Transportation Chair Unveils New Funding Plan

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A newly proposed transportation funding package uses Governor Tom Corbett’s plan as a baseline, then goes even further.  In February, Governor Corbett outlined a plan that would raise $1.8-billion dollars annually by year five.  Tuesday, Senate Transportation Chairman John Rafferty unveiled legislation that would generate $2.5-billion by year three. 

Both proposals would uncap the Oil Company Franchise Tax that gas stations pay, but Rafferty also wants to add a $100-dollar surcharge to traffic violations and hike the state’s vehicle & registration fees that have gone unchanged since 1997.

“We aren’t just going to resurface roads and pave bridges,” Rafferty says, “we’re actually going to add capacity to our transportation infrastructure, which is something that is critically needed.  New lanes on roads, new intersections, new bridges.”

The substantial new investment in Pennsylvania’s transportation infrastructure is designed to improve public safety, create new construction jobs and attract new businesses to the area.  The estimated cost would be $2.50, per week, for the average motorist in Pennsylvania. 

PennDOT Secretary Barry Schoch was among the many stakeholders to join Rafferty for Tuesday’s announcement.  Schoch praised the leadership of Sen. Rafferty, but stopped short of fully endorsing his proposal.  “The governor and I have always said we’re open to a dialog… obviously there are balances between the cost to consumers and the benefit,” Schoch says.  “This is a great beginning point of that debate and discussion.”

President Issues Proclamation on Boston Terror Attack

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The following was released by the White House Tuesday…

 

For Immediate Release April 16, 2013

HONORING THE VICTIMS OF THE TRAGEDY IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

– – – – – – –

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

As a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence perpetrated on April 15, 2013, in Boston, Massachusetts, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, April 20, 2013. I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this

sixteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.

BARACK OBAMA

 

Shock and Horror in Boston

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Pennsylvania was well represented at Monday’s Boston Marathon, and Keystone Staters were among those ducking for cover and fleeing the finish line area when two bombs were detonated. At least three people have been killed, more than 140 injured.

Jo Rupp is a former Millersville University runner from York County. The now-Pittsburgh resident was separated from friends after finishing the race and experienced some tense hours as cell phone service was down and chaos interrupted attempts to connect with her group. Rupp did eventually find out that her friends were okay. She is due to return to PA today.

Mark Sullivan is a member of the Selinsgrove-based Susquehanna Ridge Runners Club, which sent 9 runners to Boston. Sullivan had crossed the finish line before the blasts, but his wife had lingered around the finish line area, leaving just minutes before the deadly explosions.

“She had been sitting right across the street from it…she would have been about 50 feet away from where the first explosion took place had she not left when she did. We’re very thankful and we thank God that she wasn’t there,” Sullivan told WITF news.

The FBI is leading the investigation in Boston. President Obama pledged to bring the perpetrators to justice Monday

Auditor General Says Business Owe Millions In Corporate Taxes

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In rolling audits of the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, Auditor General Eugene DePasquale says they’ve found that Pennsylvania is owed more than 40 million in underpaid corporate taxes. At the same time, the state owes businesses over 5 million from over payments.

DePasquale says it’s not a new problem. The audits have been finding a 6-7% error rate for the last four years.  The latest review found more than 12 hundred returns with errors.

He’s calling on the department to step up its efforts to collect the underpayments as well as return the over-payments and forward the difference to the Treasury. He says the net amount of 35.4 million could be factored in to the ongoing budget debate

He says the 35.4 million dollars should be part of the state budget to offset some of the cuts made over the last year. He says it could be used for variety of needs from environmental to education and health programs.

DePasquale could not name the companies that had underpaid, but said two of them were responsible for nearly half of the money owed. He says we should be doing everything we can to collect that revenue to offset tough budget cuts.

He says there are working families all over the state paying their taxes,  who are probably asking why corporations did not pay what they fully owed.

The audit results were announced on Tax Day.

Knowles: Transportation is Smartest Place to Invest Liquor Privatization Dollars

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With a public hearing on liquor privatization now scheduled in the state Senate, a group of state House members is calling for the upfront windfall from the sale of private wine and liquor licenses to be invested in transportation infrastructure. 

State Rep. Jerry Knowles (R-Berks/Schuylkill)

State Rep. Jerry Knowles (R-Berks/Schuylkill)

“It takes each and every dollar from privatization of the wine & spirits shops, and those dollars would be spent on roads and bridges,” state Rep. Jerry Knowles (R-Berks/Schuylkill) said of the legislation he sponsored. 

The governor wants to see liquor privatization revenue used for education block grants, but the bill that passed the House never designated a specific use for the revenue; it simply created a restricted account to hold the money. 

“I would like to see it be a billion, but it doesn’t matter if it’s $750-million, it doesn’t matter if it’s half a billion,” Knowles said at a capitol news conference.  “That’s still big money where I come from.” 

Knowles and his supporters are wary of being blamed for school funding cuts when the four-year block grant program, envisioned by the governor, expires.  “I want to make it perfectly clear,” Knowles said, “the governor has a good idea, it’s just that I have a better idea.”

Rep. Knowles recognizes that his plan would not raise enough revenue to solve PA’s near $3-billion dollar annual transportation funding shortfall, but he suggests that any legislative solution should start with HB 220. 

Meanwhile Senate Transportation Chair John Rafferty is scheduled to unveil a new funding plan on Tuesday, and the as-of-yet unrelated liquor privatization bill faces an uncertain fate in the chamber.

Table Games Revenue Sets New Monthly Record in March at Pennsylvania Casinos

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Although slot machine revenue declined last month at Pennsylvania’s casinos, table games posted a healthy month.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board says table games generated the highest monthly amount to date in March, 9% higher than the same month last year. Last March had set the previous record for table games revenue.

The increase helped balance the drop in slots revenue, pushing overall gross revenue from gaming 1% higher than March of 2012. The numbers were boosted by the Valley Forge Casino, which was only operating a few days during the same month last year as it opened in late March.

Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem had the highest amount of table games play and the biggest increase.

health care, prescription

Report: Fewer Pennsylvanians Getting Health Insurance via Employer

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The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has been tracking a decade-long decline in the number of Pennsylvania residents who receive health insurance through their jobs.  Back in 2001 78% of Pennsylvania residents received health insurance via their employers.  In 2011; 67%. 

A new report indicates the reduction is due to a combination of fewer employers offering insurance and fewer employees selecting insurance.  “And we think that part of this has to do with the costs,” RWJF senior vice president John Lumpkin tells Radio PA.  “Over the last ten years we’ve seen that the cost of buying insurance in Pennsylvania has more than doubled, and this makes it difficult for companies to try to purchase insurance for their employees.” 

Pennsylvania’s average employer-sponsored insurance premium for individuals now stands at $5,100.  Family premiums increased from $6,400 – $14,300 over the time period covered in the study.

In all, 47-states saw a statistically significant decline in employer-sponsored insurance over the past decade.  Pennsylvania was one of 22-states to see a drop-off of ten percentage points or more, but Lumpkin says it still ranks in the middle of the pack.

Starting in 2014, Lumpkin believes the health insurance exchange, offered via the Affordable Care Act, will provide alternatives for the 33% of Pennsylvanians who do not receive health insurance through their employers. 

But will states like Pennsylvania experience a further decline in employer-sponsored insurance once the federal health care overhaul is fully implemented?  According to Lumpkin, no.  “Seven years ago Massachusetts passed a law that was very similar to what we see with the ACA, and in their experience employer-sponsored insurance – insurance through the job – has stayed exactly flat.” 

Pennsylvania has elected to allow the federal government to operate its health insurance exchange, or marketplace, but could still opt to assume control at a later date.

Radio PA Roundtable 04.12.13

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On this week’s Radio PA Roundtable, Brad Christman and Matt Paul hash out the background check compromise ironed out by, among others, Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Pat Toomey. The governor is on a trade mission to South America and he checks in by telephone from Sao Paulo. And, Matt has an interview on the subject of “emotional eating.”

Radio PA Roundtable is a 30-minute program featuring in-depth reporting on the top news stories of the week.

Click the audio player below to hear the full broadcast:

[audio:https://s3.amazonaws.com/witfaudio/radiopa/Roundtable04-12-13.mp3]
Capitol Rotunda Light Fixture

Gov’s Tax Reform Plan under the Microscope

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The Corbett administration believes the price of doing business in Pennsylvania is too high. So they plan to finally eliminate the capital stock & franchise tax as of January, and want to gradually reduce the state’s corporate net income tax from 9.99% – 6.99% over the next 12-years. 

“Governor Corbett’s broad-based tax reform proposal sets the stage for robust economic growth by developing a competitive business tax structure, as well as improving the process of collecting taxes and simplifying the tax code,” Revenue Secretary Dan Meuser told the House Finance Committee on Thursday.

But minority chair Phyllis Mundy (D-Luzerne) told Meuser there’s one glaring omission: the plan does not close corporate tax loopholes, like the Delaware Loophole.  Mundy is the prime sponsor of legislation that would do that via combined reporting, but Meuser suggests it would do more harm than good. 

Mundy also points out that the corporate tax breaks proffered by the administration would result in an $800-million dollar annual loss to state tax revenues when fully implemented.  “And I’m not at all sure – I wish I could believe – that these tax cuts for large corporations would result in enough job creation to overcome that deficit,” she says.

Meuser, however, says the economic growth spurred by the governor’s tax plan will mean $1-billion dollars in new state tax revenue by 2030.  “That comes from personal income growth, that comes from employment and that comes from sales tax revenues that are derived from those who are now working that weren’t before.”   

The state has the 2nd highest corporate net income tax in the nation and is one of only a few states that tax both business income and assets, in that the capital stock & franchise tax is a levy against a business’s assets regardless of whether it made money or not. 

The Corbett Tax Plan would also raise the cap on net operating loss deductions, allow for start-up business deductions, repeal the corporate loans tax and eliminate what Meuser describes as “nuisance taxes.” 

But everything is subject to the approval of the General Assembly, and as members of the Finance Committee exited Thursday’s hearing they surely noticed the protesters in the capitol rotunda who rallied against the Corbett plan and argued that corporate tax breaks do not create jobs.

Two PA National Guard Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan

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An Apache helicopter went down in eastern Afghanistan, Tuesday, killing 34-year-old Chief Warrant Officer Matthew Ruffner of Harrisburg and 27-year-old Chief Warrant Officer Jarett Yoder of the Reading area. 

Few details are available but an investigation into the crash is underway.  “In general when it comes to a helicopter crashes there are three causes,” says Staff Sgt. Matt Jones with the Pennsylvania National Guard.  “It could either be enemy action, mechanical failure or pilot error and the investigation will determine which of those three causes – or combination of those causes – could have caused the incident.”

Officials can say that the soldiers were on a reconnaissance mission when the crash occurred, which is a typical task of the First of the 104th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion.  More than 300 soldiers from that battalion deployed to Afghanistan last August for a year-long mission. 

“The Pennsylvania Army National Guard has lost two of its own,” state Adjutant General Wesley Craig said in a statement.  “Our hearts, thoughts and prayers are with the Ruffner and Yoder families… We celebrate the lives of these two Army aviators.  They died helping others to be free.” 

Yoder’s wife, Heather Garay-Yoder, also released a statement that says Jarett died doing what he loved and dreamed of doing. 

The fatal crash occurred Tuesday morning.  It is PA National Guard policy to wait 24-hours after family is notified to make these announcements public.

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Matthew Ruffner

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Matthew Ruffner

 

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jarett Yoder

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jarett Yoder