Bill could cost city $90M over its ban on drivers' using phones

With the city poised to start ticketing motorists soon for using hand-held cell phones while driving, the state House has come up with a potentially hefty financial penalty in response.

State Rep. Richard Geist, an Altoona Republican, has support for an amendment that would strip the city of its portion of the gas tax and money set aside to build and maintain bridges and highways.

That's a combined $90.3 million this year for Philadelphia.

PennDOT warned for months that a local ban on the use of hand-held phones while driving would conflict with the state Motor Vehicle Code. City Council brushed that aside last week to unanimously pass the legislation.

Mayor Nutter will sign the ban into law "in the near future," said his spokesman, Doug Oliver.

"We will always follow state law, but the state law as it is currently written, is highly ambiguous, and explicitly authorizes certain local vehicle regulation," Oliver said. "In the meantime, we are actively working to resolve any outstanding issues in Harrisburg."

Geist said his amendment would be a "huge blow for the city." It is included in a bill expected to be voted on Monday. Similar language has brushed back other municipalities that passed similar cell-phone bans, he said.

"You can't have separate highway laws in Philadelphia and Erie," said Geist, the ranking Republican on the House Transportation Committee. "You have to have consistency in the state."

PennDOT records show Philadelphia received $24.6 million on April 2 for its annual payment of a portion of the state gas tax. The city is scheduled for $65.7 million for bridge and highway building and maintenance.

City Councilman Bill Greenlee, one of the local law's sponsors, said the threat from Harrisburg came as a surprise this week.

"We heard from the Law Department that it was legal," Greenlee said of the legislation before it passed. "I'm sure they looked into all the ramifications."

The state House on Wednesday voted down a statewide ban on cell-phone use by drivers. The House supported instead a measure allowing police to ticket drivers if cell-phone use contributes to careless driving. *