SUNBURY — State legislators won’t approve a leasing agreement for the Pennsylvania Turnpike until they hear whether the Federal Highway Administration will permit tolls on Interstate 80, a Valley lawmaker says.

The state Turnpike Commission is expected to decide any day whether it will submit a partial application to the FHWA seeking preliminary approval to place tolls on the 311-mile interstate.

Meanwhile, Gov. Ed Rendell is supporting a 75-year, $12.8 billion turnpike lease offer from a public-private consortium led by Spain-based Albertis, which has said its interest will remain through September.

A joint initial application from the Turnpike Commission and the state Department of Transportation to the FHWA to place tolls on Interstate 80 was returned earlier this year because it was incomplete.

“The Turnpike Commission’s plan wasn’t the slam-dunk they said it would be,” state Sen. John Gordner, R-27 of Berwick, said last week.

“The commission still hasn’t given a full response to the FHWA’s questions,” Gordner said. “They said they may have a partial response soon.”

The Legislature has two alternatives to the proposed lease, which languishes before the House Transportation Committee.

If a lease of the turnpike is desired, an open and competitive bidding process under the direction of the State Transportation Commission should be considered, Gordner said.

The other option would be to enact serious efficiency measures for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, including eliminating jobs and making the Turnpike’s operations more competitive.

State Rep. Russ Fairchild, R-85 of Winfield, agrees with some of Gordner’s ideas.

“The FHWA is going to have to make the decision,” he said. “I-80 doesn’t meet the existing criteria for the tolling program.”

Fairchild said he believes the Turnpike Commission is dragging its feet by not resubmitting the application to the FHWA.

“They know if the government says no to tolls on I-80, they will have to revisit Act 44,” he said.

Act 44, passed by the state Legislature last July, allows for the placement of tolls on Interstate 80. In October, the Turnpike Commission and PennDOT entered into a 50-year lease agreement as required by Act 44.

Under the agreement, the Turnpike Commission would transfer $83.3 billion to PennDOT for transportation projects across the commonwealth.