PA House Transportation — 2026-10-05

Thank you. Thank you. All right, here we go. Good morning, everybody. I call the meeting of the House Transportation Committee to order this meeting. is being broadcast and recorded for the members' information. Evan, can you please take roll?

Bellman. Here.

Guzman. Designation.

Isaacson. Here.

Mazzocco. Designation.

Mullins. Designation.

Powell.

Schusterman. Designation.

Devonzo. Designation.

Ham. Designation.

Rinkavage. Here.

Shuren. Here.

Smith. Here.

Tomlinson.

Senate Bill 1217 by Senator Frank Ferry. This bill designates multiple roads and bridges throughout Pennsylvania. The full list is in the bill analysis. This bill passed the Senate 49-0.

House Bill 297 is sponsored by Representative Stambol. The bill extends the range of ATVs operated as emergency vehicles from 2 miles to 15 miles in counties of the 4th through 8th class, and the current restriction of 2 miles remains for counties of the 1st through 3rd class.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I appreciate you holding hearings on this bill. and on this issue as a whole. It is a problem that we have across Pennsylvania is that our fire departments and emergency agencies cannot basically operate vehicles they need to reach remote areas more than two miles away from a fire or ambulance station. So I appreciate you raising the profile of this issue, and I ask everybody in the committee to support it. Thank you.

House Bill 368 is sponsored by Representative Diamond. The bill allows antique, classic, vintage, collectible, or historic military vehicles to transport people or property to a permitted location, activity, or event.

Absolutely.

House Bill 1592, introduced by Representative Manny Guzman. This bill requires electric vehicle charging stations to include at least one parking space large enough to accommodate wheelchair-accessible electric vehicles. And there are no amendments filed to the bill.

House Bill 2304 by Representative Arvin Venkat and Lindsey Powell. This bill waives the ID card renewal fee for individuals over 65 who have surrendered their driver's license for medical reasons. Currently, an individual who surrenders their driver's license for medical reasons will receive a free initial ID card but must pay the renewal fees going forward. The current ID card renewal fee is $44.50, and there are no amendments filed to the bill.

Amendment A-04438 by Representative Lindsey Powell. This amendment changes the effective date to 22 months.

The amendment, as said, is straightforward. It was a recommendation by the administration, but simply changing the effective date from 60 days to 22 months to ensure that we have enough time to make those necessary changes at PennDOT Are there any other comments or questions on the amendment

Thank you, Chair Nielsen, Chair Benninghoff, members of the committee. This legislation came about from the way that the best legislation does from a constituent coming to my office. He brought in the renewal notice for his mother, who had given up her driver's license four years before, received a free state ID, and then saw this renewal notice and said, why is my mom having to pay $44 to renew an ID that presumably the state wants to encourage, that she stay connected with the state through identification and had done the right thing to give up her driver's license with age and the medical conditions that may make driving difficult. As an ER doc, I have seen this situation. It is very challenging, and we definitely want to make sure that senior citizens who have difficulties with driving stay connected with the state through state ID and not have to have any financial barriers to doing so. I very much appreciate the partnership with Representative Powell on this legislation along with you, Chair Nielsen, and your staff, and I hope that the committee will be able to support the legislation.

Sure. Thank you so much, Chairman, and thank you to Representative Venkat for his hard work on this, as stated. We just want to make it easier for folks who have to give up their license or should give up their license to do so. And so thank you to the partnership on this bill, and thank you to PennDOT for working diligently with us to make this happen.

Thank you. Thank you, Representative Venkat, for putting this in. good conservative message I do have voter registration cards so do you want to join us all joking aside just for anybody that might be listening I want to make sure when we surrender license it's not just for the elderly periodically people need to do this because of passing out for one reason or another often times epileptic patients but I want anyone listening that they can reapply should their condition improve specifically those who may have less consciousness for one reason or another is that correct or is there any caveat would that not be effective

I completely agree with you. I've had to sign the form related to epilepsy and other impaired conditions, and there is a process for restoring your driving privileges in that circumstance. I just didn't want to mislead anybody that might be listening that it's broad-brushed across and that there's no opportunity to be repealed. Thank you.

House Bill 1633 by Representative Emily Kincaid. This bill authorizes certain cities to establish shared electric low-speed scooter programs, also known as e-scooters, and provides for private ownership of these devices. And there is one amendment filed to the bill. The question is, will the committee report the bill? I offer Amendment A-04432. Kyle, can you please give us a summary of the amendment?

This is a comprehensive amendment that is agreed to by the Prime Sponsor and does the following. First, as it relates to privately owned e-scooters, it requires the driver exam to contain at least one question regarding driving safely near pedestrians, bicycles, and other transportation users. E-scooters are exempt from titling and registration requirements. A person may not operate an e-scooter above 25 miles per hour on a bike lane, roadway, or bike path. A person under 16 may not operate an e-scooter. A person under 18 must wear a helmet when operating an e-scooter. An e-scooter may not have more passengers than the number for which it was designed. An e-scooter may not be operated on a sidewalk except when doctor parked in a designated area. And a person riding an e-scooter has all the rights and duties applicable to a bicycle. The penalty is a summary offense with a $10 fine, which is the current fine for bicycle violations. If a violation is made by someone under 18, the rider's legal guardian is guilty of the penalty. If the legal guardian cannot be identified, a police officer may confiscate the e-scooter until a legal guardian claims it. Confiscation does not apply to rented e-scooters. PennDOT must distribute communication and educational materials regarding e-scooters to the public. PennDOT must implement a public education campaign to educate the public about e-scooters. A seller of e-scooters must provide written notice to purchasers of state law regarding e-scooters, including the age, speed, helmet, and number of rider provisions. Local governments may adopt ordinances for enhanced penalties regarding the operation of e-scooters, but no single fine can exceed $100. And PennDOT is not liable for e-scooter accidents caused by infrastructure deficiencies. Next, regarding the commercial e-scooter rentals. Commercial e-scooter rentals are subject to the same operating rules as privately owned e-scooters. cities of the second class second class a and third class may establish a shared electric scooter program with a commercial electric scooter sharing enterprise within their boundaries upon adoption of an ordinance that meets certain requirements including geo-fencing rider limits fleet size vehicle maintenance information strategies to reduce negative interactions between riders and pedestrians parking and charging station installation and maintenance The scooter-sharing enterprise must establish a complaint hotline for the reporting of abandoned e-scooters and violations. An enterprise must maintain commercial insurance of at least $2 million for each occurrence, $2 million in the aggregate, and automobile coverage of at least $1 million for each occurrence and $1 million in the aggregate. PNDOT may restrict access to a segment of road if PNDOT identifies a pattern of safety issues that cannot be reasonably corrected. a city may impose additional penalties of up to a hundred dollars for failure to operate a an e-scooter correctly up to 150 for failure to park an e-scooter correctly and up to 150 per day on the enterprise for failure to collect a returned and abandoned e-scooter within three hours of abandonment abandonment each city that establishes a program must prepare an annual port to the general assembly and pendat is not liable for e-scooter accidents caused by infrastructure or defense deficiencies. And that concludes.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I really want to thank you, Mr. Chairman, and your staff for all of the work that they put in to help us get and you put in to help us move this bill. Thank you, Rep Kincaid, for agreeing to this amendment. I am grateful today, not only as a legislator, but as a mom and as a resident in Delaware County, that we are taking major steps forward to address adolescent use of e-scooters. in 2025 a young girl abigail gillan a 12 year old girl lost her life during an accident on june 14th she died from her injuries june 16th two days after the accident she was riding her e-scooter with her friend on a street in aston and her family grieved very publicly and it came to our attention as many many parents throughout the county called our offices senator carney and myself and other state representatives from Delco, the parents didn't understand that these were not legal to be used in Pennsylvania. And so I feel as a legislator it's our responsibility to act to the issues that are going on. And in our neighborhood, children are riding these. They are not wearing helmets. They are not riding them where they should be, and it is a safety hazard. And I do not want to read any more stories about children losing their life because we failed to act in Harrisburg. We are the only state in the country that does not have regulations on the books for e use for private use Thirty states have laws that regulate e and the additional 15 states have local laws that regulate them So it is really incumbent upon us to do something And I understand not everybody is happy with the final product, but that usually means it's a good thing because there's compromise. And this is a major step forward in the right direction. So thank you, everyone, and I urge you to vote yes.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and hopefully this will be the last time that I have to terrorize you about this. That's on the record. but you know this is something that you know was born out of the fact that that Pittsburgh had an e-scooter share program was incredibly successful and when it when we didn't reauthorize it we lost 40 jobs in the area and this is a micromobility issue it we should be providing to people every opportunity to be able to get to where they are going. And e-scooters are just one of them. And I appreciate your work and Rep O'Meara's work on the amendment because we do need to put guardrails on private ownership of it. I know for certain that there are members of this committee that have private e-scooters, even though technically they are not street legal in Pennsylvania. but you know the number of times that I've been in a conversation with somebody while watching someone ride down the street on an e-scooter I think just proves that we need to do something about this to do nothing to not pass any legislation with any level of guardrails does not make our community safer what it does is continues this wild wild west reality that we live in with e-scooters. And so if we are able to pass this, then we actually are going to be able to protect kids, protect our communities, make our sidewalks and our streets safer for everybody who's trying to use them. So I appreciate all of the work that your staff and you have put into this to get this bill to where it is. Thank you, Representative. And we have been debating this

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. You outlined it pretty well, and kudos to the amendment that does improve the bill, but I think this discussion needs to continue on. You know, sharing the road doesn't mean you have the rights to use it and have no liability or cost involved with that. There is a growing concern about the overall issue of liability insurance. I live near a college town, obviously at Penn State. I also served as county coroner. I want to remind anybody listening, 25 miles an hour may not sound very fast, but I've seen people killed in cars at 30 miles or less. So at the end of the day, I think we need to have a very honest, open discussion, and I think the biggest concern I hear from a lot of people, in addition to these things darting out in front of them, because they are quit, they're a lot of fun, is the cost of who's going to be liable in the instance of a car and a scooter in a crash. We know that for the most part the motorist in a vehicle will be seen as the deeper pockets, and their insurance company very well may be held liable or somebody may sue in order to do that. I think we need to be smarter about this. It wasn't that many years ago where we finally put little license plates on ATVs because people were tired of their property being destroyed, people coming on and off, and the police, by the time they get there, they're very difficult to chase, but you can write a license plate down. So I think the committee will continue to work on this. I commend the maker of the bill. I know you're very dedicated to us. You're a hard worker, and this is an important issue, but we need to strike a balance between fun, recreational, and have commonality in a responsibility, whether you're driving a car, motorcycle, bicycle, or an e-scooter. So, Mr. Chairman, thank you for bringing this up, and we'll continue to move it through.

Thank you for your work on this, Bill. I didn't even realize e-scooters were illegal in Pennsylvania until this issue came up a year or so ago. I see them so frequently in my neighborhood and my communities, you would think they are, but we get a lot of complaints and issues and they're not used safely. I have used them safely in other cities that my family and I go and visit. And so I think it would be a good option for us to have here in Pennsylvania. My only concern about this bill is that I think most people don't understand what a second class city is, second class A city or third class city is. And that people might read about this in the newspaper, assuming it passes, and think they're able to use a scooter. But none of my communities, none of most of our communities, they're still illegal in those communities. In State College, they'd still be illegal. In Philadelphia, right? No, maybe you can correct me on where they would be legal or illegal. Sorry for the confusion.

No, not especially. So not especially. Like, could they have Lime? Sorry, I'm just trying to understand.

No, yeah, they wouldn't be able to do a share program. So State College wouldn't be able to set up an e-scooter share program, but the individual students would be able to have e-scooters and go around on their own if they have private e-scooters. Like they do now. As the chairman quite pointed out, yes, they're all over campuses, all across the Commonwealth, we can say that. And all the insurance provisions that you heard here today under the description is for those commercial deployment only. And that's why Chairman Benninghoff brought up the other portion that, you know, the personal use is not there. Whereas take my homeowner's policy, for instance. My kids ride bicycles. I'd be covered under the bicycles. These are not covered. There is no rider. The insurance industry has yet to put out a product to put this on because of the liability So that why we talking the chairman talked about the liability of these being personally used and that's why we put it to 16, and that's why we did all these guardrails in here to make sure that these aren't toys. And as the holidays are approaching, we have to realize these are not toys. These are real mechanical, and they go fast. And the chairman pointed out, 25 miles an hour isn't slow. It's not slow. And believe me, it was something we looked at. We have looked at it. And this is the compromise where we came up in between. So crawl before we walk is what I always tell everybody. And I'll probably mention that quite a few times this week on the House floor because there's some pieces of legislation. And this is a crawl before we stand up and walk. There is a lot of work that has to be done on this as we move forward, but we cannot stop this. We need to do something now. Like I said, the holidays are coming, and I can see them all under somewhere, and there's going to be 1,000 more by the end of the year all over the place.

Chairman Nielsen.

Bellman.

Curry.

Guzman.

Hohenstein.

Designation, yes. Designation, yes.

Yes.

Yes. Nzako. Designation, yes.

Aye.

Designation, yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Designation, yes.

Designation, yes.

I am a yes.

Designation, yes.

Designation, yes.

Yes.

Designation, yes.

Designation, yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Designation, yes.

House Bill 2433 is sponsored by Representative Schurin. It amends PennDOT's multimodal program to require PennDOT to basically prioritize projects that incorporate recycled asphalt materials when awarding grants out of that program. The purpose of the legislation is to incentivize the use of recycled asphalt across the Commonwealth.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I certainly do appreciate the committee bringing the bill up as well as the bipartisan support. It's a good first step.

Thank you for your patience. I just want to echo that. A lot of people don't think about these types of things. Even some of our lumberyards have new stock that gets old and bent up or damaged or whatever else and just seems a sin to just throw them in the landfills and we can reuse them. Some of you know we currently reuse our millings when we shave the sides of the roads or resurface the roads, and oftentimes I have friends that get them for their driveway. It compacts nice, and there's a multitude, as they are all tar-based, and I think this is a good initiative, and I'm glad to see the committee take it up. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

House Bill 2810 by Chairman Ed Nielsen. This bill requires PennDOT to create a digital titling system that allows for the electronic submission of registration and title documents from dealers for initial registration and titling in the transfer of ownership of a vehicle. The system must be implemented by qualified and currently contracted electronic registration vendors already approved by PennDOT. The system must include the digitization of all forms required for title and registration, the use of electronic signatures, and real-time access for motor vehicle records to facilitate vehicle purchases and vehicle transfers using PennDOT's record. There are no amendments filed to the bill.

House Resolution 617 by Representative Gina Curry. This resolution designates the month of October 2026 as National Pedestrian Safety Month in Pennsylvania. There are no amendments filed to the resolution. Thank you.

You want to talk?

You sure?

You won't be here next year, right?

Chairman, this is it. I don't think we're coming back. Got anything besides you serving with the best chairman in the House?

Chairman, where's our quarters?