In 2017, PSP estimated that providing police services to municipalities without local police departments cost approximately $234 per resident—totaling over $641 million annually in free services. In the 2022-23 state budget, PSP received $500 million from the Motor License Fund to continue supporting these communities.
Currently, about two-thirds of Pennsylvania municipalities rely on PSP for patrol services instead of maintaining a full-time local police force. While PSP coverage spans 82% of the state’s land area, it serves only 25% of the population. Meanwhile, the other 75% of Pennsylvanians—who fund their own local police through municipal taxes—also pay state taxes that subsidize PSP services in communities that opt out of local law enforcement.

Although the Pennsylvania Constitution permits the use of Motor License Fund dollars for PSP highway and road patrols, it prohibits their use for non-traffic-related policing duties such as burglary investigations, shoplifting, and other criminal cases. Yet PSP routinely performs these services in municipalities without their own police.

My proposal would align with Section 1798.2E of the Fiscal Code to phase out the diversion of Motor License Fund dollars and instead charge municipalities an annual fee for PSP coverage. Municipalities receiving part-time PSP services would pay one-third the rate of those receiving full-time coverage. Municipalities that establish their own local police departments or join regional police forces would be exempt from the fee. Importantly, the proposed fees remain significantly below the actual cost of providing PSP services.
I respectfully invite you to join me in co-sponsoring this legislation to ensure a more equitable and sustainable system for police coverage in Pennsylvania.