HARRISBURG — State lawmakers are pleased Gov. Ed Rendell's office is accepting bids to lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike, but they are distressed by the way he is doing it.

Lawmakers have questioned whether Rendell's two-month time frame to privatize the 530-mile Turnpike is realistic. They also question the logic behind the governor's office submitting only one bid to the House for approval.

Rendell's aides said prospective private operators would have to submit bids near the end of April and the Legislature could approve a deal by June 11.

In a press release, state Rep. Dick Stevenson, R-8th, said, "This gives us no opportunity to compare the submitted bids and to determine for ourselves which would be the better deal for Pennsylvania."

The statement also said Stevenson is disappointed the governor may only send one bid to the General Assembly for consideration.

Fearing international control of the Turnpike, increased tolls, reduced maintenance or job loss for Turnpike administrators, state Rep. Jaret Gibbons, D-10th, has said he supported I-80 tolling over privatization.

"I am uneasy about one of our state's greatest assets being controlled by a private entity, either foreign or domestic," Gibbons said.

If the Turnpike is privatized, the operator would be allowed to increase tolls by 25 percent in January, and then each year by either 2.5 percent or the consumer price index, whichever is greater.

The increase schedule mirrors the one permitted by Act 44, which authorized tolling of I-80.

A study released by the House Democratic Caucus last month argued the I-80 tolling plan was more cost-effective and warned that lawmakers may try to divert money from a Turnpike privatization deal to other purposes.

State Rep. Brian Ellis, R-11th said, "We as a Legislature need to have all of the information available to us. (Rendell) has taken an aggressive approach that leaves the Legislature out of it. It's very disappointing."

Ellis said without seeing all bids, instead of just the one chosen by the governor, the House has no idea what is driving prices or what is advantageous for the state.

"We've seen nothing out of this governor but him taking care of his friends. First his casino friends, then his movie friends, now this," Ellis said.

State lawmakers in 2007 approved $75 million in film tax credits.

To induce enough lawmakers to support privatization, bidders will probably need to put nearly $30 billion on the table, said House Majority Whip Keith McCall, D-122nd.

State Rep. Scott Hutchinson, R-64th, was one of a dozen GOP members of the House to sign a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters in December, urging her to deny the Turnpike Commission's application for tolling I-80.

"We should strongly consider proposals about the Turnpike, but it must be thoroughly debated. We've got to be able to come clean with the public about what each party brings to the table," Hutchinson said.

He is the prime sponsor of House Bill 1878, which proposes the complete repeal of Act 44.

"I don't see how any one could look at how the Turnpike is managed, one person per mile, and want that same group overseeing I-80," Hutchinson said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.