The Brief
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives voted to approve a bill that funds mass transit on Monday.
Now, it's up to the State Senate to approve a budget with vital funding for SEPTA.
If funding isn't received by Thursday, August 14, SEPTA will have to cut services by 20 percent.
PHILADELPHIA - There is pressure mounting on the Pennsylvania State Senate to approve a budget with vital funding for SEPTA, as they are scheduled to return to session Wednesday afternoon.
What we know
It comes as lawmakers in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives voted to approve a bill that funds mass transit Monday.
"We’re optimistic, the Senate is coming back so certainly there’s a reason to be optimistic," said Andrew Busch, Director of Media Relations for SEPTA.
Busch says they are hopeful they will receive the state funding they need ahead of the August 14th deadline, which is when they would begin preparing for massive service cuts that affect all modes of transit.
What they're saying
Pennsylvania House lawmakers say the mass transit bill, which had bipartisan support, includes some of the measures that Senate Republicans called for, including Republican Senator Joe Picozzi, who was unavailable to interview with FOX 29 on Monday.
"What we keep hearing from the Senate is we can do a transit bill if we do x, y, and z. Well, this is x, y, z, and a, b, c, so we put it all together in one bill to make it easier for them as they return to session tomorrow night, in the hopes that they will pass it immediately," said Representative Ed Neilson, Chair of the House Transportation Committee.
Representative Sean Dougherty (D-Philadelphia) authored the bill.
"You want mass transit that gets you to and from efficiently, you want it to feel safe on it, and you want it to be clean, you don’t have to be Democrat, Republican, or independent to want that, and this bill does exactly that and it fully funds SEPTA, most importantly, because these cuts are coming," he said.
Lawmakers say the added oversight measures surround additional auditing of SEPTA, fare evasion, and generating additional revenue through private and public partnerships. SEPTA leaders say they are making sure they are available to answer any questions lawmakers have, as the clock ticks.
"We’re hopeful that adds and answers some concerns and questions that had been raised," said. Busch. "Any opportunity we have we’re talking to them to make sure that we’re making SEPTA’s case."
Monday afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman sent FOX 29 the following statement:
"On Friday afternoon I left a meeting with Governor Shapiro feeling like we were making significant progress on a full budget. Twenty-four hours later, he chose to set up a press conference focused on political rhetoric and Leader Bradford scheduled a performance session that did nothing to advance a common sense solution to help all Pennsylvanians. As a result, the Senate has been recalled for session on Tuesday to consider options to address the consequences of a budget impasse."
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