fare evasions, safety, and more.

Still, Bradford and other Democrats’ tenor largely hasn’t shifted to aggression toward their Republican colleagues — yet. Instead, Bradford says it as a matter of fact: The House has done its job, now it’s up to Senate Republicans to figure it out.

The closed-door negotiations are fragile, as the leaders from Pennsylvania’s divided government and the Democratic governor try to agree on how to spend more than $50 billion in state revenue, while this year also attempting to fill a $5.5 billion budget gap. The talks require all involved to come to the table in good faith, and public pressure campaigns can complicate those delicate relationships.

But as talks drag on into August — a month past lawmakers’ deadline to present a balanced budget to the governor by the start of the fiscal year beginning July 1 — the pressure is beginning to build. Democrats have started to direct their focus to the three GOP state senators in SEPTA’s backyard: Sens. Joe Picozzi (R., Philadelphia), Frank Farry (R., Bucks), and Tracy Pennycuick (R., Montgomery).

This week, Rep. Rick Krajewski (D., Philadelphia) posted on X, telling SEPTA riders to call each of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Republican lawmakers’ offices to pressure them to deliver for their constituents. The post was shared by other House Democrats, including House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D., Philadelphia).

Rep. Morgan Cephas (D., Philadelphia), who chairs the city’s delegation to Harrisburg, in an interview reinforced a similar question for the GOP senators from Philly and the collar counties: “What can you get out of your chamber so we’re not having to face the 53,000 students that are relying on mass transit to get them to school in the Philadelphia area on Aug. 25?”

The three GOP Southeastern Pennsylvania senators introduced a package of bills last week to add accountability measures for SEPTA to enforce fare evasion reductions and encourage public-private partnerships like those the transit authority is already working on, among other changes. The proposal does not include a funding mechanism, drawing some criticism from Democrats, but is intended to be a part of a final budget deal to help gain more GOP Senate votes, Picozzi said.

» READ MORE: A plan to improve SEPTA emerges from the GOP state Senate, with no funding attached

Both Picozzi and Farry said that behind the scenes, they have been working to secure SEPTA’s future.

“It’s something I’ve been fighting for since the day I walked in the door,” said Picozzi, a freshman senator representing parts of Northeast Philadelphia.

Farry said he was in contact with Pittman about the status of budget talks as recently as Friday, and he remains encouraged that if leaders reach a deal to regulate and tax skill games to generate additional revenue in Pennsylvania, they will be able to support mass transit and infrastructure projects in the state.

“I think ultimately, when the budget is done, it’ll be done and be inclusive of an increase in mass transit funding,” Farry said.

» READ MORE: Taxing skill games could help fund SEPTA. Here’s what to know.

Cephas said she doesn’t expect her party to publicly turn up the heat much higher: Democrats will continue to emphasize that the ball is in the Senate GOP’s court.

What’s more: She trusts Bradford, who she said was elected leader by House Democrats to represent them at the negotiating table for a reason, and noted that he has been able to keep mass transit funding at the forefront of budget talks.

“It’s not Democrats who are stalling and not doing their job,” Cephas added. “We’ve passed a funding mechanism to the Senate. … It’s frustrating to us to still be going into August without a finalized budget.”