Tolling a death knell

IN REJECTING the tolling of Interstate 80, federal highway officials have handed a big headache to the state, and the pain of that headache is no doubt going to be shared by all of us.

Gov. Rendell has been trying to get approval for this idea, which would raise hundreds of millions of dollars to help fund mass transit, especially SEPTA, and fix the state's roads and bridges. Tolling I-80 was a good idea supported by almost everyone in the state, with the exception of those living in the I-80 corridor. But the feds say it's legally untenable since interstate toll revenue is restricted to the maintenance of the tolled road, not for more general projects.

In the short term, the ruling means the state is going to have to find about $470 million - $160 million for mass transit and $310 million for highways and bridges. Rendell is calling a special session of the Legislature to figure this out.

Given Harrisburg's track record for making bold budget moves, we have moderate expectations for that session, and that process. But the options for raising this amount of money without a bold move are limited, at best. Especially since the governor's office says it prefers for the shortfall to come from transportation-related areas: a higher gas tax, for example, or higher fees on licenses and registration. An oil-profits tax is also a possibility, but that didn't fare very well in 2007. Leasing the highway will undoubtedly be explored again, too.

But rather than imposing more burdens on taxpayers, especially at the gas pump, we'd like to see some sacred corporate cows be milked for some of the budget shortfall. Natural-gas drillers, for example, should pay more for the privilege of extracting gas from the state. This "extraction tax" has already met with fierce resistance, but has the potential for raising $120 million in the first year.

Rendell wanted this tax to build up the bank in anticipation of federal stimulus money going away. But the extraction tax should move to front and center again in light of this budget hole. It's crazy to let highly profitable companies drill the state for free.

In a meeting with this editorial board yesterday. Sen. Arlen Specter suggested that the surface-transportation reauthorization bill in Congress could provide a solution to the state's problem. We have big questions about this, especially how quickly that will get done.

As an already tough budget season gets even tougher, it's becoming clearer that this harsh reality is going to be with us a long time. *