Gov. Tom Corbett

Governor Corbett Signs Unemployment Bill

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Governor Tom Corbett has signed a bill to ensure the continuation of a federally funded, 13 week period of unemployment compensation benefits.  Senate Bill 1030 also makes reforms that will save Pennsylvania’s unemployment compensation fund an estimated $133 million annually.

The Governor called it good legislation and an important step toward reforming Pennsylvania’s unemployment compensation law.

Governor Corbett says while the reforms will benefit employers and the workforce, there remains more to do, in the long-term, to restore the trust fund’s solvency and repay the state’s federal loans.

The Department of Labor and Industry says extended benefits claimants should file next week, starting on Sunday, as they normally would.

The state House and Senate passed the bill unanimously this week.

Without the Governor’s signature, about 45,000 claimants would have lost the extended benefits.

Pennsylvania’s May Unemployment Report Raises Some Concern

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Pennsylvania’s jobless rate dipped one-tenth of a point to 7.4% in May.  Some economists are concerned about the numbers, because the seasonally adjusted number of non-farm jobs dropped by 14,200. 

Mark Price, labor economist for the Keystone Research Center in Harrisburg says the May jobs report raises concerns that a renewed weakness in the national economy is being felt in Pennsylvania.

Price says the weakness was widespread in May’s state numbers; there was weakness in almost every major sector.  He says the public sector continued to shed jobs, and we have not seen the full impact of public sector layoffs because budgets are still being finalized.

 Price says we will have to see if these numbers continue or if the May report is just a bump in the road. He points out Pennsylvania has added just under 80,000 jobs since the end of the recession.   

He believes we’re still far off from the risk of a double dip recession, but Price says a bigger concern is growth remaining too slow.   He says that would signal a long, slow, painful recovery.  He says state and local governments would continue to struggle because they won’t have a lot of the revenue they had in the past and a lot of families will have trouble making ends meet. Price says what we need is much faster growth.

State Capitol Fountain

Lawmakers Cast Unanimous Votes for UC Reforms

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State Senator John Gordner (R-Columbia)

State Sen. John Gordner (R-Columbia)

State lawmakers passed the bill just in time to ensure that the federal extended benefits program continues.  “We are getting it done literally under the wire, but it’s an important fix to do for the 45,000 folks who would otherwise lose 13-weeks of unemployment compensation,” says State Senator John Gordner (R-Columbia).  Gordner chairs the Labor & Industry Committee, helped to broker a major compromise between chambers and joins us for this week’s Radio PA Roundtable program. 

The bill represents the biggest reforms to Pennsylvania’s unemployment compensation system in the last 20-years.  “We were the only state left without an enforceable work search provision,” Gordner tells us.  It also freezes the maximum weekly benefit at $573-dollars.  Gordner says that provision slows down the growth of benefits.  “So, those 20% that are at the top level are not going to be losing benefits, but we’ve basically put in a freeze for a year, and then a 1% cap on the growth of that system.”  The average weekly benefit is currently $310-dollars.   

Also, individuals who get severance pay beyond $17,853 (40% of the average salary) won’t be able to concurrently receive unemployment compensation benefits. 

The package will save the state’s unemployment compensation system $114-million dollars next year.  However, PA borrowed over $4-billion dollars from the federal government in order to meet its UC obligations during the recession.  Gordner calls it a “good start” in paying that money back.  “We still need to do a solvency measure.  The problem with this drill was that we were under a time element and we got to the last day in order to do it.” Gordner tells us he’ll work with State Rep. Ron Miller (R-York), who chairs the House Labor & Industry Committee, to come up with a long-term solvency package. 

The House approved the final version of SB 1030 on Thursday.  The Senate did likewise on Friday.  Both votes were unanimous.  Governor Tom Corbett is expected to quickly sign the bill into law.

Mike Schmidt and Barry Bonds Baseball Cards

Poll: Phillies Win PA Pennant Race

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The Phillies top the Pirates 51 – 22 in a new survey of Pennsylvania baseball fans.  It’s Quinnipiac’s first ever Pennsylvania Pennant Race poll.  “The Phillies are playing .600 ball, compared to the Pirates .500, and Pennsylvania fans are lined up with the winner,” says pollster Tim Malloy. 

It’s no surprise that fans in the southeast prefer the Phils (83%, 89% in the city).  Likewise, southwest fans prefer the Bucs (78%, 76% in Allegheny County).  What’s interesting is Central PA, which roots for the Phillies 50 -13. 

These numbers are taken from the responses of Pennsylvanians who self-identify as baseball fans.  They were asked, “What is your favorite major league baseball team?”  Behind the Phillies and Pirates, the New York Yankees came in third with 8% support.  The Mets get 3%.  The Braves, Orioles and Red Sox net 2% each among PA baseball fans. 

(In the interest of full disclosure, yes those are my baseball cards pictured above… and I root for my hometown Cleveland Indians)

Milk Marketing Board Maintains Current Dairy Price

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The Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board has acted on a request from the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau to maintain its current over-order premium price for Class I milk. The board agreed to keep the price at $2.15 per hundredweight for the six months beginning July 1. In addition, the board will keep its current premium price add on for fuel costs in place.

Farm Bureau President Carl Shaffer says improved milk prices this year are bringing some relief to dairy farmers, who are using any net profits to pay down debt accumulated during 2009, a devastating year for most milk producers.

The Bureau asked the board earlier this month to maintain the price levels, citing the volatility of milk prices over the past three years along with consistently higher fuel, seed, fertilizer and feed costs. Dairy farmers are also concerned about the rain this spring, fearing delays in planting could affect the yield of feed crops. Pennsylvania had its wettest spring on record this year. A lower yield could force dairy farmers to buy additional feed from other sources, further increasing their costs.

Dairy farmers whose milk is produced, processed and sold in Pennsylvania for Class I fluid milk  receive the over-order premium and the premium add on based on the price of fuel.

Consumer should see no change in milk prices as a result of the action.

June is National Dairy Month.  According to the Farm Bureau,   the dairy industry produces over 40 percent of the Commonwealth’s agricultural receipts.

Money From Higher Education Agency Will Boost State Grants

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Pennsylvania’s state grant program is getting a shot in  the arm from the agency that administers it.  The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency has approved a $50 million public service contribution to the program. Along with the expected state appropriation, that’s raising the anticipated maximum state grant from $3,541 to $4,309 for the 2011-12 academic year. The supplement is funded entirely through the agency’s business earnings.

PHEAA spokesman Keith New says the agency has been doing a series of restructuring and cost-cutting initiatives, they’ve developed new business and they’ve been able to secure their financial position sufficiently to be able to provide the additional funding. Pennsylvania is now one of four official federal student loan servicers, enabling the agency to grow its business.

Representative William Adolph, PHEAA Board Chairman, says the agency has worked diligently to cut costs and boost productivity to ensure that its best able to serve the needs of Pennsylvania students and families struggling to afford higher education.

In addition to the supplemental funding for state grants, PHEAA has extended the deadline for community college students to file the annual State Grant application from May 1 to August 1 for non-renewal students. The extension is expected to provide awards to approximately 15,000 additional students.

The Governor’s proposed State Grant appropriation is $380.9 million. Once the Commonwealth budget is passed, final awards will be recalculated for all students.

PHEAA expects to award grants to 192,000 students for the next academic year.

 

Prescription Drug Abuse

Testifiers: PA Needs RX Drug Monitoring Program

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Prescription drug abuse is an epidemic in Pennsylvania, according to State Rep. Gene DiGirolamo (R-Bucks).  In efforts to rein in the problem, the chairman of the House Human Services Committee has introduced legislation to create a Pharmaceutical Accountability Monitoring System to give doctors and pharmacists the ability to monitor people they suspect of doctor shopping or pharmacy shopping.  “Then they’ll be able to tell this person that – hey – I’m not going to write this prescription because you’ve been at Dr. so-and-so yesterday for the same thing,” DiGirolamo tells us.

The House and Human Services Committee held the first of two hearings on HB 1651 Thursday.  A litany of speakers urged lawmakers to act on the bill.  “Pennsylvania is awash in prescription drugs of addiction, and many of them are tragically lethal.  The streets are full of prescription drugs of addiction,” said Deb Beck, president of the Drug & Alcohol Service Providers Organization of Pennsylvania.  Others pointed to 2005 data that show nearly 1 in 20 Pennsylvanians used an opioid for non medical purposes in the past year. 

DiGirolamo says the cost to the state would be negligible because the bill gives pharmacists the responsibility of entering the information into the statewide database.  The Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association supports the initiative.  “Pharmacists probably more than anyone see the effects of diversion and abuse, and are put in the hard decision point of whether to dispense or not,” said Pat Epple, Association CEO.  Epple, however, did point out that the bill would not be without costs to pharmacies.  She also raised the point of “mail order” pharmacies, which would not be covered by the bill. 

DiGirolamo tells us 47 other states have already put similar tools in place.  A second hearing has been scheduled for next Thursday, because so many people expressed interest in testifying.  Details of the bill are still being hammered out.

Lottery Fund

Pennsylvania House Votes to Give PA Lottery a Financial Check Up

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The Pennsylvania Lottery will be getting a financial check up.  The state House of Representatives has adopted a resolution that directs the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to prepare a report on lottery sales forecasts, in both the short and long term.

Representative Martin Causer (R-Cameron/McKean/Potter), the sponsor of the resolution, says the last financial review was conducted in 1994.

Causer says a lot has changed since then, and he wants to make sure there’s sustainable funding for the valuable programs the lottery supports.  The resolution, HR 106, cites the introduction of casino gambling and lingering concern regarding the potential impact of slot machines and table games on lottery sales.

The committee will look at whether state Lottery fund revenues are sufficient to support lottery-funded programs at existing or expanded levels or if cutbacks or program changes will be needed to maintain the solvency of the fund. The panel will also determine if any changes to law, regulation or policy are needed.

Lottery funded programs include Area Agencies on Aging, PACE, PACENET, long term living, Property Tax and Rent Rebates and shared ride services.

The   committee will have six months to complete the study.   The report will be submitted to the Aging and Older Adult Services and Finance Committee.

The vote to approve HR 106 was unanimous.

State Capitol Facing North Office Building

Lawmakers Strike Unemployment Compensation Deal

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The compromise ensures that some 45,000 unemployed Pennsylvanians won’t lose their extended federal benefits next week.  It will also save the unemployment compensation system about $114-million dollars a year.  “It is the most extensive unemployment compensation reform package that we have seen – it’s the only unemployment compensation reform package we’ve seen – in ten years,” says House majority leader Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny).  “There are significant reforms that are being brought to the table.”   

Chairman of the House Labor & Industry Committee, Ron Miller (R-York), says they will freeze next year’s maximum weekly benefit at $573-dollars a week.  “There will be a zero percent increase for next year, and then a five year sliding scale that will be one percent the year after, one point one the year after, that is the cap, it can’t go above that,” Miller says. 

Other savings would come from a new requirement that unemployment compensation recipients actively search for work, and new rules concerning severance pay.  The savings in the deal that was struck Wednesday evening are greater than the $60-million projected savings in the original Senate bill, but much less than the original House bill.  The legislative process is on pace for Senate concurrence this Friday. 

The statewide unemployment rate currently stands at 7.4%, according to data just released Thursday by the Department of Labor & Industry.  It’s much lower than the national average, which remains above 9%, but Pennsylvania owes the federal government nearly $4-billion dollars it has borrowed to cover unemployment benefits during the recession.

PLCB Holds the Line on Prices Again

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The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board will hold the line on prices this summer.  The board has rejected more than 400 price increases requested by its suppliers. Chairman Patrick J. Stapleton says it was just not a good time to raise prices on consumers, who have already been facing higher prices at the supermarket and gas pump.  

Stapleton says that after looking at the numbers and the buying patterns of Pennsylvanians, it was clear that consumers could not sustain any price increases at this time. He says customers are continuing to “buy down”, picking up cheaper items. 

Stapleton says maintaining current shelf prices ensures people can enjoy their favorite wine or spirit without sacrificing the family budget.

Stapleton says the board  also gave consideration to its licensees, such as restaurants and other establishments, who are just finally starting to pull out of the recession.     

Stapleton says the board will take another look at the issue in three months, because price requests are usually submitted quarterly. The PLCB had earlier implemented a moratorium in November, while also maintaining its own operational costs.