Pennsylvania Transportation Committee proposes turnpike legislation to collect unpaid tolls

By Tom Lehman

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    HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (WGAL) — Last year drivers racked up $155 million in Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls that went unpaid.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission says the majority of those unpaid tolls are from people who don’t pay when they get a bill in the mail. And officials say all that uncollected money is one reason why turnpike tolls keep going up each year.

WGAL News 8 On Your Side has been looking into the issue, and lawmakers want to make drivers’ lives a little harder until turnpike fees are paid.

Sen. Marty Flynn is the minority chairman of the transportation committee. He is drafting a bill that would require anybody trying to register a vehicle in Pennsylvania to have paid all of their turnpike fees.

“That’s not fair to taxpayers. With that kind of money, the roads, the bridges, we could repair with that kind of money. It just gives us another arm to enforce the law,” Flynn said.

Flynn is also urging the Turnpike Commission to accept PayPal and other forms of payment to make it easier to collect fees.

As part of its plan to pay down billions in debt, the Turnpike Commission is set to continue raising toll prices for years to come.

Sen. Lisa Boscola is drafting a separate bill that would allow the state to garnish lottery winnings or state tax refunds to settle unpaid turnpike fees.

“You get very frustrated knowing that a lot of people just don’t pay, they just won’t do it. You have to penalize them somehow, and, unfortunately, that is the only way to get them to pay,” Boscola said.

Neither bill is expected to pass this year, but Flynn and Boscola are hoping to start a discussion that could lead to the proposals being enacted as law in 2023.

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