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Ask the Governor – July 3, 2013 (entire one-hour program)
We now offer the ENTIRE one-hour Ask the Governor audio program right here on PAMatters.com. Now, you can listen to the entire program and/or watch video clips of specific topics. Click the play button to get started…
This program was recorded Wednesday, July 3rd, 2013 and includes discussions on the following topics and more: The state budget and the failure of the legislature to pass transportation funding, alcohol privatization or pension reform; Medicaid expansion; flooding in Clearfield County; Gettysburg’s 150th anniversary recognition; listener emails and much more!
Stripped Down Pension Bill Moves Out of State Senate Committee
The state Senate Finance committee has moved a pension reform bill to the floor, after gutting most of Governor Corbett’s proposals.
The stripped down bill was amended to impact only future state and public school employees. Starting in 2015, they would be placed in a defined contribution 401 (a) plan. The amendment removes all language affecting current employees. Another amendment exempts state police and corrections officers.
Senator John Eichelberger (R-Blair) says action is needed now to deal with the SERS and PSERs unfunded pension liabilities.
Senator John Blake (D-Lackawanna) does not believe the bill will lead to lower pension costs and thinks it could cost taxpayers more in the long run.
The committee approved the bill by a 6 to 5 vote.
Despite the amendments which removed most of his proposals, Governor Tom Corbett commended the committee for voting SB 922 to the floor. He called the vote a positive step toward reform.
The Governor says he will continue to work with the legislature on other aspects of pension reform.
Pennsylvania & New York to Share Copy of the Bill of Rights
When the original Bill of Rights was passed by the Congress of a young nation in 1789, copies were hand-written and sent to each state. Pennsylvania’s copy disappeared in the 1800s. New York’s was believed to be lost in a fire. Still, the New York Public Library has one of the hand-written copies and many believe that is Pennsylvania’s copy.
Rather than litigate, Governor Tom Corbett says Pennsylvania and the New York Public Library have agreed to share the document for the next 100 years. Pennsylvania gets it for four years every decade and New York gets it for six. Pennsylvania’s first 4-year turn starts in the fall of 2014, and the document will be on display at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.
The process began when a friend of Corbett’s, Philadelphia attorney Steve Harmelin, approached him while he was Attorney General and asked if he could begin negotiations on behalf of the Keystone State. Harmelin had just successfully helped North Carolina recover its copy of the Bill of Rights, which was taken during the Civil War.
A library benefactor agreed to donate millions of dollars to build the special climate-controlled case that will be needed to properly display and preserve the deteriorating parchment.
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO PENNSYLVANIA’S COPY? No one knows for sure. Some think it may have been stolen by a state employee in the 19th century. In any event, the copy to now be shared was donated anonymously to the New York Public Library in the late 1890s. Since the documents were not marked for each state, there’s no way to tell which copy this is.
Radio PA Roundtable – June 14, 2013
On this week’s Radio PA Roundtable, the state House of Representatives passed its version of the state budget. You’ll hear segments of the final debate; also, a major twist this week in the Philadelphia building collapse story. Governor Tom Corbett stops by and we bring a very special surprise celebrity guest in segment 3.
Radio PA Roundtable is a 30-minute program featuring in-depth reporting, commentary and analysis on the top news stories of the week.
Click the audio player below to hear the full broadcast:
Governor Corbett to Nominate Judge Correale Stevens to the PA Supreme Court
Governor Tom Corbett today will submit his nomination for a vacant seat on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. That seat opened up with the resignation last month of former Justice Joan Orie Melvin who was convicted on corruption charges earlier this year. She is appealing that conviction.
The governor has selected longtime Superior Court Judge Correale Stevens for the post. Stevens has been on that bench since 1998, serving as President Judge since 2011. Prior to that, Stevens was a Luzerne County Judge and District Attorney. He also spent four terms in the state House of Representatives.
The nomination, expected to be delivered to the state Senate today, requires a two-thirds confirmation vote. If that happens, Stevens will be seated on the high court for the term that ends in January of 2016. The election to select a permanent justice is due in November of 2015.