Forcing Act 47 on Harrisburg?

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    Under the state’s Act 47, cities can be declared financially distressed, setting the stage for debt restructuring and other recovery mechanisms. Under a bill passed by the Senate Tuesday, the process could be taken a step further, giving the state the power to establish a management board and mandate Act 47 for cities like Harrisburg.

Senator Jeffrey Piccola (R-Dauphin)

Piccola Seeks to Mandate Act 47 for Harrisburg

    The state’s capital city is in trouble, and officials are mulling over a possible bankruptcy filing that critics say would be devastating. The Senate bill, sponsored by Jeff Piccola (R-Dauphin) would block such a filing. The bill also includes a provision that would withhold state funding if the city or management board fails to “identify, sell, lease or dispose of its assets.”

    The management board would be comprised of three members, two appointed by the governor and one by county commissioners where the city is located. While the measure would affect any city of the 3rd class, the bill is a direct response to the ongoing problems in Harrisburg, which is groaning under the weight of enormous debt mostly tied to a financially disastrous incinerator project.

    Piccola says Harrisburg officials have “thumbed their nose” at Act 47 for over a year and bankruptcy is simply not an option.

    The bill now goes to the state House of Representatives.

State Capitol

Senate Passes Budget Bill as Deadline Looms

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Sen. Dominic Pileggi

Sen. Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware)

The new fiscal year begins on Friday, but Pennsylvania may still have its first on-time budget in eight years.  The State Senate voted along party lines (30 to 20) to pass a GOP-backed $27.15-billion dollar spending plan Tuesday evening.   “This year marks a return to a state budget paid for with state revenues,” says Senate Republican Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware), referring to the $7-billion dollars in federal stimulus money Pennsylvania received over the past three years.  “It is difficult but necessary to reset state spending to reflect that new reality.” 

While the bottom-line is more than a billion dollars below the current General Fund budget, Senator Pileggi points out that the bill increases basic education funding by $268-million and higher education funding by $368-million, compared to the Governor’s March 8th budget proposal.

Senate Democrats still say the budget pain doesn’t have to be so severe. “We’re sitting on an extra, what will probably be by June 30th, an extra $700-million dollars in budget surplus,” says Democratic Appropriations Chair Vincent Hughes (D-Philadelphia). 

But that’s a “so-called” surplus, according to Governor Tom Corbett.  “Yes more revenue has come in, but we still have a deficit… We have spending that has to be done in the future, we don’t think that next year is going to be much rosier – if at all – than this year,” Corbett told reporters on Tuesday. 

While Corbett says spending matches revenues in the current budget bill, he knows that it’s not a done deal yet.  “Until there is a budget, until I have an opportunity to sign one, there is no budget,” he says.  The budget bill now awaits House action.

Governor Tom Corbett

Expanded Castle Doctrine Becomes Law

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State Rep. Scott Perry

State Rep. Scott Perry Addresses a May Gun Rights Rally at the Capitol

Law abiding gun owners’ rights to self defense just got stronger in Pennsylvania.  Governor Tom Corbett signed the expanded “Castle Doctrine” privately on Tuesday.  “It codifies existing law… it codifies the self defense law under common law,” Corbett said in response to questions at an unrelated news conference.  

“If you believe that your home is your castle as I do… then you also believe you have the right to defend it,” said State Rep. Scott Perry (R-York) at a capitol gun rights rally in May.  Perry is the bill’s prime sponsor.  

The expanded Castle Doctrine eliminates one’s “duty to retreat” before using deadly force if they are under attack, virtually anywhere they are legally allowed to be.  Currently, a gun owner’s right to stand their ground ends at their front door.  The new law takes effect in 60-days.  

CeaseFire PA had recently delivered more than 4,000 petitions to Governor Corbett – urging him to veto the expanded Castle Doctrine.  “This expansion we think is a dangerous and unnecessary change to that law, which means that now you can use deadly force in public spaces even if you could have walked away safely,” says CeaseFire PA’s executive director Max Nacheman.  

The news conference, referenced earlier, was held as Governor Tom Corbett publicly signed the “Fair Share Act” into law Tuesday.  It is designed to ensure that defendants in civil lawsuits are only responsible to pay their fair share.  Under the previous system of joint & several liability, defendants with as little as 1% of the fault could be on the hook for 100% of the damages.

Web Based Anti-bullying Program Being Introduced in Time for the new School Year

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A new web-based program aimed at bullying is ready for the new

school year– free of charge.  “The Bullying Academy” was being introduced this week at the International Society for Technology in Education Conference in Philadelphia .

It’s  a project of the Students in the Know Foundation. Executive Director Tommy Walser says the program goes through the major topics of bullying for students in grades 4 through 8, including cyber bullying which many current school programs do not address.  

Walser says cyber bullying can happen through any electronic device. He feels it’s more dangerous than regular bullying because it can happen any time of day, out of the sigh of teachers and parents.  

Walser says the program is all web based, on line and available immediately to students.  It allows them to click on links and view videos.

Schools can register for the program at bullyingacademy.org. Walser says they need to fill out a form with relative information, such as which state they’re in.  Once a school registers and is entered in the database, its students can visit the web site and register individually for the program. 

Walser says the  program requires no additional software or extensive training. It can be implemented during any class period or extracurricular activity.

Walser says they’re trying to teach kids that everyone has civil rights and bullying becomes a legal issue when you violate those civil rights.

 

Firefighter Cancer Presumption Legislation Heads to Governor

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The state Senate has given approval to the Firefighter Cancer Presumption legislation and it’s heading to the Governor for his signature.

House bill 797 won unanimous approval from the state Senate on Monday.  It would cover firefighters who contract cancer on the job under the state’s Workers Compensation Act. 

State Senator John Gordner (R-Columbia), chair of the Labor and Industry Committee, says the House sponsor, Representative Frank Farry, is a firefighter.

Senator Gordner says a lot of work went into the bill and they have municipal groups on board.  But he says most importantly, they’re doing this for the firefighters. He says they never know what type of facility or dwelling or business that they might go in to, and they do not know what harmful chemicals may be in there when they go to fight a fire.

Similar legislation passed in the last session but was vetoed by Governor Rendell. Some small changes have been made this time. Senator Gordner says Governor Corbett enthusiastically supports the legislation.  

Senator Jay Costa (D-Allegheny), Senate Minority Chair, commended the work of Senators Gordner and Christine Tartaglione (D-Philadelphia), saying it’s another example of two committee chairs working very cooperatively together to address significant issues that impact the lives of working men and women in this Commonwealth.

Senator David Argall (R-Schuylkill), who introduced the senate version of the bill, supported the house version, calling it an example of cooperation on a lot of fronts, bipartisan and bicameral.

 

Two-and-a-Half Cheers for Larry Farnese

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    The old saying is supposed to start out “THREE cheers for (insert man-of-the-hour here).” Sadly, I have to withhold the final half-cheer, although on the state Senate floor last night, Philadelphia Democrat Lawrence Farnese gave one of the best 3-minute speeches the chamber has seen in some time.

    As I watched the Senate proceedings continue past 8:30pm, Democrats were in the process of blocking funding for the state-related universities. These are the bills that send state money to institutions like Penn State, Temple, the University of Pittsburgh and Lincoln, as well as a veterinary school at the University of Pennsylvania. After days of being frozen out of budget talks, Democrats apparently thought this ill-advised tactic would be their best course of action, and it was their only chance to cause anything more than a ripple in the budget process. That’s because these so-called non-preferred appropriations bills require a 2-thirds majority in the House and Senate, and while their majorities are solid, Republicans do not have that big of an advantage in either chamber.

Senator Lawrence Farnese (D-Philadelphia)

Senator Larry Farnese just misses out on notching a classic moment in his first term

   So, Democrats voted in the negative on bill after bill, depriving the schools of any funding…all in the name of protecting them from 19% funding reductions (in school, I was taught that 100% cuts are bigger than 19% cuts, but I digress). Republicans chimed in that the tactic could delay the funding until the fall, Democrats said they were holding out for some of that “surplus” money the state has collected this year.

    That’s when Senator Farnese approached the microphone, and for three minutes chastised both parties and the overall budget process:

    Listen to Senator Larry Farnese Blast the Budget Process 

“…if the reason (for) what we’re doing is to prove a point, or because negotiations have gone on and we’re not a part of them, that’s a problem with the process and that’s a problem with this chamber.”

    The senator was correct on all counts. The battle over state-related university funding is just the latest in a long line of questionable tactics pulled by both sides as they trade off majority control from session to session. Here, finally, someone stood up and said so.

    Senator Farnese had the chance to make it a serious stand by breaking from his party’s ranks and voting to allow the funding for the schools, but his umbrage stopped just short of allowing that. Vocalizing your outrage is great, but speaking through your actions is an even more powerful expression. And, that’s where Senator Farnese lost half a cheer last night…

Democrats Take Their Swing

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    Outnumbered in both the House and Senate, Democrats in Harrisburg have just one bullet in their gun, and on Monday they pulled the trigger.

    In both the House and Senate, Democrats blocked passage of several non-preferred spending bills associated with the state-related universities, which include Penn State, Pitt, Temple, Lincoln and the University of Pennsylvania. The schools would have to endure 18-19% cuts to their state funding under the bills, but the negative votes by Democrats could put 100% of the funding at risk.

    The move was possible because non-preferred appropriations bills require passage by a 2-thirds majority vote in both the House and Senate.

    Republicans characterized the move as a dangerous game of chicken, and say the negative votes could stall the funding until at least this fall or beyond. Democrats say they rejected the funding to hold out for further restoration of cuts to the schools. The latest proposals had restored hundreds of millions of dollars from Governor Tom Corbett’s original plan to trim the universities’ funding by more than 50%.

    Democrats want to tap into this year’s estimated $600-700 million in additional revenue collections to restore the cuts. Failure to pass funding for the state-supported universities would not stand in the way of passage of the overall General Fund budget plan, which is expected to get its first vote on the Senate floor as early as today.

Cash

Amended Budget Goes to Full Senate

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    Senate Republicans unveiled the latest version of the FY2012 state budget late Monday during a Senate Appropriations Committee meeting in Harrisburg. The measure passed 16-10 along party lines. The $27.148 billion spending plan also has the approval of Governor Tom Corbett and House Republicans, who signed off on it during closed-door budget talks.

    The budget restores hundreds of millions of dollars in education spending cuts, but Democrats say it’s not enough. Democratic members of the Senate Appropriations Committee tried unsuccessfully to restore or increase funding to several line items through amendments that attempted to bolster human services, AIDS funding, the now-defunct AdultBasic health plan, the arts and tourism, among others. Each amendment failed by the same 16-10 party line vote.

    Senate Appropriations Chairman Jake Corman (R-Centre) says this budget proposal spends responsibly while respecting the billions of dollars in debt the Commonwealth is now carrying.

    The budget bill is expected to go to the full Senate today.

Sate Capitol View from Commonwealth Ave.

“Fair Share Act” Goes to Governor Tom Corbett’s Desk

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    The state House of Representatives has given final approval to a Senate bill known as the “Fair Share Act.” The legislation was one of the top priorities of Governor Tom Corbett and it is now on its way to his desk for signature.

    The bill addresses percentages in civil lawsuit awards to ensure that the percentage of damages leveled against a defendant does not exceed the level of their determined responsibility. It would apply to defendants found 60% liable or less in civil cases. Democrats tried unsuccessfully to amend the bill to exempt minors and senior citizens before the legislation passed 116-83 on Monday afternoon.

    Supporters of the bill argued that exempting anyone from the proposed tort reform would defeat its purpose, and that the bill had nothing to do with plaintiffs. They say the current lawsuit climate in Pennsylvania has hindered the state’s ability to attract new business and create jobs.

    The bill will become law 60 days after the governor signs it.

Final Days of the State Budget Process Are Here

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    Both the state House of Representatives and state Senate gaveled in rare Sunday voting sessions over the weekend, as the two chambers brace for the final flurry of legislative activity expected this week before the summer break. Thursday is the deadline for the state budget, and despite some minor delays in the Senate over the weekend, leaders still say the deadline can be met for the first time since 2002.

    In addition to budget-related bills, House lawmakers dealt with a distracted driving measure that would ban all texting while behind the wheel and legislation that limits liability for damages to the percentage of responsibility in civil lawsuits. Those bills could see final House action this week.

    The Senate is expected to begin working through budget amendments on Monday after dealing with non-preferred appropriations bills for state-related universities among its action on Sunday. The debate over funding for higher education, which was a big part of Sunday’s floor activity, is expected to continue this week.

    Off the floor on Sunday, House and Senate Democrats continued their call for a Marcellus Shale extraction tax or state impact fee. Governor Tom Corbett says he won’t even consider such a proposal and he wants any “impact fees” kept local and completely separate from the General Fund budget talks.