Legislation introduced in the state House this week would abolish the five-member Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and shift responsibility for the turnpike and its 2,000-member unionized work force to the state Transportation Department.

The change would lessen the stigma of political patronage and corruption and bring more accountability to the management of the turnpike, says the bill's sponsor, Rep. Mike Vereb (R-Montgomery.)

For years, the commission has been dogged by allegations of political-patronage abuses, as well as favoritism in awarding lucrative contracts.

At former senator Vincent Fumo's recent public corruption trial, a former Turnpike Commission chairman was found to have a contract with the state that required little to no work for the salary he received. The chairman, a Fumo pal, was removed from the post after the senator was found guilty.

At the moment, the FBI is looking into alleged corruption in connection with a $170 million, six-lane widening of the turnpike in the Valley Forge area. Agents are trying to determine whether project managers allowed faulty work in exchange for kickbacks from contractors.

Meanwhile, a statewide grand jury is delving into patronage, campaign donations and contracts in connection with the commission.

Under Vereb's proposal, responsibility and daily management of the turnpike would go to the deputy secretary of toll administration at PennDOT.

To discourage patronage, the person filling the post would have to have a civil engineering degree and at least 10 years of experience designing and building highways.

Vereb terms the Turnpike Commission "top heavy" with managers.

The turnpike operation, he notes, is run by nine executives who manage 545 miles of roadway &tstr; one executive for every 60 miles. This compares to the seven PennDOT executives who manage 41,000 miles of roadway, or one executive for every 5,857 miles.

Vereb's proposal comes at a time when the Turnpike Commission says it's moving toward more "competition and transparency" in awarding contracts for bond work, legal services, investment advice, financial consulting and other professional services.

"This year, the turnpike will spend $400 million on roadway projects ... and we owe it to toll-paying motorists to explain how we're spending that money," declares commission chairman Allen Biehler, who is also PennDOT secretary.

Biehler's comment would do little to satiate Vereb, who calls the Turnpike Commission an "outdated and antiquated" agency.

"There is absolutely no reason why we should have two government organizations dealing with transportation issues," adds Vereb, referring to the turnpike and PennDOT.

Despite the worthiness of his proposal, Vereb apparently faces an uphill fight in the General Assembly, largely because the turnpike has given jobs for years to legislators' friends and relatives.

That should not dissuade the lawmaker, who has struck on an intriguing proposal that could rid Pennsylvania of a scandal-plagued agency while reducing some costs to taxpayers.