Last week, the state House passed legislation addressing the mass-transit crisis in southwestern Pennsylvania. The same statewide funding plan included fine print that allows Allegheny County to institute a 10 percent drinking tax and a rental-car tax.

State Rep. Chelsa Wagner, D-Brookline, represents the 22nd District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (www.pahouse.com/wagner).

I have and will continue to fight for transportation funding, but not at an unfair cost to the people of Allegheny County. I must highlight that the transportation bill meant no new taxes for any of the state's 67 counties ... that is, until the Senate amended it to approve new taxing authority only for Allegheny County.

My opposition was reinforced when I found that this amendment was sneaked into an otherwise good piece of legislation in the same way as the infamous legislative pay raise of 2005. Unrelenting opposition to the pay raise stimulated the public demand that we end business as usual in Harrisburg.

I believe I was elected by the people of Allegheny County to fight for true reform that eventually could restore the public trust. The new tax, passed without any public input, would put Allegheny County businesses at a competitive disadvantage. That is not my notion of reform.

Some of my colleagues have likened this new tax to one that exists in Philadelphia, proposing that "if Philadelphia has a 10 percent drink tax, why not Pittsburgh?" My response is simple: What's right for Philadelphia is not necessarily right for Pittsburgh. The fact that Philadelphia has a drink tax is no excuse to lay the same burden on our businesses.

When the House voted to approve this new tax, I delivered a scathing speech on what I felt was a piece of legislation that would unfairly burden only Allegheny County. I was disappointed to have to vote against a plan that I otherwise supported, one that provides so many other good solutions to the statewide public transportation crisis. I maintain that a 10 percent drink tax is considerable for many of the hardworking men and women I represent.

Allegheny County faces unique economic challenges; our workers have lower earning potential than Philadelphians. Ten cents on the dollar is not as easy to come by in Pittsburgh as it is in Philadelphia. Someone who enjoys one or two beers each evening and maybe a weekly night out with his or her family could spend another $250 per year for this drink tax. Given the choice, I believe many would choose to patronize restaurants and bars in surrounding counties to save money.

Let me also address the erroneous threat: If not a drink tax, then property taxes would have had to go up.

This sounds like the doom politics of the past, the politics we're supposed to change. Besides, both taxes burden our working people. If the Senate had not attached the drink tax at the last minute to the transportation bill, we could have ensured an open and transparent process that examined how best to increase local funding for the Port Authority.

It also concerns me that this law gives Allegheny County the power to implement this new tax without addressing the accountability and governance of the Port Authority. I will continue to fight for an overhaul of the Port Authority's board, which is entirely appointed by the county despite the fact that the county funds are only a fraction of the authority's budget. Now we've given the county more taxing authority without giving any protection to taxpayers. Throwing money at a problem without additional safeguards is irresponsible.

I adamantly support public transit and funding for roadways and bridges, which are crucial to our region's economic future. In fact, I spent a great deal of time since taking office advocating for a responsible solution to the transportation crisis. However, I cannot support an unfair and arbitrary tax for Allegheny County, which had no rightful place in this legislation.

We need more incentives for people to live, work and own businesses in Allegheny County, not penalties created by drink and rental-car taxes. This issue ought to raise bad memories of that midnight pay raise of 2005, and I will not support anything that shows such disrespect for the people of Allegheny County.