Monday, February 4, 2013
The highlight this week in Harrisburg will be Gov. Tom Corbett's budget address on Tuesday
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Monday, February 4
The Pa. House returns to session on Monday, Feb. 4. All of House session and most committee meetings will stream live on PAHouseGOP.com. Many events also may be viewed on Facebook.com/PAHouseGOP. The governor will present his 2013-14 state budget proposal during a Joint Session of the General Assembly on Tuesday, Feb. 5 at 11:30 a.m. A media availability with House (and possibly Senate) Republican leaders will take place immediately after the budget address in the Capitol Rotunda, 2nd Floor in front of the lt. governor’s office. More details to come. Identified by bill number, the sponsors and summaries for bills scheduled to be considered in committee or on the House floor are posted below. More information regarding these bills can be …
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Auditor General Jack Wagner says the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s debt crisis is growing more serious
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Sunday, September 30, 2012
By Eric Boehm | PA Independent HARRISBURG — Auditor General Jack Wagner on Tuesday accused the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission of using “flim-flam financing” to pay off its $7 billion debt. But Roger Nutt, CEO of the commission, said its finances are sound — as long as it increases tolls for the next decade and beyond. And if the motorists don’t pay, Wagner said, “that debt is guaranteed to be paid … by the taxpayers of Pennsylvania.” Wagner told a joint hearing of the House and Senate transportation committees that the turnpike’s unsustainable debt, which is spiraling out of control, will drive up tolls and eventually drive motorists away from the turnpike completely. Nutt argued that the tipping point — when increased toll revenue is …
A proposed Pa. law would make it a crime to impersonate someone online through a social media account like Facebook or Twitter, or through a fake email address or text message.
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Sunday, September 30, 2012
By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent HARRISBURG — Offending someone online isn’t a crime, but proposed legislation in Pennsylvania would penalize people who take it too far. This week, House Judiciary Committee representatives are scheduled to discuss House Bill 2249, which makes it a misdemeanor to impersonate someone online. But the bill has stirred up free speech debates for its potential chilling effect on online communication — or on pranksters. Now, the bill’s sponsor says specific changes will ensure people who are joking with friends, or exercising First Amendment rights, won’t be prosecuted. The sponsor, state Rep. Katharine Watson, R-Bucks, said the bill is targeted toward giving law enforcement a way to penalize online bullying. …
Friday, September 28, 2012
Will GOP House members push ahead on charter school funding changes and academic accountability during the fall session?
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Friday, September 28, 2012
By Eric Boehm | PA Independent HARRISBURG — A major charter school reform package that would include funding changes and additional academic accountability is widely viewed as a top priority for Republicans in Harrisburg during the fall session, which began Monday. But at least one top House GOP leader said little has been accomplished since the proposal reached the doorstep of becoming law in late June. “We’re coming back cold,” said House Education Committee Chairman Paul Clymer, R-Bucks, on Monday. “I heard nothing much from leadership or the governor’s office about where we’re at for charters.” Clymer said he has read numerous media reports about the charter school bill being near the top of the Legislature’s fall agenda, but he has …
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Lawmakers are talking about prohibiting cell phone use while driving in Pennsylvania
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Sunday, September 9, 2012
By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent HARRISBURG — Driving while using a cell phone or other hand-held device could be prohibited in Pennsylvania. House Appropriations Minority Chairman Rep. Joseph Markosek, D-Allegheny, announced Thursday that he plans to introduce this proposed ban in the fall. Barry Ciccocioppo, Markosek’s communications director, said the ban is being introduced to help police enforce the current ban on texting while driving. “Somebody can have a phone in their hand and say they weren’t texting, they were dialing a number,” he said. The bill has not yet been circulated for co-sponsorship, but does have support within the Democratic caucus, Ciccocioppo said. Drivers caught using phones would be fined $50, or $100 if …
Efforts to increase funding for Pennsylvania’s roads and bridges are stuck in a governmental traffic jam in Harrisburg.
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Sunday, September 9, 2012
By Eric Boehm | PA Independent HARRISBURG — It is, by now, a familiar refrain in the halls of the state Capitol. Lawmakers are waiting for direction and political cover from Gov. Tom Corbett before moving ahead with a comprehensive plan to address Pennsylvania’s transportation infrastructure problems — a move that could include higher taxes or fees. Efforts to increase funding for Pennsylvania’s roads and bridges are stuck in a governmental traffic jam in Harrisburg. State senators from both sides of the aisle said this week that they had transportation near the top of their list of priorities for the abbreviated fall session that convenes Sept. 24, with a goal of approving a transportation funding package early in 2013. Senate Minority …
Monday, September 3, 2012
More than $3 billion in unemployment debt has been cleared following Pennsylvania's refinancing with Citibank
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Monday, September 3, 2012
By Eric Boehm | PA Independent HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania has successfully refinanced more than $3 billion in unemployment debt with the federal government, a move the state says will save businesses an estimated $12 million in taxes and penalties over the next seven years. Because the state was more than $3 billion in debt to the federal government after borrowing repeatedly to cover unemployment compensation payments during the economic downturn, businesses would have had to pay a 1.1 percent effective rate on payroll taxes, instead of the normal effective rate of 0.8 percent. Department of Labor and Industry Secretary Julie Hearthway said the refinancing of Pennsylvania's unemployment compensation debt would help grow businesses and …
Monday, August 27, 2012
Exemptions in Pennsylvania's Open Records Law allow the General Assembly to block requests for records
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Monday, August 27, 2012
By Eric Boehm | PA Independent HARRISBURG — They say no one wants to see how the sausage is made. But in Pennsylvania state government, it’s also true that no one is allowed to see how the sausage is made, even if they wanted to. A pair of exemptions in Pennsylvania’s open records law allows the General Assembly to block requests for records that reflect the “internal deliberative processes” used in the crafting of any budget, legislative proposal or amendment. Members of the General Assembly and their staffs are also specifically exempted from disclosing communication that flows into and out of their taxpayer-funded offices, even though all other state and local public officials in the state are obliged to do so. Lawmakers maintain that …
Sunday, August 26, 2012
A state House committee is expected to file a report on property tax relief measures by Nov. 30, examining municipal and school property tax rates and their cost drivers.
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Sunday, August 26, 2012
By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent HARRISBURG — State Rep. Nick Micozzie, R-Montgomery, served on a property tax committee around 12 years ago, he said. The committee also crafted a report to reform school property taxes. And then it failed to secure the votes on any legislation. He said he doesn’t see that changing this time either. “I think we’re going to spin our wheels a lot of times, like I have done over the years,” he said. Micozzie joined 12 other members of the House Select Committee on Property Tax Reform last week and heard the same arguments for property tax reform lawmakers made this past session, treading water until a new fiscal analysis comes out in the fall. The committee is expected to file a report on property tax …
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Pennsylvania gets a C+, which shows deficiencies in the Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission and the Ethics Act, according to a State Integrity report.
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Wednesday, August 22, 2012
By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent HARRISBURG — In a state still living in the shadow of public corruption, Pennsylvania’s own State Ethics Commission, not surprisingly, sees room for improvement. So do national report cards. Pennsylvania gets a C+, which shows deficiencies in the Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission and the Ethics Act, according to a State Integrity report. Average, the study concludes, isn’t good enough. The report was a joint project from government watchdog groups The Center for Public Integrity and Global Integrity, as well as Public Radio International. The study examined government integrity topics in all 50 states to produce “Corruption Risk Report Cards,” including the capability of ethics enforcement agencies to…
kari
1:35 am on Sunday, November 4, 2012
The pike is only rising tolls because of penndot. I think its stupid that penndot makes my favorite road lose the custorms it has. more ›