Senators call on US Trans. Secretary to nix I-80 tolling

Senate approves VOIP, fallen soldier protection bills

State Senator Bob Robbins was one of 11 state senators who sent a letter on Tuesday to the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to express their continuing opposition to the proposal to toll Interstate Route 80.

In other actions during the Session week of December 3-5, the Senate approved a bill that would take actions against companies seeking financial gains from images of fallen soldiers and another bill to prevent the state from regulating telephone calls to be made via a broadband internet connection

In their letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters the senators expressed their serious concerns about the negative impact the proposal will have on residents and businesses in the Commonwealth and asked her to carefully consider those concerns as the Department reviews the Pennsylvania application.

Among the specific concerns cited by the Senators are:

The tolling proposal will have overwhelming negative economic impact upon business and industry located along the I-80 corridor by greatly increasing transportation costs.
The Turnpike Commission and the state Department of Transportation failed to sufficiently seek public input on the proposal prior to the passage of Act 44, despite claims in the application that a number of hearings were held in the spring of 2007.
Act 44 received significant opposition in the General Assembly, passing by only an eleven vote margin in the Senate and only a 45 vote margin in the House of Representatives. The proposal has also generated significant opposition among the members of the state's Congressional delegation.
A 2005 study by the state Department of Transportation concluded that tolling Interstate 80 was not a viable option to fund the state's transportation needs.
The proposal to toll Interstate 80 fails to meet any of three criteria required by the federal government to institute tolls on interstate highways. Those three criteria include traffic congestion relief, reduction of vehicle emissions in non-attainment emission areas or the need to construct additional road infrastructure.
While the Turnpike Commission did not seek comment prior to the passage of Act 44, it has conducted a series of hearings since the passage of the Act and has received overwhelming negative public input.

"This was the second letter that I have sent to Secretary Peters in the past few weeks expressing my strong concerns about the tolling plan and the impact that it would have on the residents and businesses of northwestern Pennsylvania," Senator Robbins said. "I was pleased to join with my colleagues to further stress our apprehensions about this plan."

In other actions, the Senate on Monday unanimously approved legislation co-sponsored by Robbins that is aimed at protecting the rights families of soldiers who have died in Iraq by prohibiting the use of the name or likeness of a fallen soldier for commercial profit.

Senate Bill 1125 would make it a misdemeanor to publish for commercial purposes a fallen soldier's name or image without the family's consent, and would preserve the family's right to file a civil suit to protect their privacy and attach any proceeds.

The issue first came to light when an Oklahoma family discovered various materials being marketed on E-Bay bearing the image of their son who died in combat in Iraq. A Flagstaff, Arizona, company that sells anti-war and anti-Bush bumper stickers via the Internet was distributing the T-shirts, which included the names and images of fallen soldiers, along with a super-imposed political message.

"I strongly oppose the actions of any business that would abuse the memory of our fallen solders for their own financial gain. We need to put this law on the books in Pennsylvania as soon as possible," Senator Robbins said.

The Senate also approved Senate Bill 1000, legislation that would prevent any state government agency from regulating Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). VoIP allows telephone calls to be made via a broadband internet connection instead of a regular phone line. Use of VoIP services grew by more than 500 percent in the last two years.

In 2007, roughly 25 percent of the country will be VoIP-enabled with the VoIP market exceeding 10 million subscribers. Of that, cable providers account for approximately 71 percent of the market. Increasingly, cable and telephone companies are offering VoIP as part of a package of services, including broadband, video, and telephone.

While the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has barred states from imposing telecommunication regulations on VoIP-to-VoIP (computer to computer) calls, a recent Federal Court decision has left uncertain the authority of state regulatory agencies over calls that use Voice over Internet Protocol, but have to ultimately go over traditional telephone lines.

Other measures passed by the Senate this week included:

Special Session Senate Bill 25, a bill co-sponsored by Senator Robbins that designates by-products of the pulping process and wood manufacturing process, including bark, wood chips and sawdust, as Tier 1 alternative energy sources.

Senate Resolution 203, a resolution co-sponsored by Senator Robbins that urges the President of the United States and the Congress to cease funding for the Cross Border Trucking Demonstration Project. This demonstration project allows certain trucks of Mexican registry to be used in commerce upon the highways of the United States.

The resolution is offered in light of concerns over economic, environmental and safety issues that the program creates with regard to freight transportation within the borders of Pennsylvania and other states.

The resolution specifically sites the Clean Air Act implications of older, less regulated trucks of Mexican registry which may be travelling Pennsylvania highways without the same emissions restrictions required by Pennsylvania trucks. The resolution also recognizes the potential for border security issues, and roadway hazards being aggravated under this program.

Committee Roundup

The Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee amended and then approved Senate Bill 497 on Tuesday. SB 497, introduced by Senator Robbins, would add the term "trails" to the definition of Land and "motorized recreational vehicle riding" to the definition of Recreational Purpose under the Recreational Use of Land and Water Act (RULWA). RULWA limits the legal liability of landowners who make their land available to the public for free recreation.

"The motorized recreational community has been advised by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources that future trail opportunities should come from private landowners," Senator Robbins said. "That's why I am introduced this legislation to support those current and future landowners who will provide those additional riding opportunities for the motorized recreational community."

The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee approved four bills targeting predatory and other questionable mortgage lending practices in Pennsylvania.

Senate Bill 483 would amend the Loan Interest and Protection Law of 1974 to increase the monetary cap in the Act from $50,000 to $200,000.

Senate Bill 484 would permit the Department to publicly release information on pending enforcement actions and fines levied against non-depository licensees.

Senate Bill 487 would amend the Mortgage Bankers and Brokers and Consumer Equity Protection Act to create a new licensing category for individual mortgage originators who deal directly with the consumer by soliciting, accepting or offering to accept mortgage loan applications or negotiating mortgage loan terms.

Senate Bill 488 would amend the Secondary Mortgage Loan Act to create a new licensing category for individual mortgage originators who deal directly with the consumer by soliciting, accepting or offering to accept secondary mortgage loans (home equity) applications or negotiating secondary mortgage loan terms.

Contact:

Michael Hengst
(717) 787-1322