The House Appropriations Committee advanced House Bill 17 88 at a committee meeting after a brief overview and largely party-line statements. The bill would increase the statutory transfer for mass transit funding, authorize the Commonwealth Financing Authority to bond revenue from a sales-and-use-tax transfer for highways and bridges, dedicate funding for three- and four-digit state routes, require minimum system performance criteria and performance reports, allow public–private transportation partnerships (P3), and permit digital advertising on public-transit vehicles.

The committee executive director summarized the bill for the committee: "In front of us, we have house bill 17 88, which increases the statutory mass transit funding funding transfer, authorizes the Commonwealth financing authority to bond revenue from sales sales and use tax, transfer for highways and bridges, allocates dedicated funding for 3 and 4 digit state routes, requires minimum system performance criteria and performance reports, provides for public private transportation partnerships, also known as p 3, and permits digital advertising on public transportation vehicles." The overview was delivered before the committee called the bill up for consideration.

There was no extended debate on the measure in committee. A committee member said, "It is now past time that we run our mass transit agencies across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This is no longer a political football...This is actual resources that are necessary for the average everyday person." That speaker described riders who rely on transit—parents, workers and seniors—and urged colleagues to act, and also noted the bill covers roads and bridges in addition to transit.

Committee procedure and the vote followed quickly. A committee chair noted, "All Republicans...will be voting in the negative on house bill 17 88," and that "All of the Democrats will vote in the affirmative." The chair declared, "Seeing that the ayes have it, house bill 17 88 will pass this committee." The chair also said the committee has moved similar funding measures to the House floor several times before and indicated the bill is expected to be considered on the floor the next day.

The bill would change how transit and certain highway funds are transferred and used, add performance-reporting requirements and open the door to P3 arrangements and digital advertising on transit vehicles. The committee did not record individual roll-call vote tallies for this item in the transcript; the recorded statements indicate a party-line division in advance of the chair's declaration that the bill passed the committee.

Next steps: the chair said the committee expects the bill to be taken up on the House floor soon.