PHIA News Digest – Vol. 8, No. 28
Penn State mapping of internet availability boosts state’s federal funding
Work done by Penn State University helped boost the amount of federal funding the state received for broadband service by more than $100 million, officials said Thursday.
Pa.’s Casey, Fetterman, back rule boosting transparency on trains carrying toxic material
Pennsylvania’s two United States senators, joined by a colleague from Ohio, have thrown their support behind a proposed federal rule aimed at providing more information to emergency service personnel who respond to the kind of toxic train spills that upended the lives of thousands of people on either side of the Pennsylvania/Ohio border earlier this year.
Pa. collected $44.9B in taxes in 2022-23 budget year; edging projections
The state’s Motor License Fund received $252.1 million for the month, $3.4 million above estimate. Fiscal year-to-date collections for the fund – which includes gas and diesel taxes, as well as other license, fine and fee revenues – totaled $3 billion, which was $42.2 million, or 1.4%, above estimate.
Schuylkill River Passenger Train Authority takes step on service project
The Schuylkill River Passenger Train Authority voted earlier this week to solicit consultant proposals to prepare plans for the restoration of Reading to Philadelphia passenger rail service, writes Holly Herman for the Phoenixville Patch. According to Thomas E. Frawley, the executive director, the authority received a $750,000 federal grant it can use for the development of the passenger train project.
