HARRISBURG -- The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission says it recently made a series of changes to allow more "competition and transparency" in awarding lucrative contracts for bond work, legal services, investment advice, financial consulting and other professional services.

But that didn't stop state Rep. Mike Vereb, R-Montgomery, from introducing a bill yesterday to eliminate the commission and turn its operation of the statewide toll road over to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

He cited the turnpike's lack of competition in the past in awarding publicly funded consulting contracts and other work, and charges that well-connected lawyers and financial firms, especially from Philadelphia, got turnpike work through their political connections as justification to eliminate the commission and transfer its 2,000-member union work force to PennDOT.

The five-member commission, headed by Allen Biehler, who is also PennDOT secretary, last week decided to change its process for hiring "professional service providers, such as bond and legal counsel, to maximize competition among providers," Mr. Biehler said.

The commission, along with some top nonunion managers, would be eliminated to save money. A new deputy secretary at PennDOT would take over the job of turnpike construction and maintenance oversight.

Unlike many turnpike directors, who have strong political ties to whoever is governor at the time, Mr. Vereb said this new deputy secretary would have to have a civil engineering degree and at least 10 years of experience on road maintenance and construction.

The Vereb bill could face strong opposition because the turnpike has given jobs for years to legislators' friends and relatives. "I know (elimination of the turnpike) will be a tough thing to do," Mr. Vereb said. "But we need to put an end to the 'backroom politics as usual' mentality. The commission is widely known as a pit of political patronage."

His bill, if enacted, would put Mr. Biehler in a strange position, since his job as Turnpike Commission chairman would be wiped out, but his power as PennDOT secretary would be expanded.

Mr. Biehler said he is well aware that state residents "expect more openness from their government than ever. This year, the turnpike will spend $400 million on roadway projects as part of a capital improvement plan and we owe it to toll-paying motorists to explain how we're spending that money."

Bob Guzzardi, a conservative activist from southeast Pennsylvania, said turnpike commissioner Tim Carson is a lawyer with a prominent Philadelphia firm, and commissioner Pat Deon is chairman of the Philadelphia mass transit agency, which he claimed gives them both a lot of political pull with Philadelphia lawyers and other professional consultants.

"It's time for a change" in how the turnpike does business, Mr. Guzzardi said.

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