Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania bill would incentivize purchase of near-zero-emission large trucks
New legislation at the Pennsylvania statehouse is intended to incentivize purchases of near-zero-emission large trucks.
Sen. Rosemary Brown, R-Monroe, introduced a bill last week that would create a Near-Zero-Emission Truck Incentive Program.
The grant program would be administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. The state Department of Environmental Protection would work in consultation with the highway department to reduce emission from large trucks.
Brown wrote in a memo to state senators that “the federal government took steps to tightly regulate heavy-duty truck emissions between model years 2007 and 2010 by requiring the standardization of selective catalytic reduction and diesel particulate filters.” She added that trucks sold in 2006 emit about 10 times the amount of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter as trucks sold today.
Brown told lawmakers that about 34% of trucks registered in Pennsylvania are pre-2010 model trucks.
“These trucks contribute the majority of emissions from the trucking industry in the state,” she wrote. “The proposed grant program will lead to the replacement of these trucks with newer, much cleaner trucks, resulting in lower emissions from the trucking industry and cleaner air for all.”
Additionally, she said the addition of multiple standard safety technologies by original equipment manufacturers in post-2010 model trucks will save lives in Pennsylvania.
Grant program
Her bill, SB1348, would require the state DOT and Department of Environmental Protection to apply for federal funds available for the purpose of reducing pollution.
The state would use the funds to create a grant program to incentivize the purchase of model year 2010 or newer trucks to be titled and registered in Pennsylvania, if accompanied by a trade-in of a pre-2010 diesel truck that is also titled and registered in the state.
“No other single technology transfer can affect Pennsylvania’s air quality and provide immediate health benefits as much as replacing pre-2010 trucks with post-2010 models,” Brown wrote.
The Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association supports the bill.
Rebecca Oyler, PMTA president, said the federal excise tax acts as a disincentive to companies wishing to update their equipment to the latest technology.
“Providing an incentive program at the state level helps offset this impediment and avoids costly mandates that would cripple the trucking industry,” Oyler said in prepared remarks.
SB1348 is in the Senate Transportation Committee. LL
More Land Line coverage of news from Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania
Update: Freeze warning for part of Pennsylvania until Sunday morning – temperatures to drop to 28
Pennsylvania
Could a gas tax holiday be imposed in Pennsylvania as prices at the pump continue to rise?
PENNSYLVANIA (WJAC) — Discussion continues about potentially suspending the Pennsylvania gas tax, one of the highest state gas taxes in the country, as prices at the pump continue to jump.
Lawmakers in both chambers are considering a gas tax holiday that would remove Pennsylvania’s gas tax for a limited period. The Senate proposal would last 60 days, while the House version would run for six months. Supporters say the move would provide needed help for people across the state, while opponents argue it is not sustainable.
The proposals would save drivers about 57 cents per gallon on gasoline and about 75 cents per gallon on diesel from the state gas tax.
Representatives of the Democratic senator Lisa Boscola, who proposed the Senate bill and is from the Lehigh area, said they will continue pushing the measure they believe is needed by families around the state and are optimistic it will pass.
In the House, the effort is mostly being pushed by Republicans, though local Republican Rep. Jim Rigby said he does not support it because it is “not a real solution.”
Democratic Rep. Paul Takac agrees, saying state police and PennDOT road work are funded through the gas tax, and that suspending it would essentially defund both, and they would have to find money to fill those voids. Takac added that he has not heard any serious intention to move the bill forward.
Democratic Rep. Frank Burns said he believes that if the proposal came to a vote, a gas tax holiday would pass with bipartisan support and would provide at least a small break to struggling families.
The debate continues as gas prices continue rising, with another jump in the last week.
Chief economist Gbenga Ajilore of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities says prices are unlikely to fall soon.
“It seems like gas prices are going to go up, and even if there’s some sort of resolution in say the next couple weeks, it’s going to be difficult to see prices go down anytime soon,” Ajilore said.
The Senate is back in session on Monday and for the next few days after that, but not again until June. If the gas tax holiday is going to move forward anytime soon, that is when it would likely happen.
In the House, the proposal would need to clear the Democratic-led Transportation Committee before it could go to a vote.
PENNSYLVANIA (WTAJ) — Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate remained steady at 4.2% for March, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) announced in its preliminary report Friday.
According to L&I, the rate in Pennsylvania was one-tenth of a percentage point below the country’s unemployment rate, which fell to 4.3% compared to February.
The civilian labor force, consisting of residents working or looking for work, increased by 6,000 to 6,593,000, and employment increased by 9,000 while unemployment decreased by 3,000 from February.
Nonfarm jobs also rose in March, to 6,189,600, while jobs in six industry supersectors increased. Trade, transportation, and utilities were up 5,100 during March.
For more information about L&I, visit its website here.
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