Tough times call for strong leadership. You can bet that's a theme Pennsylvania voters will hear ad nauseam in the fall campaigns.

So how about a little of that right now? How about the Legislature grabbing the state's transportation funding crisis by the throat and laying it to rest before Labor Day? Isn't this what Pennsylvanians deserve from 50 senators and 203 House members? Isn't this why we pay each of them at least $78,000 a year?

When federal officials rejected in April the state's request to toll Interstate 80 as a way to fund transportation projects statewide, Pennsylvania was left with an immediate $472 million hole in its road, bridge and transit budget. That shortfall has yet to be filled, despite Gov. Ed Rendell's declared special legislative session on transportation funding.

In the meantime, the lack of action is fraught with consequences that could threaten drivers, passengers and transit riders alike. The Port Authority of Allegheny County, for instance, just detailed what will happen if it can't plug an anticipated $50 million deficit -- a 35 percent service cut, another jump in fares and at least 500 layoffs. A large chunk of concrete fell Monday from a 55-year-old bridge in Montgomery County, a reminder of the 2007 bridge collapse in Minneapolis that killed 13 people and, closer to home, the 2005 failure of a bridge section over Interstate 70 in Washington County that injured five.

Such horrors will make for memorable visuals in TV ads against do-nothing legislators. Which is why the November election should be a motivating force to find a funding solution now.

Gov. Rendell has a detailed plan that's worth consideration. His first choice is to raise taxes on oil company profits while barring them from passing the cost on to consumers. If lawmakers don't like that, he favors raising the gasoline tax by 3.25 cents per gallon, driver's license fees by $2.10, annual car registration charges by $9, yearly vehicle inspection sticker fees by $2.06 -- and other modest fee increases.

The higher gas tax would bring in $200 million, while the fee hikes would deliver $265 million. Sure, it's an election year, but approving this plan would address the funding problem, and the solution would be borne by road and bridge users, as opposed to all state taxpayers.

This is a challenge for Pennsylvania of the first order. Weak-kneed lawmakers need not apply. The governor is right to demand the General Assembly begin working on the funding issue on Aug. 23 and people have a right to see a solution by Labor Day.

The state doesn't have another month to lose.

Cartoonist Rob Rogers does "Rob's Rough," an early look at his work and his creative process, exclusively at PG+, a members-only web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.