Heffley Reacts to PennDOT Audit, Says It Found Nothing New

June 7, 2019

HARRISBURG – Rep. Doyle Heffley (R-Carbon) issued the following statement regarding a recent audit conducted by the office of Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT). DePasquale noted that transfers from the Motor License Fund to the state police have totaled more than $4.25 billion since the 2012-13 fiscal year.

“I’m surprised we needed an audit to tell us this. After all, the auditor general served in the state House of Representatives and should have already known this was the case. In 2012, I authored legislation to restore a portion of this money back into the Motor License Fund and shift the state police cost back into the General Fund. This practice started well before I came into office and escalated under the Rendell administration.

“The House Transportation Committee took up the issue in 2015, calling on the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to study the true cost to the state police for patrolling our highway system. The committee estimated that amount to be $500 million per year. PennDOT is currently transferring more than $700 million a year into the state police fund. So, we passed legislation to phase that back and put the additional money into the Motor License Fund.

“Pennsylvanians pay one of the highest gasoline taxes in the nation. They also pay fees and fines that go toward public transportation and infrastructure projects. It is my opinion that gasoline tax dollars should be going into the Motor License Fund to be used for road and bridge repairs. I understand and support the need for state police funding and feel they should be adequately reimbursed for the resources required to patrol our state highway system. However, state law requires the Motor License Fund only be used on our highways.”

Representative Doyle Heffley
122nd District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Andy Briggs
717.260.6474
abriggs@pahousegop.com
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