HARRISBURG, March 19, 2008 - Two weeks after a bullet narrowly missed a SEPTA bus driver in West Philadelphia, a bill sponsored by state Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione to protect transit workers has cleared a Senate committee.

Tartaglione said Senate Bill 1149 is aimed at curbing the growing number of attacks on employees of Pennsylvania's public transit systems.

"I'm glad that my colleagues have agreed that we need to do something to protect our public transit workers," she said. "It's sad to say that such measures are necessary, but they are."

On March 6, a 53-year-old SEPTA driver was treated for cuts at a local hospital after a bullet shattered his side window.

Under Tartaglione's bill, assault on a transit worker that results in bodily injury becomes a second-degree felony. If the injury is serious, the assailant can be charged with a first-degree felony. The maximum penalty for a first-degree felony is 20 years in prison and a $25,000 fine. The maximum penalty for a second-degree felony is 10 years in prison.

The bill was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee this week and heads to the floor for a vote.

"Transit authorities across the state have compiled hundreds of injury reports resulting from assaults," Tartaglione said. "I think this measure would provide an important deterrent by sending a strong message to those who would take their anger and frustration out on vulnerable workers."

In the 2005-06 legislative session, the Senate passed a similar measure, but it was never voted on in the House.