Rep. Brad Roae, R-Crawford/Erie, speaks during a House committee hearing recently.

Pennsylvania legislators are one step closer to losing the use of state-owned cars.

Legislation sponsored by Rep. Brad Roae, R-Crawford/Erie, passed the state House of Representatives by a 183-16 vote on Tuesday that would ban state legislators from using state cars. Roae’s House Bill 746 now heads to the state Senate for consideration.

Roae told a legislative committee last year that only about 20 House members used state-owned vehicles under a program that allows leases up to $650 per month, and participants can use the vehicles for official business, campaign purposes and personal purposes.

Participants pay a proportional percentage of the cost for the non-business use of the vehicle. For example, if 85% of the usage was official business the legislator could have a brand-new full size 4X4 SUV for only $98 a month plus a proportional share of the other expenses such as gasoline.

“Taxpayers are struggling right now to pay for their own cars and fill them up with gasoline,” said Roae, who said he has never used a state-owned vehicle. “Taxpayers shouldn’t be paying to provide state legislators with state cars.”

Roae began pushing House Bill 746 after a former legislator from Delaware County crashed a state-owned car three times, the last of which came while the legislator was driving without a valid driver’s license and fled from the scene of the accident.

Lawmakers like Roae who drive their own vehicles to work activities may submit for expense reimbursement, similar to the way most private-sector businesses reimburse employers for work-related travel expenses.

“Taxpayers are tired of seeing some lawmakers receive what appears to be special treatment,” Roae said.

Similar legislation passed the House in 2018 but did not become law. One reason the proposal may have foundered is that the lease program can save money compared to the state reimbursing legislators on a per-mile basis, especially if those legislators drive a long distance from their district to Harrisburg. The state pays the IRS mileage reimbursement rate to legislators.