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Capitol View from East Wing

Bath Salts Ban Heads to Governor’s Desk

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Bath salts are dangerous – even deadly – yet legal.  The bath salts that state lawmakers are targeting aren’t what you bought mom for her birthday.  These are synthetic stimulants created to mimic the effects of cocaine and methamphetamine.  “They have a lot of psychotic effects and hallucinations and things like that,” says State Senator Elder Vogel (R-Beaver/Lawrence), the prime sponsor of SB 1006.  “We have enough drug problems now… let alone to have these fake drugs come along and be easier to buy.” 

The legislation cleared its final legislative hurdle Wednesday, earning unanimous support in the State Senate.  The House had earlier amended the bill to allow law enforcement to keep up with any future compounds the manufacturers may use.  “I think it will become one of the most forward thinking and progressive pieces of legislation regarding these synthetic substances in the nation,” State Rep. RoseMarie Swanger (R-Lebanon) said on the House floor.  Like the Senate vote, final House passage was unanimous earlier this week. 

The banning of bath salts was one of the top legislative priorities of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association.  “They have a stimulant in them that causes this violent, paranoid behavior, and it’s really dangerous for the individuals using them, as well as for the community,” PDAA president Ed Marsico tells us.  In addition to bath salts, Vogel’s bill would prohibit synthetic marijuana and salvia divinorum.  

Synthetic drugs are currently sold in hemp shops, smoke shops and even convenience stores.  Numerous counties have taken matters into their own hands and sought injunctions to ban the sale of bath salts.  Lawmakers call them a statewide epidemic.  The bill’s next stop is Governor Tom Corbett’s desk.

New Voter ID Requirements?

State House to Consider Voter ID Bill

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Gov. Tom Corbett

Governor Tom Corbett Would Sign a Voter ID Bill

The State House is expected to begin debating a controversial voter ID bill this week.  It would require all voters to present a valid photo ID each time they go to the ballot box, and Governor Tom Corbett says he would sign such a bill.  “I think we want to keep the integrity of the voting process, we want to make sure that the person who appears there is the person who is supposed to be there, and that they haven’t gone to four or five different locations,” Corbett said on the Ask the Governor program, which is featured here at PAMatters.com.  “Do I believe there’s voter fraud out there?  Sure there is.  I don’t think it’s a huge problem, but there are places it could be a problem.” 

State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler) is the prime sponsor of HB 934, which currently awaits second consideration in the State House.  He modeled the bill after legislation which was approved in Indiana, and subsequently upheld as constitutional by the US Supreme Court. 

While supporters point out that photo IDs are necessary for everything from boarding an airplane to entering some public buildings – critics counter that voting is a right, not a privilege.  “There isn’t one example that we have heard that deals with requiring additional ID for something that is a right,” says Bonita Hoke, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania.  The LWVPA recently passed a resolution calling on the General Assembly to defeat Metcalfe’s bill. 

Hoke tells us photo ID requirements would create a “real hardship” for some voters, particularly disabled and older Pennsylvanians.  However, Governor Corbett doesn’t think it’s too big of an imposition.  “Most people have a driver’s license, so I think the vast majority of Pennsylvanians already have their form of official ID,” Corbett said. 

Similar legislation earned legislative approval but was vetoed by Governor Ed Rendell in 2006.  State law currently requires proof of identification at the polls only on a person’s first time voting in a particular polling place.  If you do not have a photo ID, you are allowed to use a current utility bill, current paycheck or a firearm permit as approved non-photo identification.

Under the Capitol Dome

What Should Lawmakers Do With Unanticipated Revenue?

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Sen. Jay Costa

Sen. Jay Costa

Almost everyone expects an on-time budget, for a change.  But there’s no consensus on how to handle state revenues that have come in $540-million dollars above estimate through the first 11-months of the fiscal year.  Senate Minority leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) says it should be used to mitigate proposed education budget cuts for the new fiscal year, which starts on July 1st.  “It’s very hard to defend – given the nature of the reductions in expenditures that are being proposed – that we can squirrel away $600-million dollars,” Costa says, as he predicts the state will end the fiscal year with a $580 – $600-million dollar surplus.

“We will ultimately use about half of the budget surplus, or somewhere in that vicinity, is sort of my prediction in terms of where we are going,” Costa tells us.  He adds that it’s still not enough for Senate Democrats’ liking, but that the cuts won’t be as “draconian” as they are now.  Earlier in the week, a Senate Republican spokesman told us they will seek to use “some” of the surplus to soften the impact of education and hospital cuts. 

House Republicans, however, passed a $27.3-billion dollar budget that would not spend this year’s higher-than-expected revenues.  During last month’s budget debates, Appropriations chair Bill Adolph (R-Delaware) stressed that we don’t know if this revenue is sustainable.  “Calls for increased spending, based upon a few months of bringing in more money than expected, are irresponsible in our current economic climate.” 

That’s long been the stance of the Corbett administration, and it seems they have at least one Democrat on their side.  “I think Governor Corbett is right to say that the majority of the surplus needs to be kept in reserve for the unknown,” says Auditor General Jack Wagner, who finished second in the 2010 Democratic gubernatorial primary.  Asked about the budget battle at an unrelated news conference, Wagner cautioned that Pennsylvania’s liabilities dwarf any surplus.  He cites additional pension obligations, money owed to the Pennsylvania Employee Benefit Trust Fund and a pending labor contract, just to name a few.        

The state budget deadline is June 30th.  Senate Republican Appropriations chair Jake Corman (R-Centre) recently told us that he expects to have an “action plan” by the end of the week.