Source: York Daily Record Date: 2/7/2020‌

Wolf budget calls for more spending, more debt and more taxes


Stan Saylor


This past Tuesday, Governor Tom Wolf outlined his vision for the upcoming state budget to a joint session of the General Assembly. His budget proposal shows that his administration has already overspent the current budget, which was signed into law in June, by nearly $600 million. On top of that the governor is seeking an additional $1.5 billion in new spending for next year’s budget. Over 80% of that new spending is for welfare benefits in the Department of Human Services.

What we heard on Tuesday was very similar to the governor’s budget address last year

Once again, we have a proposal before us which is asking for more money than we all agreed to in June. It is logical to think that the budget that is passed in June and signed into law by the governor would set the spending limits for our state agencies- but it appears to this Administration that laws are viewed as merely guidelines.

Instead the Department of Human Services (DHS) has taken the position that they don’t need to be responsible and live within the statutory limits. The DHS secretary seems to think of the budget that was signed into law as a mere suggestion. The governor’s proposal says that DHS needs an additional $492 million in the current year. When you dig into the proposal you can see they are burying an additional $307 million in current year costs by pushing them into the next fiscal year. On top of that the governor is seeking an additional $1.1 billion for DHS next year!

That means DHS needs an additional $800 million, just in the current year! That’s an overage of 6%! In the private sector, people would be fired for that kind of performance, but in government it’s just another day.

Continuing on the theme of mismanagement and lack of effort to control a budget we arrive at the Department of Corrections. The General Assembly has worked hard on criminal justice reform which has lowered our prison populations and put the formerly incarcerated on a path to rejoining society. We have also closed old prisons and built new ones which are supposed to control inmate movement in a more efficient and safer manner.

However, despite all those reforms the Department of Corrections continues to spend more than we budget. The overtime costs in that department are simply unacceptable.

Another major theme of the governor’s budget address was his call for more debt. Two years ago, we passed legislation that was signed by the governor to help lower the debt limit. Now we are expected to not only stop those good debt reforms we all agreed to, but to go in the complete other direction and increase the debt limit by over 30%?

For the last year the governor has been crisscrossing the commonwealth promising everyone that every local problem they have can be solved by Restore PA. Need a new damn? Restore PA. Need a new park? Restore PA. Need better internet? Restore PA.

Need solar panels? Restore PA. Forget about penicillin, Restore PA seems to be the wonder drug that can solve all the world’s ills.

The question is, what is the trade off to get all of these wonderful improvements? It will only cost $5 billion! Let me say that again $5 BLLION! Why pay today when you can put it off till tomorrow.

In order to create more transparency in the budget process the General Assembly passed a key reform last year which requires the governor to notify the House and Senate of possible overspending by state agencies and to provide written explanation of why that overspending is occurring. In October this administration only partially complied with the law by submitting to the General Assembly a list of potential needs for overruns by state agencies. The Budget Office completely ignored the section of the law that required written explanation of why the overspending was occurring. Could it be they ignored this section of the law to avoid further scrutiny of their overspending?

Instead of a budget that is made up of more spending and more debt Pennsylvania needs budget that keeps spending growth low, makes a substantial investment in our rainy-day fund, and enacts more of the budgetary reforms.

Last year the General Assembly came together in a bipartisan manner and worked with the governor to build a fiscally sound budget that puts the needs of our taxpayers first! We need a budget that goes beyond aspirations and lays out a concrete path to carry Pennsylvania forward.

State Rep. Stan Saylor is a Republican from Windsor Township.

Source: Wilkes-Barre Times Leader Date: 2/7/2020

Yudichak, Kaufer applaud Senate passage of HB-1100

Would establish an energy and fertilizer manufacturing tax credit By Bill O’Boyle boboyle@timesleader.com

WILKES-BARRE — Sen. John Yudichak says House Bill 1100, that guarantees a minimum investment of $450 million, the creation of 800 new jobs, the payment of prevailing wage rates, and the use of local labor, has passed the Senate by a vote of 39-11.


The bill will now move to the House of Representatives for concurrence.


House Bill 1100, introduced by Rep. Aaron Kaufer, R-Kingston, establishes an energy and fertilizer manufacturing tax credit to foster the development and construction of new petrochemical and fertilizer manufacturing plants in Pennsylvania.


The tax credit is similar to the Pennsylvania Resource Manufacturing Tax Credit program that has leveraged $6 billion in private investment in the Shell Cracker plant that has created 6,000 new jobs in Beaver County.


“House Bill 1100 is a bipartisan bill that takes advantage of Pennsylvania’s abundance of natural gas and uses proven economic incentives to attract manufacturing companies to build world class petrochemical facilities in northeastern Pennsylvania,” said Yudichak, I-Swoyersville. “We have a proven tax credit model that has worked in western Pennsylvania, it’s time we deploy these same economic incentives in northeastern Pennsylvania that will help us attract historic private investment in our communities and create thousands of family sustaining, prevailing wage construction trade jobs.”


As amended, House Bill 1100 would require companies to make the following investments in Pennsylvania:



“This bill is about using natural gas in Northeast Pennsylvania to compete with manufacturers overseas for the benefit of the people of Northeast Pennsylvania,” Kaufer said. “By utilizing natural gas to encourage manufacturing, we are making sure that the residents of northeastern Pennsylvania will benefit by attracting billions of dollars of investment, thousands of family- sustaining jobs, and world class facilities locating to our region. This is a once in a generation opportunity, and our region cannot afford to miss it.”


Kaufer said the legislation reflects the existing Pennsylvania Resource Manufacturing tax credit that led to the Shell Cracker Plant investment in western Pennsylvania, a $6 billion investment and the largest construction site in North America employing roughly 7,000 people daily. The

bill will focus on large manufacturers using Pennsylvania methane such as the production of ammonia, urea and methanol, among other manufacturing in Pennsylvania.


“This is our opportunity to use our abundant, affordable, and accessible natural gas to offset the cost of cheap labor overseas,” Kaufer continued. “This type of investment will provide a once in a lifetime opportunity to compete with manufacturers overseas.”


Reach Bill O’Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.

Source: Pike County Courier Date: 2/7/2020

Brown says cost of rockfall project is too high for commuters and taxpayers


Delaware Water Gap. The New Jersey Department of Transportation says the rock cuts along I-80 westbound are unstable and dangerous. But Pennsylvania officials say the $200 million in federal funding allocated for the project would be better spent on a commuter train from Andover, N.J., to Pennsylvania.


Pennsylvania Rep. Rosemary Brown (R-Monroe/Pike) is questioning a transportation project to prevent rockfall hazards on I-80 through the Delaware Water Gap.

Calling it a "debacle," Brown says the rockfall project "poses an economic and environmental threat to our area, not to mention the everyday impact it will have on commuters who have to travel through the Water Gap for work."

Brown is demanding answers from federal officials and stronger communication between the New Jersey Department of Transportation and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Brown is also asking officials for justification for the up to

$200 million in federal funding that has been allocated for this project.

“Tourism and visitation will also be affected for four years as expected construction will cause major delays," she said. "Safety is always my first priority, but it is hard to support a project that will have extremely strong impacts to Pennsylvania when there appears to be no valid safety data available supporting the project need. I am requesting this safety data be presented to justify the usage of taxpayer dollars in this manner."

The New Jersey Department of Transportation says the rock cuts along I-80 westbound in the project area are unstable and dangerous. While collecting samples in the area, the NJDOT identified hazards such as slides (planar sliding and wedge sliding), toppling, rock mass failure, and discrete rockfall from large overhangs, steep vertical faces, loose boulders, and rock blocks. These conditions have "resulted in rock toppling down and landing on the shoulder and roadway lanes and washouts along the I-80 roadway. Rockfall debris has accumulated up to the top of the westbound barrier curb in locations throughout the project limits," according to the NJDOT.

Would money be better spent on rail lines?

Brown wants to know if the problem can be addressed through maintenance or "less- massive efforts."

"The answers should be available to taxpayers and officials," she said. "If this project is not validated, I am urging the dollars allocated to the Rockfall Mitigation Fund be transferred to our rail efforts from Andover, New Jersey, to Pennsylvania. This rail line is well overdue and would offer significant benefits to several states and their residents, especially in our region.”

Bob Hay of the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority shares what $200 million in federal funding could mean for the high-speed train completion from Andover to Delaware Water Gap/Mount Pocono.

“The rail line through Northern New Jersey, known as the 'Lackawanna Cutoff,' runs parallel with I-80 and is a critical infrastructure project that would bring much-needed relief to the interstate for traffic and increased safety," said Hay.

The first phase of the project is under construction from Port Morris to Andover. Hay said redirecting the $200 million dollars from the I-80 rockfall mitigation project to the second phase of the rail project, from Andover to the Delaware Water Gap, would be the best return on investment of the federal funds to increase safety on I-80.

“I have spoken with staff from U.S. Sens. Bob Casey and Pat Toomey and U.S. Reps. Susan Wild and Matt Cartwright’s, and have also sent each a letter encouraging them to be a voice in this important discussion and help obtain these answers,” said Brown.

“The rail line through Northern New Jersey, known as the 'Lackawanna Cutoff,' runs parallel with I-80 and is a critical infrastructure project that would bring much-needed relief to the interstate for traffic and increased safety." --Bob Hay, Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority

Source: Carlisle Sentinel Date: 2/7/2020


Gleim to host Firearms Safety and Rights Seminar

Sentinel Staff


State Rep. Barb Gleim, R-Carlisle, will host a Firearms Safety and Rights Seminar from 9:30

a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Feb. 15 at Carlisle Fire & Rescue, 177 Carlisle Springs Road, Carlisle.


The seminar will include special guests U.S. Rep. Scott Perry and Kim Stolfer, co-founder and president of Firearms Owners Against Crime, as well as representatives from the sheriff’s office and local police to assist with questions on how to interact with law enforcement while carrying a firearm.


“If you already have a firearm or a concealed carry permit, or are thinking about obtaining one, please consider attending this seminar,” Gleim said in a news release. “This event offers a unique opportunity for both prospective and experienced firearm owners to expand their knowledge of gun safety, existing gun laws and get a better understanding about freely and responsibly

exercising your right to keep and bear arms.”


The event is open to all adults aged 21 and older who live in the 199th Legislative District, which includes Carlisle Borough, Newville Borough, Dickinson Township, Lower and Upper Frankford townships, Middlesex Township, Lower Mifflin Township, West Pennsboro Township and part of Silver Spring Township.


For more information, call Gleim’s district office at 717-838-3823.

Source: Centre Daily Times Date: 2/7/2020

How developers are hoping the Titan Park revitalization helps make Bellefonte a ‘destination’

BY MARLEY PARISH


SPRING TOWNSHIP - Axemann Brewery is set to open this spring, but more development is already in the works at Titan Park. If all goes according to plan, the brewery will be joined by a cidery and event venue.


With help from $2.5 million in grant funding from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, Navitus LLC — an investment group formed by Shaner Capital LP, and G. M. McCrossin Inc — is working to revitalize the park’s Plant 1 and Plant 4 buildings to make them cleaner, energy efficient and attractive to prospective tenants. During an event held at the park on Thursday, attendees got a glimpse of what’s in store for the former Cerro Metal Factory, located at 2022 Axemann Road in Spring Township, just outside Bellefonte.


“The reuse in here is a great example of Pennsylvania ingenuity and what you can do if you’re creative, brave and in some ways, courageous to take on big projects that some people think might be crazy,” state Rep. Kerry Benninghoff, R-Bellefonte, said.


When Rod Stahl was first introduced to the 104-year-old site, the 20,000-square-foot space needed hefty renovations. After replacing the factory windows, doors and flooring, Axemann now has a bar, tables, kitchen for the Blonde Bistro and brewing equipment. Eventually, the bar, which is made of old factory locker doors, will serve 12-14 varieties of beer.


“Crazy and naive are probably the two key elements of doing some of this stuff, but we are very excited ... to be part of what’s going on here at Titan — the revitalization of this facility,” Stahl said.


Still maintaining the industrial atmosphere, future work includes finishing a private second-floor room, outdoor patio and event space, which will be located along Logan Branch. The grant funding will be used to install a new roof and create outdoor event space behind the facility.


“This building is going to change,” Joseph Leahey, Navitus vice president, said. “The whole character of this building’s use is changing right in front of your eyes.”


Still in the planning stages, Leahey said local artists and ax-throwing companies have expressed a desire to set up shop in the plant. Once complete, Leahey said Titan Park is going to make Bellefonte “a destination.”


Titan’s next tenant will be Angela Eliasz, Empire Cider Company’s chief cider maker, who is working to open a cidery in Titan Park.


Originally from New York, Eliasz worked in Hollywood as a special effects artists, but after a career change, wine- and cider-making became her next “adventure.” She has created award- winning ciders for ECC and has developed recipes and products for cider facilities across the country.


“How much more perfect is Bellefonte as a location?” Eliasz asked. “The cidery will be a mix of industrial and Victorian design, but a little more steampunk.”


Already working to renovate and design the space, Eliasz said she hopes the cidery will open by the fall.


“I think it’ll be a nice juxtaposition to Axemann,” she said.

Source: WESA-FM (Pittsburgh) Date: 2/7/2020


Challenger To State Rep Lee Builds Ample War Chest

— Thanks To Building Trades Support

By CHRIS POTTER


A challenger in what will likely be among the most closely-watched Democratic primaries in western Pennsylvania has amassed a considerable war chest in his bid to topple state Rep. Summer Lee. And building-trades unions are already playing a notable role in the Monongahela Valley-based terrain of state House District 34.


Chris Roland, who announced his campaign in early December, quickly raised $77,635 within the last several weeks of the year according to year-end campaign-finance records. That nearly doubled Lee’s fundraising for the year, though she still starts 2020 with a healthy

$55,679.84 in her account.


For every dollar Roland raised, 87 cents came from political committees tied to unions – mostly building-trades unions that skew more conservative. Among the biggest givers was a committee tied to Steamfitters Local 449, which gave Roland $20,000. Steamfitters members have benefited from pipelines and other infrastructure related to the fracking industry, of which Lee has been a vocal critic.


A PAC tied to the politically strong Laborers union also gave $20,000 and local unions that represent electrical workers and plumbers gave $10,000 apiece. A handful of other unions gave three- and four-digit sums.


Roland did not immediately respond to a call and text Friday morning, but Democrats and union leaders have predicted he would have little difficulty drawing support from locals upset by Lee's platform. Lee said she wasn’t surprised at his totals.


“We knew this would happen,” said Lee Friday morning. “People don’t even always know his name, but they knew there was a building-trades guy in the race. When you come for industries that have had unfettered support and access to the halls of power, you can expect there will be blowback.”


For her part, Lee raised $42,557.50 last year: Not surprisingly, given her status as a progressive standard-bearer, she received money from a number of local activists. But far and away her largest supporter was a political committee tied to SEIU Healthcare, a service- workers union that gave her a total of $12,500 last year. Sharpsburg resident Rachelle Regner was another top giver, having donated $5,350 in three separate contributions last year.


“We’re not hurting for money,” Lee said, noting that she had been badly outgunned – at first – when she ran against incumbent Paul Costa to win the seat two years ago. “There is so much more to see, and I’m excited by who we will be bringing on.”


Year-end fundraising totals in other legislative races suggest there may be other notable fights this spring.


In state House District 20, attorney Emily Kinkead is hoping to reprise Lee’s 2018 success

by mounting a progressive challenge against Adam Ravenstahl. (Another would-be challenger, Emily Marbury, decided not to run.) They’ll do battle in a district that includes Pittsburgh neighborhoods like Lawrenceville and the North Side, as well as Ohio Valley river towns nearby.


Kinkead raised $35,320.52 in the waning days of 2019, an amount swelled by support from her family and over $16,300 she has loaned to her own effort. Her largest outside donation was a

$9,000 check from a committee tied to former County Council candidate and Democratic Committeeman Jacob George, of Pittsburgh’s Summer Hill neighborhood.


Kinkead spent just under $12,000 ramping up her bid, and started 2020 with $23,326.54 in the bank.


Ravenstahl raised $16,000 last year, almost all of which came from political committees tied to labor and other interests, led by a $2,000 contribution from an anesthesiologists’ committee.

Ravenstahl began the year with slightly less than $35,000 in the bank: Factoring in that money and expenditures he made in 2019, he begins the election year with $41,442.61.


Three Democrats are vying for a chance to take on Rep. Lori Mizgorski, a Republican,

in House District 30, which includes North Hills suburbs including Hampton, Fox Chapel, and Shaler. Mizgorski finished 2019 with a modest $12,451.42.


Marco Attisano raised $75,305 in his bid to be the Democratic nominee to challenge Mizgorski. Even considering that $27,500 of that was financed by the candidate’s own household, it is an impressive sum. Democratic rival Lissa Geiger Shulman also reported a healthy $46,786.42,

$10,000 of which she donated herself. A third Democratic contender, Serra Heck, entered the race after the year-end filing deadline, so no financial information is available.


Attisano, a defense attorney, tapped a professional network for much of his support, and his biggest donors include criminal defense lawyers David Shrager ($5,000) and Phil DiLucente ($2,500).


Shulman, a former educator and legislative staffer who went on to become an advocate for early childhood education, drew $5,000 from a political committee tied to the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, and another $5,000 from South Hills state Rep. Dan Miller, her former boss. State Senator Lindsey Williams, whose district overlays the 30th District, also contributed

$1,000.


Jessica Benham planned to challenge longtime House District 36 incumbent Harry Readshaw in this district that includes Carrick, Brentwood and other working-class areas in the city and South Hills. And while Readshaw made a surprise decision to withdraw from the race and retire at the end of his turn, Benham began this year with a $28,845.60 head start in the race to replace him.


Benham raised $36,528.24 in 2019 (and spent nearly $7,700 of it), much of which came from progressive Democratic allies including City Councilor Bruce Kraus ($1,000) and state Sen. Lindsey Williams ($1,000). Women for The Future Pittsburgh, which supports progressive female candidates, gave her $2,500. Benham’s largest single donation was a $9,000 check from Squirrel Hill resident Janet Anti, a longtime supporter of progressive campaigns. Benham also reported $7,000 in free video editing services.


Benham’s only declared rival, Heather Kass, did not enter the race until Readshaw’s retirement announcement last month. Accordingly, she did not have a report to file for 2019. She will have ground to make up financially, but she has received Readshaw’s backing and may be able to draw on some of the $20,330.83 he reported in his campaign committee at the end of 2019.


Allegheny County Republicans will also have some choices this spring, perhaps none more notable than in state Senate District 37. The fight for this district, which ranges from the South Hills of Pittsburgh to airport-area suburbs, figures be one of the state’s most closely watched battles this year. Republicans Jeff Neff and Devlin Robinson are both seeking to challenge Democrat Pam Iovino, who won the seat in a special election last spring. Control of the state Senate next year may well depend on the outcome this fall.


Robinson got in the race early and toted up $71,120 in contributions: Minus his spending last year, he begins 2020 with $ 61,939.64. Perhaps his most notable support was a $10,000 check from a political committee tied to former Congressman Tim Murphy, for whom Robinson once worked as a district representative. He also received $5,000 apiece from committees tied to the highway-construction company Trumbull Corporation and the PA Future Fund, a GOP stalwart whose chair is longtime Republican Party fixture Bob Asher.


Neff, of Sewickley, was a later entrant but jump-started his campaign with just under $16,000 in self-financing. In all, he brought in $26,765.61 with support from conservatives including former state Rep. Rick Saccone, who donated $500 from a campaign committee. Neff spent in a hurry too, however, and started 2020 with $6,410.75.


Meanwhile, Iovino only won her seat in a special election last April, but has wasted little time replenishing her coffers. She awaits her challenger with $116,679.17 in the bank at the beginning of the year. She was able to raise money in the fall and winter with support from heavy-hitters in organized labor: An operating engineers PAC gave her $25,000, and a carpenters’ local gave her $15,000, while locals that represent plumbers and electrical workers gave her $10,000 apiece.

Source: Pittsburgh Tribune Review Date: 2/7/2020

Oakmont councilwoman hopes to challenge Dermody for state House seat

Michael DiVittorio


Carrie DelRosso, an Oakmont Republican and businesswoman, announced she’s seeking her party’s nomination for the state’s 33rd District House seat.


DelRosso, 44, grew up in Scranton and lives in Oakmont, where she runs a public affairs firm that provides services to private sector clients, school districts and municipalities.


Current clients include Penn Hills School District, Plum and Verona boroughs. She also served as Riverview School District’s public relations consultant.


State Rep. Frank Dermody, D-Oakmont, has held the seat since 1991. He defeated Republican challenger Joshua Nulph in the last election. Dermody is the House minority leader.


The primary election is April 28.


“My work with school districts has taught me the importance of focusing on the needs of the people in the Allegheny Valley,” DelRosso said. “Education is one of the biggest reasons why I’m running. It is a critical aspect of our community and a direct investment into its future. Despite rising property taxes, many school districts in the 33rd have fallen behind.”


DelRosso studied psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. She’s a mother of three children, all of whom attend Tenth Street Elementary in Oakmont.


She said she will bring a fresh perspective, reform-minded agenda, and laser-focus on local issues to the position while helping to promote a strong economy in the commonwealth.


“I will put all my energy into representing the Allegheny Valley in the Legislature,” DelRosso said. “We need to send Western Pennsylvania values to Harrisburg. I intend to do just that. The more doors I knock on, the more I hear how passionate those who live in the community are, and how they want change. …. And yes, it’s time for change.”

Source: Reading Eagle Date: 2/7/2020


Reading assistant pastor announces run for state House seat in 127th District

By Karen Shuey kshuey@readingeagle.com @KarenShueyRE on Twitter


Janice Grant, an assistant pastor at Church of Deliverance, has been working with Reading families facing hardships and challenges for more than five decades. And now she wants to take that knowledge with her to help set legislative priorities at the state level.


"I'm running because I believe I can make a change," she said in a phone interview. "I have the wisdom and perspective to help our community address problems like drug addiction, gun violence, extreme poverty and a blighted city. I have been working at the ground level to find solutions to those problems."


Grant said that's why she is running for the Democratic nomination to represent the 127th Legislative District. The district, which has been represented by Tom Caltagirone for more than four decades, includes Kenhorst and parts of Reading. Caltagirone announced he will be retiring from the post at the end of 2020.


Grant joins a crowded field of Democratic hopefuls vying for the open seat. Berks County Assistant District Attorney Raymond Baker, attorney Abraham Cepeda, political consultant Manny Guzman, Reading School Board President Robin Costenbader-

Jacobson and community activist Cesar Cepeda have announced they will seek the party nomination in the April 28 primary.


Grant said her decades of service counseling families has given her a clear understanding of the burdens those who live in the city experience.


On the top of that list is addressing homelessness. Grant pointed out that homelessness is not defined by the people on highway overpasses with cardboard signs asking for change. She said homeless people can be everywhere: living in cars, living in tents, living under bridges.


The problem, she said, is that most homeless families do not want to ask for help. And homeless children are even more unlikely to come forward.


"There is an embarrassment and shame that comes with homelessness," she said. "We, as a community, need to start talking more about this so that we can help ease that stigma and draw people out from the shadows."


Grant said devoting more money to treatment for those battling drug addiction and increasing the resources available to that population when they return to the community is also a top item on her list.


She acknowledged the state has stepped up with additional funds for these efforts in the wake of the opioid crisis, but said oversight on how these funds are distributed is vital to the success of these individuals.


"We really need to be involved in where the money goes, because a lot of times you have these treatment places that aren't worth a quarter," she said. "That's just not right when you're talking about people who really need help and are trying to get better."


Some of the other issues on her agenda include eliminating school property taxes, improving the quality of life for the aging population in the city and ramping up education about addiction issues in middle schools.


State representatives serve a two-year term and receive an annual salary of $90,300.

Source: Philadelphia Magazine Date: 2/7/2020‌

Daylin Leach Threatens Lawsuit After Losing Delco Dems’ Endorsement

The embattled state Senator compares the county's process — which endorsed opponent Amanda Cappelletti — to the Iowa caucus debacle, calling it "unlawful" and "blatantly improper."

By CLAIRE SASKO


Daylin Leach is known for lawsuits.


Early last year, the wisecracking state Senator who represents portions of Montgomery and Delaware counties sued a woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was 17 years old and he was 30, alleging defamation. He sued two #MeToo activists who’d shared her story, for the same reason. Then he sued the Inquirer and a reporter who had covered it all.


Now Leach, 58, is threatening to sue Delaware County Democrats over their primary endorsement process.


In the past two years, Leach, who has faced a series of #MeToo allegations, has brushed off repeated calls to resign from a long list of state politicians,

including Governor Tom Wolf and the state Democratic Party as a whole. He’s remained in office — but this year, he’s up for reelection.


Given all the calls to resign, it likely comes as no surprise that this month, Leach failed to earn endorsements from the Democratic Party committees in both counties he represents in Harrisburg.


Securing an endorsement from the Montgomery County committee would have boded well for Leach; the county comprises a larger portion of the 17th District, which he’s represented since 2009, than does Delaware County. But the embattled lawmaker fell short of winning the county’s required 60 percent of committee votes at its convention last week. In fact, he earned fewer votes than challenger Amanda Cappelletti, a 33- year-old recent law-school graduate who’s one of five women hoping to beat Leach in the state primary on April 28th. Cappelletti came just five votes shy of the endorsement. With no endorsed candidate, Montgomery County’s will be an open primary. For Leach, the outcome is preferable to one of his opponents receiving a nod, but far from ideal for a three-term incumbent.


That might have been enough of a disappointment for Leach. But a few days later, at the Delaware County Democratic Convention, he placed second again. And this time, Cappelletti was victorious: Democrats endorsed her after using, for the first time, a ranked-choice voting method that chairwoman Colleen Guiney said sped up the county’s overall endorsement process.


Now, Leach says, he’s considering suing.


“I felt threatened”

Leach isn’t the only one who’s unhappy with the way events have unfolded. On Tuesday night, two days after her committee’s convention, Colleen Guiney says, she checked her phone and noticed four missed calls logged in a 30-minute span, followed by a text that read, “I think you would prefer I didn’t go to the press.”


Guiney says that when she returned the calls, she spoke with Leach’s campaign manager, Leah Wilson, who encouraged Guiney to reverse her committee’s endorsement and instead declare an open primary in the 17th District race, as

Montgomery County had. Wilson, Guiney says, warned her that Leach’s campaign was

considering legal action and told her, in Guiney’s words, “I don’t ever want you to forget this call.” Wilson disputes Guiney’s characterization of the tone of their phone call and recalls saying that, if this were to become a bigger story, “Just remember I tried.”


“I felt threatened,” Guiney says. “I found the call threatening and disturbing. I tried to explain to [Wilson] that I am not able to [reverse the endorsement]. … I don’t just rewrite rules.”


In a phone call with Philadelphia magazine on Wednesday, Leach confirmed that his campaign staffers had contacted Guiney and that he is considering legal action. He called the county’s endorsement process “blatantly improper” and “unlawful.”


“They changed the rules to get the endorsement,” Leach said. “But we are going to fight that.”


In response, the Delaware County Democratic Committee stands by its 17th District endorsement process but remains “open to” reviewing Leach’s complaints through a formal dispute process, Guiney says. Earlier this week, Leach attempted to submit a dispute with the state Democratic Party, which referred his campaign back to the county party. State party communications director Brendan Welch says county parties typically review endorsement disputes before the state does.


How the Delaware County endorsement process worked

On Sunday, committee members voted on whether to endorse a candidate or declare an open primary. For each race under consideration, if more than half of the committee members who voted sought an open primary, the committee would not endorse a candidate. According to election data provided to Philadelphia magazine, in the case of the 17th District, just over 52 percent of members preferred an endorsement.


From there, in accordance with a ranked-choice voting method, committee members were asked to rank candidates by order of preference. Candidates included Leach and Cappelletti as well as labor organizer Linda Fields, psychologist Parthenia Izzard, and Lower Merion Democratic Committee member Sara Atkins.


Voting for the 17th District race was conducted in four rounds; after each round, the candidate with the fewest votes was eliminated. Those who had voted for the least- preferred candidate but had also ranked other candidates on their ballots would see their votes transferred to the remaining candidate or candidates they had ranked — again, according to their order of preference. (If they hadn’t listed any other candidates, their votes wouldn’t be transferred.)


Committee member Dan Kraut says that to make this process clear, the endorsement ballots stated that voters should “Rank your choices in preference order. Only rank candidates you would be comfortable endorsing; to be endorsed the winning candidate will need to be ranked (approved of) on 55 percent of the ballots.”


The committee stressed the voting method change to members prior to the election, Kraut and Guiney argue. An email from Guiney to committee members on January 7th states, “Tabulations will be sequentially performed by computer — eliminating the candidate with the least votes each round and reallocating those votes according to the voter’s ranked preference until two candidates remain. Then, as long as the winning candidate is also listed on at least 55 percent of ballots cast, they will receive the endorsement.”


Cappelletti won the ranked-choice voting election: She secured 69 votes, while Leach finished in second place with 48. The committee then entered a “second phase” of the endorsement election to determine whether Cappelletti was listed on 55 percent of the ballots cast, Kraut says. In the end, Cappelletti was listed on 72 total ballots. (Leach

was listed on 55.) The committee used the number of total ballots — 128 — to calculate Cappelletti’s approval rating of just over 56 percent.

Leach compares Delaware County to Iowa

The issue seems to be, at least partially, a matter of interpretation. Leach sees the wording of Guiney’s January email to committee members as “the exact opposite” of how the endorsement process played out. Kraut says it spells out exactly what happened.


But Leach also takes issue with the figure used to calculate Cappelletti’s approval rating. That 128 as the total number of ballots wasn’t adjusted to reflect that, in his view, multiple votes were cast when committee members listed multiple people on their ballots. This is a common argument against ranked-choice voting elections. (For context, former U.S. Representative Bruce Poliquin, a Republican, filed a lawsuit in

federal court in 2018 challenging the constitutionality of Maine’s ranked-choice voting system after he lost the state’s 2nd Congressional District race. A federal judge rejected that lawsuit.)


Leach and his attorney, Sam Stretton, also argue that the state Democratic Party was required to sign off on the county’s decision to change its convention endorsement process to a ranked-choice election, according to state party bylaws. But state party communications director Brendan Welch says, “That is not something we do.”


“No county party checks [with us] to approve their own convention rules,” Welch says. “We believe in the autonomy and authority of our county parties, and that means they get to set their own rules.”


Leach argues that his disapproval of the Delaware County endorsement process also entails a “a bigger issue.”


“We saw what happened in Iowa [at the caucus],” Leach says. “People are losing faith in the integrity of their elections, which is the most important thing we have in democracy. When I started reviewing what had happened, it became clear. This is blatantly improper stuff.”


The Iowa Democratic Party has said that the app it used to tabulate and report votes at its caucus wasn’t properly tested and experienced technical glitches, requiring the state to instead rely on paper ballots and delaying the reporting of results into Thursday.


“I don’t know enough about Iowa personally,” Leach says when asked if he believes something nefarious happened at the state’s caucus. “I do see online that Bernie

[Sanders’s] people are saying there were some issues, the [Pete] Buttigeig people, the [Elizabeth] Warren people. … They all think that this was an attempt to deny them of something.


“I’ve never been to Iowa in my life,” he adds. “All I’m saying is, [Iowa] is the main thing people are talking about, and to have a local party start doing stuff that is clearly improper feeds into the narrative that we … cannot conduct an election as a party, and I think that’s really troubling.

Source: Johnstown Tribune Democrat Date: 2/7/2020


Langerholc announces bid for Senate reelection

By Russ O'Reilly roreilly@tribdem.com


In 2016, Sen. Wayne Langerholc Jr., R-Richland Township, became the first Republican in a couple decades to represent the 35th District of the Pennsylvania Senate.


He said then it was a very long and rewarding campaign that led him to victory. On Thursday, he announced that he intends to repeat that journey in 2020, and continue serving the 35th District that encompasses all of Cambria and Bedford counties as well as part of Clearfield.


Langerholc announced his campaign for reelection at the Cambria County Republican Headquarters in Richland Township. The room was packed by about 70 supporters including family and friends who quickly got to signing petitions to qualify Langerholc and other Republican candidates for the 2020 election.


In the crowd were other Republican officials including Rep. Jim Rigby, who announced his own reelection bid a little more than a week ago for the 71st Legislative District’s seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.


Rigby introduced Langerholc on Thursday, and alluded to his challenger for the 35th Senate district, Shaun Dougherty – a Democrat, from Westmont, who is an internationally known advocate for sexually abused children.


“We have a challenger this year,” Rigby said. “But I don’t think we have a whole lot to worry about. We are going to grind it out and get it done.”


Langerholc was a Cambria County assistant district attorney and Richland Township supervisor prior to his term in the Senate.


His resume, now after his four years in Harrisburg, includes legislation passed on a broad range of issues.


This past July, his proposal for a Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights was signed into law. It called for several measures including informing victims of rights and preserving rape kits, without charge, during the full statute of limitations period.


Langerholc also boasted being the only freshman legislator in the House or the Senate to have a bill signed into law in the first 11 months of his first term. His first bill revised weight restrictions that helped trucking companies maximize their shipment in trucks fueled by natural gas, which pollute less but are 2,000 pounds heavier than diesel trucks.


As he embarks on the campaign trail again, he’s eyeing another change involving vehicle regulations. The crowd Thursday applauded him when he said he would work to remove the emissions testing requirement from Cambria County vehicle owners.


Vehicle owners in Cambria County have been required since the ’90s to pay for an emissions test when they get their vehicle inspected. The rule was one of Pennsylvania’s methods for improving air quality and complying with the Clean Air Act.


Around 2008, Cambria County improved its air quality to a level that meets standards set by the federal government, Langerholc said.

“I’m going to keep fighting until Cambria County is removed from those emissions tests,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense. Surrounding counties don’t do it.”


If he is reelected, he said he would work on legislation for the agricultural industry that is integral to the entire 35th District, and protect citizens’ Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.


The opioid epidemic is another issue he has specific plans to deal with. “Overdose rates are down. We need to continue to work diligently,” he said.

His “Recovery to Work” bill has passed the senate and is in the House of Representatives.


“It would help people battling addiction,” he said. “They need our help getting back to meaningful employment.”


In addition, a proposal he made in November, that remains alive for a vote through 2020, would help lift the state’s economically distressed municipalities by redirecting money already generated by the state from the sale of alcohol.


The proposal, Senate Bill 570, is a modification of what is known as the “Johnstown

Flood Tax,” a levy that was placed on alcohol sales to raise money for the city following the 1936 St. Patrick’s Day Flood.


All money generated by the state’s current 18% sales tax on alcohol goes to the commonwealth’s general fund; Langerholc’s proposal would take 5.6% of the revenue and use it to supply funding to Johnstown and other municipalities in the Act 47 distressed program.


“That money is still being taxed on alcoholic beverages, and none of it is coming back to Johnstown,” Langerholc said.


Russ O'Reilly is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. Follow him on Twitter @RussellOReilly.

Source: Erie Times-News Date: 2/7/2020

Opinion

NPRC could provide free college in Erie County:

Sen. Joe Scarnati


The Erie Times-News Editorial Board recently published an opinion piece on the Erie County community college application before the Pennsylvania State Board of Education. I fully agree with the statement included by an Erie civil rights leader who said, “We need a bridge to get our young people there. We need access to a low-cost, quality education.”


It has long been my view that it is crucial for students in all areas of our commonwealth to have access to affordable higher educational opportunities. Every area. Not just in Erie, not just in Philadelphia – but in every region of Pennsylvania. With the funding challenges facing higher education today, and the unsustainability of many higher educational institutions trying to keep their doors open, it would be fiscally irresponsible for Pennsylvania to establish another community college.


Despite a continued push by Erie County Council and Empower Erie for a new community college, it is vital to recognize that Erie County already has a two-year institution — the Northern Pennsylvania Regional College. The NPRC model of serving multiple counties is an innovative move toward the future success of higher education. The NPRC continues to grow and deepen its roots in communities throughout Cameron, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, McKean, Potter, Venango and Warren counties. Erie County should be working closely with the NPRC to ensure the college is establishing the curriculum that is needed to meet Erie’s workforce needs. Trying to circumvent the NPRC is shortsighted.


It is immensely troubling that Erie County Council and Empower Erie have chosen to hire Harrisburg lobbyists and push their agenda while actively suppressing county taxpayers from having an opportunity to appear at the State Board of Education’s hearing in March. By opposing the petition to intervene from Erie resident Brent Davis, Erie County has blocked area taxpayers from having their voice heard. That is not transparency and this approach does not serve Erie residents or taxpayers well.


A recent survey completed in December by Harper Polling sheds light on the sentiment of taxpayers. Erie County voters fundamentally support the NPRC and its live interactive video technology format. In a recent survey, the NPRC posted an impressive 2-to-1 favorability rating. Conversely, less than half of voters support “the build out of a brick and mortar, standalone community college in Erie County.” Furthermore, most supporters waver when asked if they would still support the community college “if taxes were increased to fund a portion of the school” (56 percent said they could not support it or were not sure). It is clear that taxpayers simply do not believe an Erie County community college is necessary.


According to Erie’s own application, “The Erie Community Foundation has promised $3.7 million would be available for start-up and operational costs. In addition, further funding is anticipated through an estimated $2.95 million in existing gaming revenue funds, as well as nearly $1 million more in gaming revenue funds expected to be available in 2021.” This totals more than

$7.5 million that should be used to support students in Erie.


I suggest the Erie Community Foundation use this financial pledge to create an Erie County student scholarship fund to support the education of Erie students who attend the NPRC. This is the perfect fit. Between the current commonwealth support for the NPRC and with Community Foundation assistance in Erie County, students in Erie would be able to attend community college for free. This would mean no tax increases for Erie taxpayers and no tuition costs for Erie students.


Sustainable higher education institutions are paramount for the future of Pennsylvania. I look forward to the State Board of Higher Education closely examining this matter and making a decision that is in the best interest of Erie and our entire commonwealth. It is long past time for all involved in this matter to find a bridge to respect Erie taxpayers while also providing increased access to higher education. I can think of no greater victory for the residents of Erie than free two-year degrees. Let’s come together to do what is in the best interest of students and taxpayers – not continue to create more bloated government.


Joe Scarnati, of Jefferson County, R-25th Dist., is president pro tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate.

Source: Beaver County Times Date: 2/7/2020


Vogel, Bernstine urge Senate committee

to act on Markie’s Law

By J.D. Prose


State Rep. Aaron Bernstine and state Sen. Elder Vogel Jr. push for quick action on Bernstine’s bill to keep violent inmates in prison longer.


Two Republican state legislators are asking a Senate committee leader to expedite a bill that would keep violent inmates in prison rather than have them released when their minimum sentences are met.


State Sen. Elder Vogel Jr., R-47, New Sewickley Township, and state Rep. Aaron Bernstine, R- 10, New Beaver, asked state Sen. Lisa Baker, the Republican chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, in a Wednesday letter for “swift passage” of Bernstine’s House Bill 1855, which would add 24 months to an inmate’s sentence for each violent offense they are convicted of while in prison.


Also, an inmate would have to wait an additional 12 months to be considered for parole if they attempt to escape, smuggle contraband into a prison or retaliate against a witness.


The bill is known as Markie’s Law for Mark Mason, an 8-year-old boy allegedly killed by his mother’s boyfriend last year in New Castle. Police said Keith Burley Jr. of Edinburg fatally stabbed the boy in July after assaulting his then-girlfriend.


Burley had been released from state prison in March after serving 20 years of a 20- to 40-year sentence for third-degree murder. While in prison, though, Burley was convicted of aggravated assault and assault by a prisoner, but no additional time was added to his sentence.


“I believe, this legislation, if enacted before these events, would have saved Markie’s life,” Vogel and Bernstine told Baker in their letter.


The bill passed the House 149-47 on Dec. 18 and was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which includes state Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-46, Carroll Township, Washington County, as a member.

Source: Beaver County Times Date: 2/7/2020

Mental healthcare for farmers topic of roundtable discussion

By J.D. Prose


State Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding and state Sen. Elder Vogel Jr. lead roundtable discussion on mental healthcare for farmers.


CENTER TWP. -- Crawford County dairy farmer Jessica Peters occasionally takes the time to meet with a group of farmers in her area to talk.


It’s not a formal counseling or therapy session, she said, but just the chance to get away from the pressures of daily farm life for a bit and chat with people.


“I leave there feeling like a million dollars,” Peters said, during a roundtable discussion on mental healthcare for farmers at Penn State-Beaver led by state Sen. Elder Vogel Jr., R-47, New Sewickley Township, a farmer and chairman of the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee.


The roundtable was part of Gov. Tom Wolf’s Reach Out PA: Your Mental Health Matters initiative.


Giving farmers, many of whom live insular lives on their land with family, a chance to simply talk to other people would be a good “early step” to helping those struggling with the unique issues faced in the agriculture business, Peters said.


Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding was part of the discussion that featured several farmers and mental healthcare providers, as well as state Reps. Jim Marshall, R-14, Big Beaver, and Rob Matzie, D-16, Ambridge, and Beaver County Commissioner Jack Manning.


“We only get to a better place on mental health by talking about it,” Redding said.


What officials heard were suggestions to make counseling more accessible to farmers, remove the stigma around mental healthcare and address insurance and cost issues.


Vogel said farmers face constant pressure from market prices to the weather all while frequently trying to keep a family legacy from going under.


“You’re the fourth or fifth generation. It falls on your shoulders,” said Vogel, whose farm has been in his family since 1873. “You don’t want to be the one that the farm goes out of business because of you.”


That constant stress and financial turmoil, such as the drop in grain prices caused by President Donald Trump’s tariff war with China, has resulted in increased bankruptcies and suicides among farmers, Forbes.com reported in August.


According to Forbes, the number of farm bankruptcies in the Mid-Atlantic region, stretching from Virginia to New York and including Pennsylvania, rose 15 percent between July 2018 and June 2019, while the National Farmers Union said suicides were increasing among farmers.


Forbes cited a Farm Bureau and Morning Consult survey that found 91 percent of farmers and farm workers thought financial issues were impacting the farmers’ mental health.


Vogel said that Farm Credit, a lending agency, is now having loan officers take classes to help them recognize mental health red flags when farmers come to appointments. And, he said, the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine is requiring students to take classes in mental health because they frequently visit farms and might be able to spot the signs of possible problems.

“Farmers are always tough guys. ‘We’ll handle it ourselves. We’ll do it. I don’t need anyone to tell me how to take care of myself,’” Vogel said. “There’s help out here for you. We’re trying to get the conversation started.”


Vogel said that he would be meeting with state agencies in the spring to discuss additional steps that could be taken to tackle the issue.


But, Peters has already started an online effort she calls #SecretsofAg where other farmers can anonymously post concerns or problems and receive advice.


Frank Hartley, a Lycoming County dairy farmer, said the first hurdle to overcome is the lack of awareness of the industry itself. “People in the mental health industry don’t quite understand agriculture,” he said, explaining that a truck driver could be told to switch careers, but a farmer cannot do that.


“It’s more than just your job, it’s your life,” Hartley said. “It’s your lifestyle. You may have multiple generations behind you.”

Source: Reading Eagle Date: 2/7/2020


Alsace residents address, get some answers, to concerns about quarry reclamation

By David A. Kostival Reading Eagle correspondent


The possibility of groundwater contamination has some Alsace Township residents concerned about new operations at the Temple Quarry along Pricetown Road.


Highway Materials Inc., owner and operator of the quarry, has announced it has ceased quarry operations to begin a reclamation process of the property.


State Sen, Judy Schwank, a Ruscombmanor Township Democrat, and representatives of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Mining attended a supervisors workshop meeting Wednesday to address concerns.


DEP has already issued a permit for the quarry to begin a reclamation plan. The permit allows Highway Materials to accept things such as rocks, soils, concrete and paving materials to fill the quarry.


Schwank said she found out about the reclamation process through a number of calls to her office from township residents.


“We understood from the last (supervisors) meeting, residents found out the quarry would be closing and changing operations,” Schwank said. “We thought what we could do was to ask DEP representatives to explain this process. If I were a township homeowner, I would have questions."


Schwank added that Highway Materials followed state law in applying for the reclamation permit and fulfilled its public notice requirements.


Michael Kutney, an environmental group manager with DEP, explained every truck is inspected by Highway Materials staff to make certain there are no contaminants being brought into the quarry.


“Each load is staged at some operation area in the quarry and every load is inspected,” Kutney said. “Highway Materials is required to do its part. We gave them permission to operate, and we will do our part to check them out.”


Kutney said the idea is to fill the quarry to bring it back to pre-quarry conditions.


Neighbors fret

Diane Salks, an adjoining property owner, said she received no notification that anything was being done at the quarry. But Kutney said there is nothing in state law that requires adjacent property owners to be notified of permit applications.


“Water does infiltrate through soil and can affect other areas,” Salks said. “I Believe contaminants can move in other ways.”


Juniper Lane resident Heath Edwards said he too has concerns that contamination in truckloads of materials will infiltrate ground water.


“I have been a neighbor of the quarry for 26 years and always knew it was an operating quarry,” Edwards said. “But this is no longer a quarry, and that’s a huge concern. How will loads of concrete and blacktop make the site better than it was before the mining?”


Melissa Epps, environmental manager for Highway Materials, said the quarry will not take any loads from any sources that do not appear clean.

“We do not accept anything suspicious,” Epps said. “We have to know where it's coming from.” Another resident questioned how long the reclamation process will take.

Epps said it's too early to say, as operations have just begun.


Tiffany M. Folk, a geologic specialist with DEP, said wells near the quarry should not be affected.


“Water (at a lake in the quarry) will stay at the same level it is now,” Folk said. Schwank told property owners to continue to have their well water tested.

“It is important to have testing done on your wells,” Schwank said. “I have a well, but I worry more about E.coli contamination from neighboring septic systems than I do from volatile chemicals. We will continue to interface with DEP to address concerns.”


Michael Stump, supervisors chairman, told residents the township will do anything it can to make sure the operations do not contaminate water.


“At the end of this, they could have chosen to put in a big industrial site,” Stump said. “They didn’t, and this is a much smaller problem. I think they are in line with the law.”

Source: West Chester Daily Local Date: 2/7/2020


Former Goshen Fire Co. chief honored for serving community

BILL RETTEW


WEST GOSHEN — More than 100 co-workers, family and supporters turned out to celebrate the 38-year career of former Fire Chief of Goshen Fire Company Grant Everhart, at the Goshen Fire Company, Monday night.


Everhart started out at the fire company as a teenager and served as fire chief for 28 years.


Life went on. A radio beeped and several members of the fire company hastily left the building mid-way through the hour long ceremony to handle an emergency call.


Everhart said that it had been “a privilege” to serve. He will now act as executive director and deputy fire chief.


Chris ONeill is the new fire chief and said he hopes to fill Everhart’s shoes the best he can. “You gave your officers confidence and you’re always there to support us,” ONeill said.

Dr. Robert Fleming, president of Goshen Fire Company, said he enjoyed working with Everhart.


“He has given lots of people the opportunity and a lot of the people have stepped up,” Fleming said.


Rich Constantine was a chief officer at Goshen Fire Company.


“To say I owe Grant a lot is an understatement,” he said. “Grant taught me about life and how to be responsible.”


Past fire company chief officer Fred Wurster said Everhart showed him the way. “All of the opportunities that you gave me I hold close to my heart,” Wurster said.

Mike Conway, of the Goshen Firefighters Union, said the former chief was “safe and aggressive” and achieved the “highest level of professionalism.”


Gerry DiNunzio, of the Chester County Fire Chiefs Association, noted that Everhart encouraged growth.


The fire company answers calls in East Goshen, West Goshen, Willistown and Westtown townships.


East Goshen Township supervisor Marty Shane lauded the chief for allowing the township to not provide any more funding then was necessary.


“You performed with honesty and professionalism, while overseeing fire technology. “You are a fireman’s fireman.”

State Sen. Andy Dinniman’s and state Sen. Tom Killion’s offices recognized Everhart for looking out for the “health, safety and welfare of his fellow citizens.”


Goshen Fire Company past Chief Officer Rick Kline said that Everhart served before self.

Source: Bucks County Courier Times Date: 2/7/2020


Love is Love: Recognition of LGBTQ youth

falls short in PA Senate

By Anthony DiMattia


A resolution pushed by Santarsiero in the Senate and state Rep. Wendy Ullman, D-143, of Plumstead, to make Feb. 15 Love is Love Day to support LGBTQ youth failed to reach the floor in Harrisburg after not receiving the unanimous support from Republicans.


Life isn’t easy for teenagers.


It’s especially more difficult for those in the LGBTQ community, said state Sen. Steve Santarsiero, whose efforts fell short Wednesday to recognize Feb. 15 as Love is Love Day in Pennsylvania to support LGBTQ youth.


A resolution pushed by Santarsiero in the Senate and state Rep. Wendy Ullman, D-143, of Plumstead, failed to reach the floor in Harrisburg after not receiving unanimous support from Republicans.


“We can disagree in this chamber on many issues, and we do, but one thing on which we should never disagree is that every Pennsylvanian deserves to be treated with dignity and respect,” said Santarsiero, D-10, of Lower Makefield. “It is not OK that in Pennsylvania, in the year 2020, it is still perfectly legal to discriminate against members of the LGBTQ+ community. We should all be ashamed of that, and actively fight to make our Commonwealth an inclusive place for all residents, especially our children.”


Thank you to all my colleagues in the @PaSenateDems who stood with me and with our LGBTQ+ neighbors yesterday. #LoveIsLoveDay https://t.co/QHnXEr5Vla



Anti-discrimination efforts in Bucks County


The Bucks County Young Democrats unanimously passed an anti-discrimination resolution during its inaugural 2020 meeting in Newtown Township on Jan. 24.


The Democrats’ resolution establishes the group supports federal and state legislation like

the federal Equality Act and Pennsylvania Fairness Act, which prohibits discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition of an individual.


The resolution also “calls upon all municipal governments within Bucks County to enact LGBTQ- inclusive anti-discrimination ordinances ... which prohibit discrimination upon sexual orientation and gender identity or expression.”


“It’s long past time for LGBTQ people to have equal protection under the law,” said David Bria, Bucks County Young Democrats president and Yardley councilman. “I can proudly say that every Democratic State Representatives and Senators from Bucks County are co-sponsors of the PA Fairness Act, and each of the Democratic Congressional candidates have pledged their support to the Federal Equality Act. While these bills remain stalled both in Washington and Harrisburg, local government can and should take action.”


Seven municipalities in Bucks have passed similiar ordinances, including Bristol, Doylestown, New Britain, New Hope, Newtown and Yardley boroughs as well as Newtown Township.

Source: Allentown Morning Call Date: 2/7/2020‌


Pennsylvania school property tax reform was on the horizon last year.

Here’s why it’s languishing in Harrisburg


By FORD TURNER THE MORNING CALL


HARRISBURG - Despite widespread acknowledgement that increasing school property taxes are helping to force many Pennsylvanians out of their homes, the latest effort in Harrisburg to reform the tax system is taking a lot longer than one central figure hoped.

Last fall, Republican state Sen. David Argall of Schuylkill County said he hoped the House or Senate would have a floor discussion of the complex, emotional issue before Christmas.

Months later, there has been no House or Senate discussion in Harrisburg.

And, as the roughly 250 lawmakers left Harrisburg on Wednesday with no sessions scheduled until mid-March, it appeared there may have been no behind-the-scenes “head counts” of Democrats and Republicans to see what sort of reform they might support.

Such head counts were the next logical step in a lengthy tax reform-discussion process that began last summer, Argall said in December.

Last year, Argall coordinated a group of more than 15 lawmakers including Democrats and Republicans from both House and Senate to hash out a property tax plan.

They met repeatedly and in December issued a slate of five possible options to deal with the problem. They cut property taxes by up to $8.5 billion statewide using a variety of approaches, mostly involving increases of sales or personal income taxes.

Individual interviews Wednesday with all four party whips in Harrisburg ― the lawmakers who would conduct the head counts among their House or Senate members ― left the impression that no head counts on the five approaches had been taken. At the same time, it was clear property taxes had their attention and plans were unfolding to move the process along, albeit slowly.

“This is significant economics,” Republican Rep. Kerry Benninghoff of Centre County said. “Making sudden changes is not easy to do.”

Republicans control both chambers of the General Assembly and are in the driver’s seat for any tax reform. At the same time, any reform measures would require the signature of Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat.

It appeared a key position in the ongoing process is held by House Republicans, for which Benninghoff serves as majority whip.

Sen. John Gordner, a Columbia County Republican and majority whip in the Senate, said, “It is one of those issues where it is best if there is some understanding of what the House plans to do.” School property tax rates are set by individual school boards and may be increased each year.

The bills are typically issued by school districts in early July, with an average bill statewide of

$2,380.

While property taxes raise about $15 billion statewide for education each year, they also inflict financial stress on people living on fixed incomes.

On Wednesday, Sen. Mario Scavello, a Monroe County Republican, stood on the rostrum in the Senate and said he was holding a single-county, 11-page listing of foreclosures happening because of failure to pay taxes.

“I continually get calls from seniors in my district, ‘I don’t know what I am going to do next year,’ ” Scavello said.

Sen. Anthony Williams, a Democrat who represents parts of Philadelphia and Delaware counties and is Senate minority whip, said, “A significant portion of my district has an alarming number of foreclosures as a result of property taxes.”

But reducing property taxes means raising other taxes like the sales tax or personal income tax. And lawmakers are aware that any tinkering with school funding must take into account

the already large imbalance between educational offerings in wealthy areas and those in cities with many impoverished families, such as Allentown and Philadelphia.

The depth of school funding issues statewide was clear when Wolf unveiled his proposed 2020- 21 state budget on Tuesday. It proposed not only an increase of $100 million in basic education funding but also spending $1 billion to tackle physical problems such as lead and asbestos in schools.

Argall introduced proposed legislation over many years to replace or repeal the school property tax and replace the lost revenue with a variety of increases in other taxes. Strong opposition has come from a wide variety of groups, including food banks, schools, bar associations and even architects.

One of the five proposals presented in December eliminated property taxes altogether, but it was focused mainly on owner-occupied homes and would exclude business properties and second homes.

Argall believed those proposals should be introduced to the various legislative factions behind closed doors and put to “head counts.”

The slow approach to the tricky issue comes in an election year where all House seats and half of those in the Senate will be on the ballot.

Among the observations shared by the party whips Wednesday:

Williams said Senate Democrats have discussed the options in closed-door caucus meetings. And, he said, a head count of senators did not have to be done in person in the Capitol, but could be conducted by phone.

Some of the proposals involve tax increases, Williams said, and since the Republicans are in the majority, the natural sequence would be for them to indicate their preferred approach first.

That communication with Democrats, he said, does not necessarily mean a public announcement but "a fair exchange of information."

The lack of action, Williams said, represents the government not getting things done. Significant numbers of Pennsylvanians, he said, are “struggling with holding onto their homes.

Democratic Rep. Jordan Harris of Philadelphia, the House minority whip, said school funding and property taxes are a linked, major issue for Democrats.

He praised the concept that created the study group led by Argall. But a key factor for House Democrats, he said, is an ongoing gap in education funding.

“A lot of the time, that gap is being filled by property taxes,” he said.

While no head count has been taken on the issue, he said, that doesn’t mean it will not happen. Gordner said his caucus discussed the property tax issue behind closed doors. Both Argall and Scavello spoke, Gordner said, but he did not provide details.

Benninghoff said property tax reform has involved “a lot of philosophical issues for a long time.” One difficulty, he said, is that at least a few lawmakers have clung to the position that they will accept nothing less than total elimination of property taxes.

Benninghoff said trying to do away with a tax that generates many billions of dollars “is going to be very difficult.”

He said he favors having House Republicans hold a behind-closed-doors discussion focused completely on the property tax issue.

Beyond that, he said he hoped a package of bills could be crafted in time to be put to a vote before lawmakers leave Harrisburg for their summer break, which often occurs at the end of June if a budget agreement has been completed.


Morning Call reporter Ford Turner can be reached at 717-783-7305 or fturner@mcall.com.

Source: Lancaster Intelligncer Journal/New Era Date: 2/7/2020


Gov. Wolf wants to assess a tax on each municipality for using state police.

Municipal leaders — again — aren't happy


GILLIAN McGOLDRICK | Staff Writer


John Yoder can’t remember the last time a State Police trooper was in West Donegal Township.


That’s because West Donegal Township, where he serves as township supervisor, has its own regional police force that most often responds to emergencies in the area.


But under Gov. Tom Wolf’s latest proposal to lessen how much money comes out of the Motor License Fund, which currently funds the State Police, West Donegal Township could be on the hook for a $41,711 bill -- about $4.66 per person -- for the times State Police does provide coverage.


“We already spend a third of our budget to help maintain our local police,” Yoder said. “It’s incredibly unfair then to have to pay for state police coverage, even though our citizens pay Pennsylvania state

taxes that are supposed to cover this stuff.”


Under Wolf’s budget proposal, each municipality would be assessed a fee for State Police coverage. The municipality’s population, median income and whether it has local police coverage would all be factored in to calculate how much each municipality should pay.


Wolf has tried to make state police coverage more equitable in recent years, as 67% of municipalities in the state rely entirely on that force for their local law enforcement. His earlier proposals got rejected by lawmakers because it levied heavy fees on municipalities that relied entirely on State Police coverage, when all municipalities in the state can use State Police coverage when necessary.


Still, local municipal leaders predictably are unhappy that they would need to raise taxes on their residents to pay into State Police coverage.


“I don’t have a general fund surplus to cover that,” said Michele Neckermann, the township manager in Sadsbury Township that relies on State Police coverage. ”We would be really resistant to that because we have a really high school district tax already. A lot of our residents are farmers. They can’t afford

that.”


Some of Lancaster’s Republican lawmakers told LNP | LancasterOnline earlier this week they would review Wolf’s latest proposal because it addressed some of their earlier concerns. They had previously all opposed it, with almost all of the southern part of the county relying entirely on state police coverage.


Scott Shoemaker, a township supervisor for Colerain Township, said it’s on the lawmakers to figure out how to make up the declining motor license funds, and that the state police coverage has been helpful to the mostly Amish community since they disbanded the local department in the 1980s.


“The politicians have got to get their head screwed on tight,” Shoemaker added.


Brian Wiker, the chair of the Board of Supervisors in Elizabeth Township, said there is no way to address this problem fairly. Although his township would pay some of the highest rates -- more than

$18 per person, or an additional $74,000 cost -- he understands why his neighboring township Warwick that has its own local police force would be upset it also needs to pay into this fee.


“Our lawmakers need to do their jobs and decide that this is a state expenditure and its a state service and therefore the state’s gonna pay for that,” Wiker said. He added he does not have a problem with the

formulas the governor’s office used to create its assessments, except that he does not agree median income should be factored in.

Wolf's spokesman J.J. Abbott said the administration is open to input on improving this model. Other parts of the state would need to pay much higher rates, like Pocopson Township in Chester

County, which relies entirely on state police coverage and has a $170,938 median income. Because of

this, the township would need to pay more than $709,000 or approximately $145 per person.

Source: Wilkes-Barre Citizens Voice Date: 2/7/2020

Plan to charge all communities to fund state police draws ire

B Y B O B K A L I N O W S K I


Officials in Luzerne County municipalities that already pay for their own police departments are sounding off on a proposal by Gov. Tom Wolf to force every municipality in Pennsylvania to pay to fund the state police.


Under Wolf’s latest plan, all 76 municipalities in the county would get an annual bill, ranging from $2,171 for Warrior Run up to $210,335 for Dorrance Twp.


Dorrance Twp., which is 24 square miles and has 2,235 residents, relies solely on state police for coverage. Warrior Run, which is less than a square mile and has 574 residents, pays Hanover Twp. for police services.


However, many municipalities that already have a full-time police force are facing hefty bills, such as $185,961 for Sugarloaf Twp., $106,250 for Fairview Twp., and $102,284 for Rice Twp.


“They are absolutely insane,” said Mike Iorio, chairman of the Fairview Twp. Board of Supervisors. “We have a good police force. You can’t keep burdening the residents with this. Are the state police going to come up to patrol our roads?”


This is the third time Wolf proposed a state police fee. In 2017, he proposed a $25 per-resident fee for municipalities without their own police. Last year, he proposed a fee — ranging from $8 to $166 — on such municipalities based on population. This is the first time he’s asking every municipality to chip in, arguing even towns with police forces use state police services and laboratories.


The proposed fee is based on a number of factors, such as population, operational costs of the nearest state police barracks, whether a municipality has a police force and median income of the municipality.


Dorrance Twp. is facing a charge of $94 per resident, while places like Wilkes-Barre, Nanticoke, and Plymouth — which all have full-time police departments — would be charged $2 per resident. The fee is rounded to the nearest dollar.


The state legislature would have to approve Wolf’s proposal.


If Wolf’s plan is implemented, Iorio predicts townships like his might have to significantly cut their police forces or eliminate them altogether.


“We really would have to look at it,” Iorio said. “That’s what’s going to happen.”


Dorrance Twp. Secretary Pat Davis, thinks the township would consider paying a fee, but it has to be reasonable. She can’t fathom how Wolf expects the township to pay over $200,000 given it has budgeted revenue of $528,000,


“If there was some kind of fair proposition out there based on how many calls you have, maybe people won’t be so up in arms,” Davis said. “When you start throwing out numbers like you are talking about, that’s crazy.”


Hanover Twp. Manager Sam Guesto said he didn’t think the idea would be supported by local governments. His township already spends more than $3 million a year on its police force of 19 officers.


Under Wolf’s plan, Hanover Twp. would pay $41,115, or $4 per resident.


“Basically, it’s a mixed bag. We do utilize state police during high crimes. At the same time, everybody already pays state taxes. It’s an added burden,” Guesto said. “We have a full-time accredited police force with a detective unit and a K-9 unit. We have a narcotics officer. We have a school resource officer.”

Forty Fort Mayor Andy Tuzinski said his department has a great relationship with the state police, but the cooperation and assistance goes both ways. His department often assists state police with incidents on the Cross Valley Expressway, he said.


Having Forty Fort pay the proposed $39,089 would hurt the ability to strengthen that working relationship, Tuzinski said. It would also hurt the borough’s ability to serve its own residents, he said.


“Quite frankly, at $40,000, we could promote a part-time officer to full-time status,” Tuzinski said. “It’s not right that our taxpayers, who pay taxes for a full-time professional police department, have to underwrite the state police.”


TERRIE MORGAN-BESECKER, staff writer, contributed to this report.


Contact the writer: bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com; 570-821-2055; @cvbobkal

Source: PLS Reporter Date: 2/7/2020

Here’s what Gov. Tom Wolf’s new state police fee would look like

BY: JUSTIN SWEITZER


Gov. Tom Wolf’s 2020-2021 spending plan was chock full of both new and familiar ideas.


The second-term governor proposed a $204 million scholarship plan for students at state system universities using funds designated for horse racing. He’s revisiting attempts to raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour and impose a minimum teacher salary of $45,000.


And in a mix of old and new, Wolf is once again seeking a different model to fund the Pennsylvania State Police, but this time the plan has a new look.


Instead of sliding scale or flat fees proposed in previous budgets, the Wolf Administration is looking to implement a per-person fee to fund local state police coverage — a model that the administration believes is a fairer option than past proposals.


The fee is calculated by dividing a state police station’s yearly costs by the population of its service area. The model would then take into account income, an area’s level of municipal police coverage and what state police services are used.


J.J. Abbott, a spokesperson for Wolf, said that the fee structure would ensure “fair pay for services provided and that lower average income areas do not pay the same fee per person as higher income areas.”


Municipalities would be assessed the total fee determined under the model by the state, he added. To see what your municipality under the fee structure, use the search function below.


The proposed model differs from one proposed by Wolf last year, which would

have assessed fees based on a sliding scale, meaning that municipalities without local police coverage would have had to pay fees weighted by their population.


The proposal did not earn support in the state’s Republican-controlled legislature, but Abbott believes the new fee structure could be more palatable to state lawmakers.


“We adjusted the proposal based on feedback and in hopes of increasing the legislature’s willingness to address this growing issue,” he said.


While lawmakers have been torn on how to address funding the state police, they’ve largely agreed that a change is needed.


In recent years the state has continuously transferred money out of the state’s Motor License Fund — which is designed to pay for road and bridge repairs — to fund local police coverage.


A 2019 report, Auditor General Eugene DePasquale estimated that legislators had diverted 4.25 billion dollars since 2012 to fund state police operations. DePasquale had advocated for the same sliding scale fee that Wolf proposed, but he idea went nowhere in the General Assembly.


Republican leaders, though, say the new proposal more accurately accounts for the fact that municipalities with and without local police coverage still utilize state police services.

“The past proposals were only a per capita fee of $25 on people who live in places that utilize state police services and don’t have their own police force,” Sen. Pat Browne (R- Lehigh) said in a floor speech this week. “It wasn’t directly tied to use because we know there are communities throughout the state that have police that utilize state police services.”


Browne, who chairs the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, wouldn’t commit to advancing the proposal, but noted that the new fee structure is a reasonable starting point.


“Now we’re going to decide as a Senate body whether this is something we want to advance, but I give the state police a lot of credit for going back and looking through 10,000 pages of data and coming up with an alternative model based on our suggestions,” Browne said. “That’s collaboration.”


Justin Sweitzer is a State Government Reporter for The PLS Reporter. Have a question, comment or tip? Email: justinsweitzer@mypls.com.

Source: Scranton Times Tribune Date: 2/7/2020

Gov. Wolf visits Riverside to talk post-secondary scholarships

B Y K A T H L E E N B O L U S , S T A F F W R I T E R


TAYLOR — To achieve her dream of becoming an English professor, Riverside senior Elizabeth Giannone knows she has years of schooling, and debt, ahead of her.


Junior Grace Spisso aspires to be a civil rights lawyer. The daughter of a single mom in a middle-class community, she worries about what path to take financially to achieve her goal.


The students joined six of their peers and three parents Thursday to discuss their career goals and financial fears while offering insight to Gov. Tom Wolf as he rolls out the $204 million Nellie Bly Scholarship Program, included in his budget address released Tuesday.


Repurposing annual revenues from the Horse Racing Development Fund will fund the program, named after an Armstrong County native who became a pioneering journalist, according to

Wolf’s office. In the early 20th century, Bly had to leave the then-Indiana Normal School, now the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, because of the cost.


To be eligible for the scholarships, lower- and middle-class students must enroll full time in one of 14 Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education universities’’ undergraduate programs and qualify for a federal subsidized student loan. They must also commit to live in Pennsylvania after graduation for the same number of years they received the scholarship. While it will not matter what field a student chooses to work in after college, if they leave the state early, they must repay the money.


The Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine has a similar program.


Seated on couches in the high school library, Wolf asked the eight students — three joined by their mothers — what the scholarship should be used for and how the state can help address the issue of student debt. State Reps. Mike Carroll, D-118, Avoca, and Bridget Kosierowski, D- 114, Waverly Twp., also joined the conversation.


The students suggested the program be open to all areas of post-secondary education and discussed the burden of living expenses and books, in addition to tuition costs.


Panel member Tiana Valencia-Muskey, mother of senior Tyler Muskey, said that as a single parent it’s hard to help her son financially as he goes into college.


She pointed out, that while they have the grades and the drive to succeed, they worried about finances and debt after graduation.


After Riverside, Wolf visited Springfield High School in Delaware County to discuss the same issues with students and parents there.


Contact the writer: kbolus@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5114; @kbolusTT on Twitter

Source: Lancaster Intelligncer Journal/New Era Date: 2/7/2020


'We are still underfunded': Funding inequities cast a shadow on Gov. Wolf's proposed increases in education funding

ALEX GELI | Staff Writer


The $100 million in additional basic education funding Gov. Tom Wolf requested in his budget address this week may not go as far as one might think.


Inequitable school funding is to blame, local school officials say.


In Lancaster County, Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposal would mean about $3.3 million more in basic education funding for schools in the 2020-21 budget year, or 1.74% more than the current year’s state funding.


Individual district increases would range from 0.37% at Elanco to 6.88% at Columbia Borough.


That’s money that will no doubt go toward instruction, support services — and, perhaps in some cases, budget deficits.


School District of Lancaster, which has 11,000 students and is the county’s largest district, would get an additional $644,207 in basic education funding under Wolf’s proposed budget. That would be a 1% increase over 2019-20.


But this year, the Lancaster district is facing a $10 million deficit. To balance its budget, the district is considering raising taxes, increasing class sizes and leaving vacant positions unfilled.


The district’s real estate tax rate is already among the highest in the county, behind only Columbia and the Lancaster County portion of the Octorara School District, most of which is in Chester County.


Doesn’t solve issue

Lancaster Superintendent Damaris Rau has suggested the district wouldn’t be in such a dire position if the state paid its fair share to schools with the most need. While she said district officials appreciate any state increase, it doesn’t solve the issue of inequitable funding.


“We are grateful that Gov. Wolf again called an increase in basic education funding,” Rau said. “But we are still underfunded by $20 million, according to the funding formula.”


The state’s funding formula, enacted in 2016, factors in objective measures such as student poverty and charter school enrollment. But the state decided to implement it gradually by allowing only new money since the 2014-15 school year to flow through the formula.


Under Wolf’s proposed budget, Lancaster would receive a total of about $64.4 million in basic education funding, of which only $10.6 million, or 16%, would go through the fair funding formula.


“We call on the Legislature to speed up full implementation of the formula to help our struggling school districts,” Rau said.


Conestoga Valley up 5.58%

Among those in the state that would benefit most from the formula’s full implementation is Conestoga Valley. Under Wolf’s proposed budget, CV would receive the county’s second largest state funding boost percentage-wise, at 5.58%.

But district Superintendent Dave Zuilkoski suggests there’s more to that story.


“While it appears CV is one of the big winners in the governor’s proposed budget, it’s important to keep in mind that CV is among the lowest 2% in being equitably funded by the state,” Zuilkoski said.


If all money flowed through the formula, he said, CV would receive an increase of more than 200%. Zuilkoski urged state lawmakers to work aggressively to “level the playing field” of school funding.

“While we appreciate the relatively small increase,” he said, “we also encourage the Legislature and governor to look at districts like CV that are grossly and inequitably underfunded by the state.”


In addition to $100 million more in basic education funding, Wolf called for a $25 million boost in special education funding and for charter school reform that he said would save schools $280 million.

Source: Erie Times-News Date: 2/7/2020

Wolf’s budget: $3.8 million in savings for Erie schools

By Ed Palattella


Governor’s proposed changes to charter school funding would let Erie School District, most others in county keep money.


Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposed 2020-21 budget could deliver big savings to the Erie School District.


Changes to charter school funding included in Wolf’s proposal would allow the Erie School District to keep $3.8 million in revenue instead of sending it to charter schools, according to state Department of Education data.


Eleven of Erie County’s 12 other school districts also would receive financial boosts under Wolf’s plan, but none would benefit as much as the 11,000-student Erie School District, the region’s largest public school system with the most charter school students. The North East

School District would be the only Erie County district that would lose money, by having to spend

$31,400 more of its own funds.


“It is a very positive move,” Erie schools Superintendent Brian Polito, referring to the $3.8 million, said at the Erie School Board meeting on Wednesday. “We are hoping it stays in the budget process.”


The charter school funding changes are sure to fuel debate when the Republican-controlled General Assembly considers the Democratic Wolf’s budget proposal before the June 30 deadline for reaching a deal.


Some Republicans, including state Rep. Curt Sonney, of Harborcreek Township, 4th-Dist., chairman of the House Education Committee, have pushed to overhaul cyber charters. But criticism of Wolf’s plan has been strong from proponents of charter schools.


“The governor’s actions ... show that this ‘reform’ plan is only to appease his political allies, who want nothing more than see charter schools close and reinstate school districts’ monopoly on public education,” Ana Meyers, executive director of the Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools, said in a statement.


‘It is significant’


For the Erie School District, the $3.8 million funding shift would come as the district continues to follow its state-mandated financial improvement plan, which accompanied the district’s receipt of

$14 million in additional state aid, starting in 2018, to stay solvent. One of the plan’s key recommendations is that the district continue efforts to curb charter school enrollment, thus reducing the amount it pays charters.


A total of 2,336 students who live in the Erie School District attend charter schools — 1,876 go to a total of four brick-and-mortar charters and another 460 attend cyber charters, according to the district. The district in 2019-20 budgeted $28.6 million for charter school tuition, or about 14 percent of the district’s total budget of $204 million.


If the district were to keep $3.8 million in funding, its annual charter school expenses would drop by about 13 percent, to $24.8 million.


“It is significant,” Polito said in an interview. “It is very good news for us, that they are looking at it.”


The $3.8 million in savings would also help offset tax increases. The Erie School District’s financial improvement plan calls for annual tax increases of 2.46 percent for the foreseeable future.


A 2.46 increase, which the School Board approved in June for the 2019-20 budget, raised the school property tax bill by about $41.30 for the owner of a home assessed at $100,000. The

2.46 increase generated about $1 million in additional revenue.


The $3.8 million that the Erie School District would be allowed to keep would equal the approximate revenue that a tax increase of 9.1 percent would generate. Such a large increase

would raise the school property tax bill by about $156 for the owner of a home assessed at

$100,000.


Two proposed changes


Wolf’s budget would also increase the Erie School District’s basic education and special education funding by a total of about $2.3 million, which would bring the district’s total state aid in both categories to about $95.3 million, an amount that is in the range of what the school district projected for 2020-21.


The $3.8 million boost would be more of a windfall. The Erie School District would receive it because of two funding changes that are new to Wolf’s proposed budget. Both concern charter school funding, and would generate a total of $280 million in savings for school districts statewide, according to Wolf’s office.


School districts in Pennsylvania fund charter schools by sending them tuition payments. The payments cover brick-and-mortar charters and cyber charters. Wolf wants to change the funding formula for special education for charters and the funding formula for cyber charters.


– Special education — Wolf wants charter schools, including cyber charters, to get special education funding using the same formula that the state uses to fund special education for school districts. Under that system, school districts receive funding for special education students based on a four-tiered formula that increases funding based on increases in the needs of special education students.


School districts provide special education payments to charter schools based on a flat fee. That system is based on “the outdated assumption that all school districts have a special education population of 16 percent, regardless of the level of services” that students require, according to a summary in Wolf’s executive budget.


Wolf’s budget would apply the four-tiered formula to all charters “to better align Special Education Funding with actual costs of providing services to special education students,” according to the executive budget. A bipartisan state commission on special

education recommended the change.


The switch to the four-tiered formula for funding special education for charter schools would save school districts statewide about $147 million a year, according to Wolf’s office. The Erie School District would save about $3 million.


– Cyber charters — Wolf wants to establish a statewide tuition rate of $9,500 per year per student for cyber charters. That is how much the Erie School District and the state’s 499 other school districts would pay.


The $9,500 tuition rate would be for non-special education students and special education students, according to the state Department of Education. The cyber charter would receive that amount for every student and then additional funds for each special education student based on the level of special education services each student needs.


The tuition rates for cyber charters now vary widely across the state, with the rates based on what each school district pays to educate students at district schools. Cyber charters charge districts $7,700 to $21,400 per student per year, according to Wolf’s executive budget. The Erie School District pays $9,044 in annual tuition for each cyber charter student who is not in special education. The rate is $23,302 for a special education student enrolled in a cyber charter.


Wolf’s proposed statewide tuition rate of $9,500 per cyber student “will better align tuition with the actual costs of providing an online education,” according to the executive budget. It said the change will save school districts about $133 million a year. The Erie School District would save

$845,000 a year.


‘Not second-class citizens’


Not all public school districts would benefit from Wolf’s proposals. The 1,680-student North East School District would have to spend $31,400 more of its money because the cost of educating its students — which is the amount the district must pay in cyber charter tuition — is already low, said the district’s business manager, Jeff Fox.


Under Wolf’s plan, the North East School District would save about $3,400 in special education costs but would have to spend about $34,800 more on cyber charter tuition, leading to the

additional annual costs of about $31,400 for the district, according to the state Department of Education data. The district’s budget is about $25 million.


The North East School District would have to pay more “because our regular education tuition rate per student is way below the state average,” Fox said in an email. “This particular ‘reform’ benefits districts that have a high regular ed tuition rate, i.e., districts that spend a lot more per student than we do.


“We are actually being penalized because we provide a good education for a low cost.”


For charter school advocates, Wolf’s proposals represent an attack on the ability of parents in Pennsylvania to choose charter schools as better options than traditional public schools.


“Charter school students and their families are not second-class citizens. These parents pay their taxes and their children attend a PA-designated public school,” Meyers, of the Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools, said in her statement.


image

“There is no reason why charter school students deserve less financial support than their district peers. Gov. Wolf is proposing a public education system that discriminates against children based on where they live. Is this what the so called ‘education governor’ wants his legacy to be?”


Charter changes


Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposed changes to charter school funding would lead to savings for all but one school district in Erie and Crawford counties. The figures below reflect savings or losses due to both changes in Wolf’s proposed budget — one change deals with funding for special education and charters and the other with cyber charter funding.


Erie County


Corry — Savings of $131,417.91 Erie — Savings of $3,849,710.32 Fairview — Savings of $33,958.54

Fort Leboeuf — Savings of $73,279.36 General McLane —Savings of $29,273.22 Girard —Savings of $121,705.42

Harbor Creek — Savings of $43,894.47 Iroquois — Savings of $107,279.06 Millcreek — Savings of $345,738.70 North East — Loss of $31,383.57 Northwestern — Savings of $84,579.24 Union City — Savings of $81,997.32 Wattsburg — Savings of $150,917.53 Crawford County

Conneaut — Savings of $381,037.04 Crawford Central — Savings of $358,855.28 Penncrest — Savings of $515,170.81

Source: Pennsylvania Department of Education



Ed Palattella can be reached at 870-1813 or by email. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ETNpalattella

Source: Waynesboro Record Herald Date: 2/7/2020

Local lawmakers critical of Wolf’s proposed budget


By Shawn Hardy


On Tuesday, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf unveiled his proposed $36 billion budget for 2020-21 that includes more than $2 billion in new spending.


Franklin County’s lawmakers in Harrisburg, all Republicans, are critical of the Democratic governor’s spending plan.


Wolf wants to create a major new program for college scholarships, require public schools to provide full-day kindergarten and pump $1 billion into cleaning up lead and asbestos in aging school buildings, according to the Associated Press. The governor is also again proposing a fee for state police coverage.


Here’s what the local lawmakers think about the governor’s proposed budget:


Mastriano is concerned about the governor’s proposed 2020-21 spending plan and intends to carefully study the $36.1 billion state general fund budget that was presented before a joint session of the General Assembly.


“The bottom line is this budget includes a $1.5 billion spending hike, there are cuts to agriculture, there is a reduction to the popular school safety program and – among other concerns – there is a decrease to Lyme disease initiatives,” said Mastriano. “The governor proclaimed there were ‘no new taxes’ in his proposal, however this is not true. There are multiple new taxes, fees and levies throughout his budget.”


The governor’s budget proposal includes a $1.5 billion (4.2 percent) increase in state spending from the current fiscal year. Even though a broad-based tax hike has not been proposed, the governor is continuing to push for a Marcellus Shale extraction tax, a $1 per-ton increase in the fee charged to trash companies and a fee for all municipalities for state police services, Mastriano said.


Mastriano also voiced concern that the governor wants to hire more staff at the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).


“Bringing additional staff aboard DEP will not resolve any of the issues that municipalities and constituents are facing regarding the rain tax and MS4,” said Mastriano. “It is mind-boggling that this concept is even being considered. I am requesting accountability and consistency, not additional staff.”


Mastriano noted that the governor would like to cut school safety grant funding by $45 million, and that multiple reductions in agriculture are proposed, including decreases in research, promotion, education and marketing.


“I am looking forward to working with the Senate Appropriations Committee in reducing the proposed spending and ensuring there are no tax hikes,” said Mastriano. “It is important that agriculture is fully-funded, that we hold government accountable and we continue to fund education at historic levels.”


“This budget contains more than a half-a-billion dollars in tax increases on employers and other things, although these are not broad based taxes any increase is concerning. If we agree to his billions in new spending and borrowing, a broad-based tax hike in future years is certain. We cannot add $1.5 billion or more to the state’s ledger and also add billions more in new borrowing without consequences. We need to take a closer look at how we can meet the basic responsibilities of government at a lower cost to taxpayers.


“I am deeply troubled that the governor wants to spend so much more, while at the same time cutting programs that our local communities rely on. Cuts to agriculture, regional cancer centers, school safety and other local priorities will have a negative impact on our region for years to come. I am particularly disappointed about the $4.3 million in cuts to the Department of Agriculture in light of the progress we have made over the past year to protect the future of farming in Pennsylvania. We should not jeopardize all of the hard work that went into helping our farmers.

“I also have deep concerns about the governor’s new tax on state police coverage. Previous versions of this plan would have forced rural communities to pay more for the same level of service, in spite of the fact that half of the state police’s calls come from communities that have their own local police force. The details about his plan are still murky, but we should not agree to any plan that serves as a cash grab against rural Pennsylvania.


“Our highest priority should always be to pass a budget that is responsible and sustainable. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the months ahead to accomplish our shared goals without adding new burdens on taxpayers – now or in the future.”


The $2.05 billion over the current year’s approved spending plan is unsustainable, according to Schemel.


Schemel wants spending to be aligned with his support for the Taxpayer Protection Act, a Commonwealth Foundation initiative to keep spending growth limited to the pace of economic growth.


“It is not feasible to think we can increase spending by 4.2% in a single year, well in excess of the rate of growth,” Schemel said. “As policy makers, we need to be mindful that we are entrusted with the taxpayers’ money.”


“I was disappointed Gov. Wolf used this forum to once again advocate for abridging the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding gun owners, while he and fellow Democrats continue to oppose efforts to hold criminals in possession of illegal guns accountable under the law. For the governor to expend more time and energy supporting criminals than he does law-abiding citizens is shameful.


“The problem is not law-abiding citizens. It is criminals with illegal guns and those in the position to prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law not doing so. A perfect example of this is what we are seeing in Philadelphia. The district attorney there is continuing to fail to enforce our criminal laws to their fullest extent, and the resulting effect is that the number of gun-related crimes is rising. He has an almost complete disregard for his duty as a prosecutor and for overall public safety.


“In fact, the failure of the governor and Philadelphia’s district attorney to stem the criminal violence in that city highlights the naïveté in calls for increased spending as a solution to whatever he sees as a problem. Last year, the General Assembly allocated an additional $2 million to a gun violence task force, yet even with that increase of more than a third in previous spending for that task force, gun crimes continue to rise in Philadelphia.


“The House proposed a bipartisan package of bills designed to strengthen penalties pertaining to gun-related crime, force law enforcement officials to do their duty and get those who are most troubled into mental health treatment - yet we did not get support from the House Democrats or from the governor. Instead, they continued to talk about taking guns away from citizens trying to protect their families from a criminal element Philadelphia’s district attorney wants to put back on the street.


“As chairman of the Judiciary Committee, I will continue to support the rights of those who follow the law and work to strengthen the penalties for those who seek to harm their fellow citizens.”


“Since taking office, Gov. Tom Wolf has consistently made demands during his yearly budget address for increased spending in nearly every area of state government. This year was no exception. What the governor didn’t talk about in-depth were the increases in taxes and the borrowing that would accompany his desire to spend more.


“It’s always easy for government to come up with ways to spend money. It’s a completely different matter to actually find the money to cover the increases in spending.


“As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, I look forward to the upcoming budget hearings so I can question officials who receive taxpayer dollars to ensure money is being spent in the most responsible and effective way possible. I believe we can come up with a budget that is agreeable to policymakers and, most importantly, respects all taxpayers.”


The 2020-21 budget must be approved by July 1.

Source: Bedford Gazette Date: 2/7/2020


Local lawmakers largely skeptical of Wolf priorities

By Paul Rowan Gazette Managing Editor


Local elected officials, all Republicans, found a few things to like and much to take issue with in Gov. Tom Wolf’s $36 billion budget proposal for the 2020-21 fiscal year that was announced Tuesday in Harrisburg.


State Rep. Jesse Topper of Bedford found Wolf’s spending plan objectionable.


“Since taking office, Gov. Tom Wolf has consistently made demands during his yearly budget address for increased spending in nearly every area of state government. This year was no exception,” Topper said in a news release.


“What the governor didn’t talk about in depth were the increases in taxes and the borrowing that would accompany his desire to spend more.


“It’s always easy for government to come up with ways to spend money. It’s a completely different matter to actually find money to cover the increases in spending.”


State Rep. Carl Walker Metzgar of Berlin also raised the borrowing issue. In a telephone interview, he called Wolf’s spending plan “wildly out of line,” but said the borrowing, “mortgaging our children’s future,” was “awful.”


High on Metzgar’s list of concerns was a proposal by Wolf to cut the state’s agriculture spending.


“He basically zeroed the agriculture budget,” Metzgar said, calling it “an attack on rural Pennsylvania,” and “a direct swing at agriculture.”


Metzgar said that it’s likely that the cuts will be reversed, but said “forcing us (the House) to negotiate it back into the budget is inappropriate.”


Metzgar said he did see common ground with Wolf on his proposals for workforce development.


State Sen. Wayne Langerholc Jr., of Richland Township, in a news release said he found some positives in Wolf’s budget proposal, but also some negatives.


“As Chairman of the Senate Education Committee, I’m glad the governor’s plan continues to fund education at historic levels — giving every student the best chance to succeed. However, I am disappointed that the governor’s proposal cuts funding for school safety grants from $60 million to $15 million. This vital program has been extremely successful in providing the resources and funding to ensure that our schools and students are secure. Rather than cutting funding for this vital program, I believe we should be devoting more resources to a core government function — keeping our kids safe from harm.”


Langerholc also took issue with Wolf proposals that would include universal background checks on gun sales, mandatory reporting for lost or stolen guns, red flag laws to take guns from those at risk of harming someone and counseling services for troubled schoolchildren.


“In the wake of the actions taken by other state legislatures impacting our Second Amendment rights, I’m deeply concerned the movement this administration is taking on gun policy. I shall remain vigilant and steadfast in upholding responsible gun owners’ rights under the second amendment.”

State Sen. Judy Ward, whose district includes Huntingdon County, also criticized Wolf’s plan both for what he proposed to spend and what he proposed to cut.


“If we agree to his billions in new spending and borrowing, a broad-based tax hike in future years is certain. We cannot add $1.5 billion or more to the state’s ledger and also add billions more in new borrowing without consequences,” Ward said in a news release.


“I am deeply troubled that the governor wants to spend so much more, while at the same time cutting programs that our local communities rely on. Cuts to agriculture, regional cancer centers, school safety and other local priorities will have a negative impact on our region for years to come. I am particularly disappointed about the $4.3 million in cuts to the Department of Agriculture in light of the progress we have made over the past year to protect the future of farming in Pennsylvania. We should not jeopardize all of the hard work that went into helping our farmers,” Ward continued.


Ward also voiced concerns about a Wolf proposal — raised in various forms in the past — to tax municipalities to pay for state police coverage.


“Previous versions of this plan would have forced rural communities to pay more for the same level of service, in spite of the fact that half of the state police’s calls come from communities that have their own local police force. The details about his plan are still murky, but we should not agree to any plan that serves as a cash grab against rural Pennsylvania.” Ward said.


Contact Paul Rowan at prowan@bedfordgazette.com, 623-1151, ext. 140.

Source: Wilkes-Barre Times Leader Date: 2/7/2020

Racing executive fears broad impact of Wolf’s budget proposal on agriculture in Pa.

By Joe Soprano jsoprano@timesleader.com


PLAINS TWP. – While Gov. Tom Wolf was in Taylor on Thursday pitching his 2020 budget and the $204 million Nellie Bly Scholarship Program it would create, Pete Peterson stood in Pacers Clubhouse at Mohegan Sun Pocono and questioned the wisdom of how Wolf would fund the scholarship.


Wolf’s plan would divert money from the Race Horse Development Trust Fund, which receives funding from Pennsylvania slots revenue, to pay for the scholarship program.


Peterson said diverting those funds would be fatal for the horse and harness racing industry.


“It would effectively end the harness racing industry as we know it,” said Peterson, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Equine Coalition — an organization representing the six Thoroughbred and Standard-bred horsemen and breeder associations in the state.


“It basically takes away all the money that exists for purses and for breeders incentives,” he said. “That’s the lifeblood of the industry.”


Mohegan Sun Pocono, which has featured live harness racing for 55 years, will host 133 nights of live racing this year.


Wolf, though, believes the money could be better spent.


“Let’s bet on our kids instead of bankrolling race horse owners and ensure the viability of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education,” Wolf told those gathered at Riverside High School on Thursday.


However, Peterson cautioned that it is more than just the harness and horse racing industry that would be affected.


“The industry as a whole has a much broader impact than most people realize,” Peterson said. “They take a look at a track, and they say that’s who the industry employs.


“Well, there are thousands of breeders and the people that work for them. And then you have on top of that a range of people from trainers to jockeys to drivers …”


Others professions that benefit from the horse racing industry, according to Peterson include, blacksmiths, veterinarians, exercise riders, grooms, equine dentists, equine therapists, jockey agents, hot walkers, nutritionists, bloodstock agents and more.


Peterson said that harness and horse racing contribute about 20,000 jobs to the state and has an overall economic impact of $1.6 billion.


In addition, Peterson fears the impact taking the funds away from racing will have on the state’s farmers.


“It’s going to have a much broader impact on the agriculture economy in the state than I think most people realize,” he said.


Noting that the racing industry is typically the top-level buyer for hay, Peterson said the governor’s diverting of funds comes at a bad time for farmers.


“Last year, Pennsylvania saw a 20 percent increase in farm bankruptcies,” he said. “And a lot of them are struggling financially, and then to take away their largest customer.


“It’s going to really hurt them.”

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer Date: 2/7/2020

VP Mike Pence: Pennsylvanians deserve school choice | Opinion

Mike Pence, For the Inquirer


During my recent visit to St. Francis de Sales Catholic School in Philadelphia, I saw firsthand just how important the issue of school choice is to working families in Pennsylvania. While schools around the state grapple with health hazards and overcrowded classrooms, school choice gives families immediate options to ensure their child is able to succeed.

Right now, there are 50,000 Pennsylvania students waiting for the opportunity to change schools. But when state legislators passed a school-choice bill to expand Pennsylvania’s school-choice scholarship program last year, Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed it.

This is particularly frustrating given what we know about the impact of school choice on educational outcomes. Where parents get a choice, kids get better grades. According to a review of 33 studies on school-choice programs, nearly all of them found that choice improved academic outcomes, even at public schools.

Studies have also shown that educational choice boosts test scores, high school graduation rates, and college enrollment.

These results are not a surprise. Parents know better than bureaucrats where their child can be best educated, and competition leads to better outcomes for everyone.

I’ve witnessed it firsthand in my home state of Indiana. As governor of the Hoosier State, we expanded Indiana’s school-choice program and made it one of the largest in America, transforming thousands of lives across our state.

And I’ve witnessed it firsthand in the nation’s capital. In just his first few months in office, President Donald Trump reauthorized the District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program, which is the only federally funded voucher program in America. Under his leadership, enrollment in the program is already up by nearly 50%.

As part of his historic tax cuts, President Trump reformed our tax laws to let parents use 529 college savings accounts to send their kids to a quality school at every level of education.

This year, we are continuing to fight to expand educational freedom in this country. The president has proposed a program called Education Freedom Scholarships, which would provide $5 billion for state-based school-choice programs all across America.

Under the president’s plan, private donors would receive a tax credit for contributions to this scholarship fund, adding billions of dollars to educational advancement without using taxpayer dollars.

We estimate that the president’s plan would give educational freedom to one million American children.

This program holds out hope for those 50,000 Pennsylvania families who have been forced to wait for scholarships, and for children from underserved communities who are trapped in failing schools. The president’s plan has more than 120 supporters in Congress, including U.S. Reps. Scott Perry (R., Pa.), Daniel Meuser (R., Pa.), John Joyce (R., Pa.), and Fred Keller (R., Pa.), and U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey (R., Pa.).

The president’s plan also has the strong support of the American people. Polling commissioned by the school-choice advocacy group American Federation for Children showed that 78% of Americans support the legislation.

As a father and the proud husband of a schoolteacher, I know that education can have a transformational impact on a child’s life.

And as the president said this week, we must make “sure that every young American gets a great education and the opportunity to achieve the American dream.”

School choice is an idea whose time has come. It’s time for Pennsylvania’s leaders, including Gov. Wolf and U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.), to give Pennsylvania families the freedom to decide where their kids go to school.


Mike Pence is the vice president of the United States.

Source: PLS Reporter Date: 2/7/2020

As panel reimagines higher education funding, PASSHE chancellor pushes even bolder discussion

BY: ANDREW BAHL


The state’s Higher Education Funding Commission met Thursday for the fourth time, as it endeavors to chart a path forward on supporting the state’s colleges and universities.


Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Chancellor Dan Greenstein says they’re going about their jobs all wrong.


It isn’t that Greenstein, who is two years into his quest to turn around PASSHE, disagrees with the need for a fundamental re-thinking of the state’s higher education landscape. In fact, he spent virtually his entire presentation before the commission discussing radical change to the way business is done.


But he believes that one ultimate question must first be answered before a funding and policy model can be built: What are we trying to do here?


“Funding is a second order issue, the first order is what are we trying to accomplish,” he told the panel.


Those goals could be varied, he said, ranging from producing the next generation of the state’s workers to closing historical achievement gaps to protecting the communities where PASSHE or state-related institutions are located.


For his part, Greenstein said he would elect to focus on building equity and developing the state’s workforce—both of which, he said, are intertwined and both of which cannot happen a moment too soon.


Researchers generally agree that 60 percent of jobs need some form of higher education credential, whether that is a traditional two or four-year degree, a certificate from an apprenticeship or even having completed less formal training, such as a coding boot camp.


In Pennsylvania, however, only 47 percent of workers have those qualifications and Greenstein argued the state would need a growth rate in the neighborhood of seven or eight percent to reach the 60 percent mark by 2025.


The growth rate currently? Negative 1.2 percent.


“This is a state of considerable concern,” Greenstein said.


While the sheer quantity of higher education offerings seem well-connected, Greenstein said they are in fact disparate, not connected in logical ways that allow students, especially those from non-traditional backgrounds, to navigate.


Part of this, lawmakers agreed, stems from a system that has not adapted well.


“The problem that PASSHE has had over the last 10, 15 years is they’re doing the same thing they did when Stan Saylor was in college 30 or 40 years ago,” Rep. Stan Saylor (R-York) told The PLS Reporter after the hearing.


The debate comes amid the system’s push to dramatically re-envision itself, moving towards a model where students can take classes online across the system, where backroom functions and IT services are consolidated to save funds and where the output is more closely tailored to what employers demand.

PASSHE was a big winner in Gov. Tom Wolf’s budget address Tuesday, being targeted with $13 million towards furthering the system redesign project. It also would get over

$260 million towards a new scholarship program to reimburse tuition, as well as an increase to the cap for PHEAA grants.


But there are bigger-picture steps to be taken, according to Greenstein. Data needs to be better integrated between the robust statistics that PASSHE already manages, combined with numbers from the Department of Labor and Industry, the Department of Education and the private sector.


Other ideas for revitalizing the higher education model include incentivizing employer participation in training programs, better support low income students and set tuition reimbursement for those going into high-demand fields.


One thing that Greenstein emphasized would not be helpful is closing universities, saying that it would be costlier than keeping their lights on.


Moreover, such a move would cut off their access to a future set of business and community leaders.


“You will also lose the possibility for a community to develop the business, professional and leadership class it needs to survive,” Greenstein said. “It is hard to get people to move from Seattle to Central PA…the same is true for urban to rural. It’s not happening in the way it would need to.”


But something that legislators and the chancellor both discussed is performance-based funding, something which is at the core of the funding commission’s mission.


More than 30 states use such a mode, although scale varies. In some states it is confined to some fields, whereas others like Ohio and Tennessee use it as a fundamental piece in how dollars are doled out to colleges.


Pennsylvania is one of those states but the funding commission’s raison d’etre is expanding and optimizing the practice.


But before that can happen, Greenstein said, concrete goals must be established. Such a message appeared to resonate with lawmakers.


“There is no organization that has the finance department as the decision maker—it implements the goals of the operations department,” said Sen. Pat Browne (R-Lehigh). “We have to decide, before we have a funding model that will work, where we want to go.”


Andrew Bahl is a State Government Reporter for The PLS Reporter. Have a question, comment or tip? Email: andrewbahl@mypls.com.

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer Date: 2/7/2020

The agency that exposes Pennsylvania’s puppy mills expects to run out of money soon

By Cynthia Fernandez


image


Capitol Notebook by Spotlight PA provides updates on important news and notes from the halls of power in Harrisburg.


HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania bureau tasked with discovering puppy mills and handling dangerous dogs expects to run out of money by this summer, in part because license fees for the commonwealth’s canines are stuck at pre-2000 levels.

In a report released Thursday, state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement’s financial situation means it may no longer be able to “make sure dogs and puppies offered for sale or held in boarding facilities are kept in safe, humane conditions.”

“We have made tremendous strides since 2007 when we were the puppy mill capital of the nation,” DePasquale said at a news conference Thursday in the Capitol. “We are not in the same state today, but we can and will do better.”

The bureau, which operates under the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, inspects the state’s 2,600 dog kennels at least twice a year, an onerous task that is now divided among 41 wardens. It’s funded in large part by revenue from dog license and kennel license fees.

Although state law requires dogs more than 12 weeks old to be licensed, only slightly more than half of the dogs in Pennsylvania — 1.3 million — are, DePasquale said.

What’s more, the license fees for dogs and kennels have not been raised in more than 20 years. Currently, it costs $6.50 to register a canine that is spayed or neutered, and $8.50 for one that is not. To cut costs, the bureau has reduced the number of wardens on staff, its director, Kristen Donmoyer, said Thursday. Still, the office finds itself in a dire financial situation ,exacerbated by the diversion of funds to the judicial branch.

“We have an uphill battle when it comes to adequate funding,” said Donmoyer, noting that

$200,000 of the bureau’s revenue from fees is redirected to upgrade the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts’ computer systems.

She added that it’s possible there will be more cuts to personnel if the General Assembly doesn’t act soon.

In 2008, the legislature revamped the state’s dog law, focusing on commercial kennels that were largely unregulated. DePasquale audited the bureau in 2013 and found it was not adhering to inspection regulations.

In the audit released Thursday, DePasquale said that while the bureau has addressed many of the issues previously raised, funding problems have severely paralyzed the office.

And while lawmakers have introduced bills in recent years to address the funding issues, none have passed. There are currently four pending in the General Assembly that would help the bureau fill vacancies and continue inspections.

A pair of bills in the House and Senate would increase the dog licensing fee to $10 for a one-year license and $49 for a lifetime license. Another bill in the Senate would double the dangerous dog fee to $1,000 annually. And a House proposal would end the diversion of $200,000 to the courts. “That would be a significant amount,” DePasquale said.

“We are hopeful that the General Assembly will increase fees and supply the funding we need to continue protecting Pennsylvania’s puppies and dogs, protecting consumers victimized by illegal kennel operators, and protecting our communities from dangerous and stray animals,” Donmoyer said.


Spotlight PA receives funding from nonprofit institutions and readers like you who are committed to investigative journalism that gets results. Become a Founding Donor today at spotlightpa.org.

Source: Sunbury Daily Item Date: 2/7/2020

DePasquale calls for dog license increase to help cover warden salaries

By John Finnerty jfinnerty@cnhi.com


HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s auditor general is calling for an increase in the cost of dog licenses — current fees have been in place for 24 years — and the Department of Agriculture has been forced to shed warden positions because it doesn’t have the money to operate the dog enforcement bureau at full-strength.


The fund that pays for 41 dog wardens in Pennsylvania could run out of money by this summer, Auditor General Eugene DePasquale warned Thursday.


Agriculture officials say they’ve left warden positions unfilled. As a result, they have scaled back canvassing efforts in which wardens visit communities to check for unlicensed dogs.


“It’s time for Pennsylvania to make sure it is adequately funding dog law enforcement,” DePasquale said Thursday.


DePasquale in 2013 released an audit that found a lack of enforcement of the dog law and commercial kennel canine health regulations from 2008 to 2012. It also found numerous problems with restricted dog law funds being used for unrelated purposes.


DePasquale said his new report found the bureau resolved those issues and followed most of his audit’s recommendations for improvement.


“Despite its financial challenges, Pennsylvania’s Bureau of Dog Law enforcement is functioning much better — thanks to it having adopted many of my recommendations,” DePasquale said. “However, a lack of funding has forced the bureau to cut its staff by 18 percent since 2014 — which means dog wardens are stretched pretty thin.”


There are 12 fewer dog wardens than there were five years ago, DePasquale said.


Dog wardens are mainly responsible for inspecting kennels and responding to dangerous dog complaints. Wardens are straining to keep up with all the inspections they're required to do, said Kristen Donmoyer, director of the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement in the state Department of Agriculture. The strain comes despite the number of large commercial dog breeders in Pennsylvania dropping substantially after the state enacted more stringent rules for puppy mills.


In all, the wardens conduct about 2,600 inspections a year, she said.


“Commercial kennels make up only 2% of our oversight and we ensure each one has at least the mandated two inspections per year,” she said.


The cost of a license if $8.50 per dog, unless the animal is spayed or neutered, in which case, it’s

$6.50. A lifetime dog license is $51.50, but it’s $31.50 if the animal is spayed or neutered. Almost half the dogs in Pennsylvania aren’t licensed, Donmoyer said.

The department estimates that there are about 1 million unlicensed dogs in Pennsylvania, she said.


Dog-owners caught with unlicensed pets face up to $300 in fines.

The auditor general’s report notes that license sales have been increasing. There were 985,000 dog licenses sold in 2018, compared to 846,000 sold in 2012.


When the number of dogs with lifetime licenses are included, state officials estimate that there are about 1.3 million licensed dogs in Pennsylvania, Donmoyer said.


But while license sales have been increasing, those increases haven’t kept pace with the rising personnel costs and the dog wardens are paid by the dog license revenue, not from the general fund, according to the auditor general’s report.


Kristen Tullo, state director for the Humane Society of the United States, said that the auditor general’s report was “well-researched” and sheds light on the important under-funding of the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement.


The efforts of the dog warden are important for ensuring “the health and well-being of puppies and helping keep the community safe,” she said.


Possible remedies


Eddie Day Pashinski, R-Luzerne County, the chairman of the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, has indicated that he plans to introduce legislation that would increase the cost of a dog license. His legislation has not been unveiled.


Sen. Judy Schwank, D-Berks County, has introduced legislation that would increase the cost of a license to $10 a year or $49 for a lifetime license.


Schwank’s bill would also require that people get licenses for their dogs when they get them. Current law allows people to buy dogs as young as two months old but doesn’t require a license for the dog until it reaches 3-months of age.


The legislation hasn’t moved out of committee.


Sen. Gene Yaw, R-Lycoming County, announced last month that he plans to introduce legislation calling for an animal welfare task force to examine a variety of issues related to the state’s efforts to protect animals. That would include examining the state’s dog license fee, as well as other issues, like: Whether the state needs to update kennel regulations, the puppy lemon law or the rules regarding sheltering of animals outside. He has not introduced that bill.

Source: StateImpactPA Date: 2/7/2020


Feds lower coal mine cleanup funding for Pa.

Declining coal production, end of one-time funding stream cause $20 million drop By Reid Frazier

Pennsylvania is getting less money from the federal government this year to clean up its old abandoned mines.


The state is getting $32 million from the federal government’s Abandoned Mine Land (AML) reclamation grant this year, down from the $55 million it got last year. The drop is mostly because a one-time funding stream ended last year. That money came from funds originally withheld from states and American Indian tribes when the abandoned mine fund program was re-authorized in 2006.


Another factor is a decline in revenues the program receives from a per-ton fee on active coal mining. The money brought in by the fee — which is set to expire next year — has been dwindling as the country moves away from coal. The Energy Information Administration estimated that coal

production declined another 9 percent last year, and expects another 14 percent decline this year.


Lanny Erdos, acting director of the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, said the fund collected $155 million from a fee on coal production in 2019, versus $184 million in 2018.


“So the number obviously has been coming down,” Erdos said.


The funds are used by states and tribes to clean up damage from coal mining that occurred prior to 1977, when Congress passed the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act.


In Pennsylvania, that damage includes 5,000 miles of streams polluted by acid mine drainage and heavy metals, and piles of coal waste, or refuse, that dot the state’s coal patch. That waste can leach contaminants into rivers and streams, and coal piles can be a hazard for nearby communities. The state estimates there are nearly 300,000 acres of abandoned mine land in need of reclamation, with a cleanup cost of $5 billion.


Erdos says the AML funds will go toward fixing some of those areas.


“There will be coal refuse disposal areas that will be remediated, reclaimed and re-vegetated and … brought back to post-mining land use that is productive,” Erdos said. “There’ll be streams that will be remediated as well, where we may have acid mind drainage discharging into those.”


Overall, the federal AML fund takes in around $150 million a year — about half what it was taking in 10 years ago. The authority for the surface mining reclamation and enforcement office to collect that fee is set to expire next year. For the past few years, the state’s mine cleanup program has received around

$25 million through the AML Pilot program, a cleanup program authorized by Congress in 2015 that is funded by U.S. taxpayers, not coal fees.


The lower funding levels will mean Pennsylvania’s coal cleanup will take longer, said Eric Cavazza, director of the Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation in the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees coal mine cleanup in the state.


Cavazza said the AML money goes to pay for abandoned mine emergencies, cleanup of acid mine drainage, and projects that address health and safety hazards on Pennsylvania’s old mines.


“What this will ultimately result in as we go forward is us doing less in reclamation projects or us not doing very big projects,” Cavazza said. “We won’t have funding to do them all in one contract or one shot.”

Source: Allentown Morning Call Date: 2/7/2020


Paul Muschick:APennsylvania shoplifterwith advanced-stage cancer should be freed - but not forthe reason you may think


The judge who sent a shoplifter with advanced-stage cancer to prison has taken a lot of heat. He wasn’t wrong, but he wasn’t right, either.

Ashley Menser pleaded guilty to swiping a candle, makeup, hair dye and hair conditioner valued at $109.63 from a Weis grocery store in 2018, according to PA Post and pennlive.com. Lebanon County Judge Samuel A. Kline sentenced her to 10 months to seven years.

He sent her directly to jail, meaning she couldn’t keep her appointment with an oncologist for treatment of ovarian cancer.

Her defense lawyer had asked for house arrest, citing her illness. Menser’s mother told PA Post, which broke the story, that Menser, 36, of Annville, likely would die within a month if she didn’t receive treatment.

Over the past week, her case has made national headlines, with the New York Times and New York Post among those writing about it. Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman jumped to Menser’s defense. He wrote on Twitter that he’d repay the grocery store, and he called on local television stations to question the judge about his decision.

Menser deserved to go to jail.

She has a “lengthy” criminal history, according to a news release District Attorney Pier Hess Graf said she felt compelled to write to enlighten those pleading for sympathy. That history, Graf said, includes 13 prior theft convictions.

People only deserve so much slack. When they don’t learn their lessons, they eventually must be punished. It doesn’t matter if they’re sick. Prison systems are capable of caring for sick people, even sick people with cancer.

But they shouldn’t have to, at least non-violent offenders such as Menser who commit petty crimes.

Pennsylvania is in the midst of a justice reform movement. Lawmakers and the governor have taken several steps to reduce the prison population and the number of people on parole and probation.

The goal is to get people out of the system sooner and make it easier for them to turn their lives around. But don’t kid yourself that the cost of incarceration isn’t a factor in that movement, too. Judges should be mindful of that.

If she weren’t sick, I’d say lock her up. But she should be released. While Menser doesn’t deserve mercy because of her illness, the taxpayers who will have to pay for her care behind bars do.


Morning Call columnist Paul Muschick can be reached at 610-820-6582 or paul.muschick@mcall.com

Source: Scranton Times-Tribune Date: 2/7/2020‌

Frustrated Northeast parents start petition, demand air quality reports

B Y S A R AH H OFIU S H AL L, ST A FF W RIT E R


Before Northeast Intermediate students move to South Scranton and West Scranton intermediate schools today, parents want the Scranton School District to prove their children are in danger staying put.


While the district released one report that shows wall samples from Room 334 contained less than 1% asbestos, the district has not released any air quality reports.


At least one member of the Scranton School Board also questioned whether students need to move.


“I don’t know why the children are being moved,” said James Malloy, a Scranton attorney appointed to the board last week, just minutes before the district revealed the widespread environmental issues. “I haven’t seen any state or federal regulation, as of now, that would compel these kids to be sent to other schools.”


As a parent, Malloy said he would not mind if his fourth-grader attended class at Northeast today.


District leaders said earlier this week they learned from environmental experts that the building is “unsafe” for students. Air quality reports will likely not be available until next week — too long to keep kids out of school, some directors said.


“I wouldn’t put anyone’s child in a situation I wouldn’t put my own child in,” said Director Ro Hume, chairwoman of the board’s operations committee. “Our goal is to get these students back to Northeast Intermediate School as fast as we possibly can … if there is the slightest risk for students, we need to keep them safe.”


Both Malloy and Hume credited district leaders with their response.


“I’m confident that everyone is trying to make the best decisions they can, based on the information they have,” Malloy said.


A petition posted online Wednesday night calls for the district to halt plans to move students until “verified air quality testing has been completed at Northeast and results show levels of asbestos that both exceed (Environmental Protection Agency) safety standards and cannot be contained through reasonable short-term remediation efforts.” More than 850 people have signed the petition.


About a dozen parents protested outside the Administration Building on Thursday afternoon.


“Tell us about the air quality!” George Polemitis, the parent of an eighth grader, yelled into a bullhorn.


In a recorded phone call to parents Wednesday night, the district also announced that school administrators met with officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to develop a plan of action for Northeast. The district also engaged with Cocciardi and Associates to immediately begin testing each room of the school.


Reports released last week revealed high lead levels in the water at nine buildings and the presence of asbestos in all but the district’s four newest schools — Scranton High and Isaac Tripp, John F. Kennedy and John G. Whittier elementary schools. In the last month, the district turned off water or posted signs at 38 sinks and fountains. Asbestos

inspections revealed more than 950 areas with asbestos, more than 200 of which need urgent attention. In the last week, teachers reported other concerns across the district.


Leaders closed Northeast Intermediate and William Prescott, Frances Willard and Robert Morris elementary schools last week so crews could assess the asbestos and its risk to students. The three elementary schools reopened Monday.


Cheryl Podhany, whose son is in sixth grade, questioned why the district is sending any students to South, which also contains asbestos.


“We’re leaving one unsafe school to go to another,” she said.


Meanwhile, after a roundtable discussion on higher education affordability at Riverside High School on Thursday, Gov. Tom Wolf said schools in Philadelphia, York and Tioga County are also dealing with the same environmental issues the Scranton School District faces.


“We need a lot of money and we need it fast,” Wolf said. “Every minute we postpone investing in cleaning up our schools, we’re hurting our children. I want to work as fast as I can.”


Last week, the governor proposed up to $1 billion in grants from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, or RACP, be used for lead and asbestos remediation in schools statewide.


He said he picked the RACP model to give districts like Scranton whatever they need to fix their schools, regardless of their recovery status, and quickly.


“It’s a crisis,” he said.


KATHLEEN BOLUS, staff writer, contributed to this report.


Contact the writer: shofius@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9133; @hofiushallTT on Twitter

Source: Scranton Times-Tribune Date: 2/7/2020

Charges dismissed against former prison guard accused of sexual abuse

B Y T E RR IE MO RG A N - BE SE CK ER , ST AF F W RIT E R


SCRANTON — A judge dismissed all charges Thursday against a former Lackawanna County Prison guard accused of sexually abusing multiple female inmates.


The dismissal of charges against John Shnipes Jr., 44, of Archbald, came just hours after another former Lackawanna County Prison guard, James J. Walsh, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of harassment. Walsh originally faced several charges after being accused of sexually abusing two female inmates.


The two were among seven guards charged in February 2018 with abusing female inmates based on a statewide grand jury investigation prosecuted by the state attorney general’s office.


Prosecutors dropped charges against Paul J. Voglino, of Carbondale. Two other guards, George T. McHale and Mark A. Johnson, both of Scranton, were acquitted at trial. Two others, Jeffrey T. Staff, of Clarks Summit, and George R. Efthimiou, of Taylor, pleaded no contest to misdemeanor counts of official oppression.


Another former guard, Samantha Heinrich of Sweet Valley, was charged in April with sexually assaulting a male inmate based on the same grand jury investigation. Her case remains pending.


Granting a motion


Prosecutors said Shnipes sexually abused four female inmates between 1999 and 2013.


His attorney, Brian McMonagle, filed a motion to dismiss the charges based on a 2013 non-prosecution agreement between Shnipes and the Lackawanna County district

attorney’s office.


The agreement stemmed from a 2012 grand jury probe of former guard Joseph Black that also revealed allegations two women made against Shnipes. The agreement says that, if Shnipes resigned, prosecutors would not file charges against him related to “any and all allegations at the Lackawanna County Prison.”


The motion to dismiss the charges was granted late Thursday by Senior Judge Jeffrey Smith of Bradford County, who was specially appointed to Shnipes’ and Walsh’s cases.


“The various challenges the Commonwealth makes to the non-prosecution agreement are not supported by the evidence presented to the court,” Smith wrote in his opinion. “Defendant’s motion to dismiss must be granted.”


McMonagle could not be reached for comment Thursday night.


In an emailed statement, Attorney General Josh Shapiro said: “Following three pleas, we are disappointed at the dismissal of the charges against John Shnipes. There was a culture of harassment and abuse of power in this prison where corrections officers were taking advantage of the vulnerable inmates in their care. Our office is reviewing the matter and will work to bring justice to the women that have been harmed.”


Pleading guilty


Earlier Thursday, Walsh, 53, Roaring Brook Twp., entered the plea at a brief hearing before Smith, who ordered him to pay a $500 fine, but did not sentence him to jail time.

Walsh was initially charged with four felony counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse for allegedly sexually abusing two women. Prosecutors dropped all counts related to one woman. The plea to harassment, a third-degree misdemeanor, means Walsh admitted only that he repeatedly contacted the other woman against her wishes.


The Times-Tribune does not identify victims of sexual assault.


After the hearing, Walsh’s attorney, Christopher Caputo, said Walsh accepted the deal because it affirms his claims that he never sexually assaulted anyone.


Caputo said the case had a devastating effect on Walsh. He joined attorneys for several of the other defendants in criticizing the attorney general’s office for filing the charges in the first place.


“Ruining someone’s life should be more than throwing something at a wall and seeing if it sticks, which is what I believe the attorney general’s office did to a certain extent,” Caputo said.


Assistant Chief Deputy Attorney General Daniel Dye said the office agreed to the deal because Walsh offered “considerable cooperation” in the case against Shnipes and he agreed not to seek employment in the law enforcement field.


FRANK WILKES LESNEFSKY, staff writer, contributed to this report.


Contact the writer: tbesecker@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9137; @tmbeseckerTT on Twitter

Source: Scranton Times Tribune Date: 2/7/2020

Area unemployment ratchets up in December marking highest point since 2017

B Y J O N O ' C O N N E L L , S T A F F W R I T E R


image


Despite other strong economic indicators, regional unemployment ratcheted up in December, hitting a 2½-year high.


The jump — three-tenths of a point to 5.5% for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton metro


One 2018 study from researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health found that nonprofit hospitals in the aggregate did not deliver community benefits that outweighed the value of their tax exemptions.

Overall, according to the study, 62% of the hospitals did provide community benefits that outweighed the value of their exemptions. However, the poor performance of the remaining nonprofits took the total into negative territory, said Bradley Herring, the lead author.

On average, tax exemptions saved each nonprofit hospital nearly 6% of total expenses, or about

$11.3 million per hospital, according to the Johns Hopkins study.

Stroger spends far more on charitable care than other nonprofit hospitals in the Chicago area. According to documents filed with the state, the University of Illinois Hospital in fiscal 2018 spent 1.7% of its net revenue on charitable care.

Northwestern Memorial Hospital spent 1.2%, the University of Chicago Medical Center spent 1% and the Loyola University Medical Center spent 0.6%.

By comparison, Stroger spent 54% of its net revenue on charitable care.

The University of Chicago Medical Center referred Stateline’s request for comment to the Illinois Health and Hospital Association, and Northwestern and Loyola did not respond. A spokesman for the University of Illinois Hospital did not address the large gap between its charitable care spending and that of Stroger.

However, in a statement to Stateline, the CEO of the University of Illinois Health System, Mike Zenn, stressed that it refers 79% of its uninsured patients to Medicaid or other programs for low- income people.

Danny Chun, a spokesman for the Illinois Health and Hospital Association, forcefully defended nonprofit hospitals, arguing that they are living up to their legal obligations under Illinois law of providing more charitable care than the value of their property tax exemption.

Chun said other nonprofit hospitals are willing to discuss the disproportionate burden that falls on Stroger and other safety net hospitals, but that they “are working every day to serve their patients and communities to make sure their needs are addressed.”

Chun noted that nearly half of the hospitals in Cook County operate with negative operating margins, and that the Illinois Supreme Court has ruled against plaintiffs who have challenged the state’s nonprofit hospital statute, most recently in 2018 in a case brought by a taxpayer against

the state Department of Revenue and Chun’s association.

And just this week, an Illinois judge ordered the return of Urbana’s Carle Health System’s tax- exempt status, which local and state taxing authorities had removed more than a decade ago.

But critics say the Illinois law on hospital tax exemptions was heavily influenced by the hospital association and provides too many loopholes that enable nonprofits to receive their exemptions without delivering benefits of equal or greater value.

“It’s a moral issue,” said Greg Kelley, president of the Service Employees International Union chapter covering Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Kansas, which represents health care workers and has made an issue of the tax-exempt status of nonprofit hospitals. “Nonprofits benefit greatly from their tax exemptions and pay poverty wages while their CEOs make quite a bit of money.”

Although Illinois nonprofit hospitals are required to file disclosure forms with the state to justify their tax exemptions, according to the SEIU’s analysis, only 23% of hospitals in Cook County complied in 2015, 48% in 2016 and 58% in 2017. The Cook County assessor’s office did not respond to requests for comment.

In addition to being exempt from local, state and federal property, sales and income taxes, nonprofit hospitals get preferential interest rates on bond issues, which, according to Larry Singer, director of the Beazley Institute for Health Law and Policy at Chicago’s Loyola University, “can literally save them tens upon tens of millions of dollars” when they borrow money.

Hospital Obligations

Different levels of government impose different obligations on hospitals in exchange for their tax exemptions.

At the federal level, the Affordable Care Act specified previously vague requirements, said Mark Rukavina, a manager at Community Catalyst, a nonprofit in Boston that works with government agencies and others to increase access to health care for underserved populations.

To be exempt from federal taxes, hospitals now must assess the health needs of their surrounding communities and create plans for how to address those needs. But the ACA doesn’t establish a way to evaluate the hospitals’ performance.

“The ACA added substantial improvements,” Rukavina said. “Could there be more? Of course.”

The federal law also requires tax-exempt hospitals to maintain emergency rooms and include community members on their boards of directors.

Under the Illinois law, nonprofit hospitals seeking tax exemptions get credit for any expenses or services to address the health care needs of low-income or otherwise undeserved people.

The SEIU argues the state’s definitions give hospitals too much leeway to count activities that are not genuinely charitable, such as free informational sessions on weight loss surgery that would attract paying customers to the hospitals’ operating rooms.

Practices like that cry out for tighter laws, said Haider Warraich, a physician and researcher at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston who has written about hospital tax exemptions.

“Honestly, I don’t think this whole area has been regulated much,” Warraich said. “It’s largely left to hospitals to regulate themselves. I think government needs to step in. If you look at the practices of nonprofit hospitals, they are nearly indistinguishable from for-profit hospitals.”

Oregon last year stiffened its requirements, mandating that nonprofit hospitals provide free care to all patients with incomes under 200% of the federal poverty line, or $43,500 for a family of three. They also must give discounts to people making between 200% and 400% of poverty.

Singer said that all states impose some requirements on nonprofit hospitals in exchange for favorable tax treatment, but some are less specific than others.

The ACA itself implicitly raised questions about the justification for hospitals to enjoy the full advantages of their tax-exempt status. Thirty-six states have expanded Medicaid under the law, and it has brought millions more Americans into the commercial health insurance market. That

lessened the burden of uncompensated care on many nonprofit hospitals, although it did not eliminate it.

In 2013, when the ACA was still being implemented, Cook County hospitals aside from Cook County Health spent $433 million on uncompensated care. That number dropped to $281 million in 2017.

But at Cook County Health, spending on charitable care rose, from $257 million in 2013 to $273 million in 2017. In that span of time, Cook County Health’s share of charitable care among all Chicago-area hospitals jumped from 37% to 49%.

Hospital officials expect that the 2019 numbers, which are still being calculated, will stand close to 60%.

Under federal law, all hospitals must stabilize patients in an emergency, regardless of their ability to pay. But non-safety-net hospitals can send patients elsewhere if they need additional treatment. In the Chicago area, many of them end up at Stroger and Provident.

“All the major centers do that to us,” said Faran Bokhari, who chairs the trauma unit at Stroger. “There are no exceptions.”

It’s legal, he said, “but ethically it’s completely wrong.”

Perhaps surprisingly, County Health’s Carey said she doesn’t support Taylor’s resolution to force other nonprofit hospitals to make payments in lieu of taxes. “They’re not talking about

raising taxes from other hospitals and giving it to us,” she said, noting the money would go to the government.

So what would she like to see?

“We’d much rather see them providing the services,” she said. “Otherwise, what is the basis for them getting that tax-exempt status?”

Source: Associated Press (AP) Date: 2/7/2020

Betting could be 'X' factor for new pro football league.

By WAYNE PARRY

Associated Press


ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP, Feb 7) — Knowing its season begins less than a week after one of the biggest betting events in America, the new XFL is embracing sports betting in a major way.


The revived league owned by wrestling impresario Vince McMahon will consciously appeal to fans accustomed to betting on professional or college football — and who otherwise would have nothing to bet on for months. Its first games will be played less than a week after the NFL's Super Bowl.


From inviting sportsbook operators to a mini-camp to meeting with gambling companies to ask what they'd like to see from a football league, putting point spreads on the TV screen, and giving teams the option of seeking different numbers of points after a score, the XFL is baking sports betting into its operations as a crucial part of the recipe.


“We are embracing the spread from the start," said Jeffrey Pollack, the league's president and chief operating officer. "This is a core business strategy for the XFL. We understand that for a lot of our fans, betting on the games has become as essential to the game experience as the helmet, ball and jerseys. That’s what we’re gearing up to provide. Our mission and our infrastructure are geared to the sports betting future that is coming fast. There are incredible opportunities.”


So far, gambling regulators in at least nine states have approved wagering on XFL games: New Jersey, Nevada, Pennsylvania, New York, Iowa, Indiana, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and West Virginia.


And in a big change for a major professional league in the U.S., ABC and ESPN will continuously broadcast the point spread and the under/over on total points scored in the game as part of their on-screen graphics. Announcers will even discuss how a particular play affects the point spread or the over/under — something you never hear on an NFL broadcast.


“Will we mention late in the game that if, say, Washington is up by 2 points and they kick a field goal, will that cover the point spread? I think we will do that,” said Lee Fitting, ESPN's senior vice president of production. “The mantra is you take gambling and point spreads into account while making sure you don't turn off those who don't gamble and don't know the lingo. It's a fine line to walk.”


The networks will not update odds or betting totals as the games progress, but may consider doing so later in the season, depending on how things go, Fitting said.


The XFL brought its Los Angeles franchise, the Wildcats, to Las Vegas for a mini-camp in December so that sportsbook executives could familiarize themselves with the team, the league and its products, which differ in some major ways from the NFL. XFL-specific rules include the option to seek 1, 2 or 3 points from the 2-, 5- or 10-yard line after scoring a touchdown. The XFL will also allow a team to throw two forward passes on the same play as long as both happen behind the line of scrimmage.


Scott Butera, president of interactive gaming for MGM Resorts International, and a former commissioner of the Arena Football League, said his company has familiarized itself enough with the league to offer betting on its games in Nevada, New Jersey and West Virginia. That included meetings with league commissioner and CEO Oliver Luck.


“We know the XFL, we know Vince very well and he's a leader in sports entertainment,” Butera said. “They're ready to embrace sports betting in their rules. It should be a high-scoring league, with some props.”


Butera said his and other betting companies will become more familiar with the league's teams, players and coaches as they season progresses, adding he expects the level of betting to surpass that of the defunct Alliance of American Football, which folded before competing its inaugural season last year.

Like many professional leagues, the XFL is making deals with third parties to help monetize sports betting and guarantee the integrity of betting on its games. The league has already announced deals with Champion Sports Data to compile and disseminate official league data, and with Genius Sports for betting integrity monitoring. On Wednesday it announced a deal with DraftKings, which will become an authorized gambling operator and a daily fantasy sports partner.


The league also hopes to get fans used to betting on its product even in states where real- money gambling is not yet legal by offering free-to-play contests through an app in all 50 states.


The eight-team league will have its championship game in April. It has franchises in Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, St. Louis, Seattle, Tampa Bay and Washington.


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Follow Wayne Parry at https://twitter.com/WayneParryAC


More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Source: Albany Times Union (NY) Date: 2/7/2020

Gambling opponents lawyer calls victory, for now, in suit

By Robert Gavin


ALBANY – An appellate court ruled Thursday that the Legislature erred in enacting a 2016 law to allow the operation of interactive fantasy sports in New York such as DraftKings and FanDuel.


In a 4-to-1 decision, the Appellate Division’s Third Department in Albany upheld a lower state Supreme Court ruling that found the companies violated the state Constitution’s prohibition on gambling. Lawmakers argued that IFS contests are not gambling.


Neil Murray, an Albany attorney representing gambling opponents who sued the Legislature over the law, told the Times Union the decision is a victory. He acknowledged state Attorney General Letitia James could still appeal the ruling to the Court of Appeals, the state's highest court.


"As Supreme Court aptly observed, allowing the Legislature unfettered discretion to determine what is not gambling would render meaningless the constitutional prohibition on lottery or the sale of lottery tickets, pool-selling, book-making, or any other kind of gambling because this area would devolve to being governed by statutory law and not by the constitutional provision," stated the ruling written by appellate Justice Robert Mulvey.


Presiding Justice Elizabeth Garry, Christine Clark and Molly Reynolds Fitzpatrick agreed. Appellate Justice Stanley Pritzker dissented.


Pritzker said in his dissent that "courts may not substitute their judgment for that of the Legislature so long as there is any state of facts either known or which could reasonably be assumed that support the legislative decision to act."

Source: Lancaster Intelligncer Journal/New Era Date: 2/7/2020‌


In our words


Some of Gov. Wolf's budget proposals make good sense, but we need fiscal sanity too [opinion]

THE LNP | LANCASTERONLINE EDITORIAL BOARD


THE ISSUE


Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf presented his budget proposal to the Republican-controlled General Assembly on Tuesday, calling it a “blueprint for unleashing a new wave of prosperity for our commonwealth.” Some of Wolf’s priorities include a new program for college scholarships, full- day kindergarten at all public schools, and spending $1 billion to clean up environmental hazards, including asbestos and lead, in aging public schools. “Including nearly $600 million in supplemental cash for the current fiscal year, Wolf is seeking authorization for another $2.6 billion in new spending, or 7.6% more,” The Associated Press reported.


This is Wolf’s sixth budget proposal, so he’s no longer a stranger to the process. And he’s seemingly learned to choose his battles following acrimonious impasses in his first term that left lawmakers and other Pennsylvanians bruised.


There’s much to unpack regarding Wolf’s proposals, the initial Republican response, and the necessary and healthy debates we must have between now and passage of the 2020-21 fiscal budget. (And we hope it’s a budget that’s passed on time, before the start of the fiscal year July 1.)


For today, we want to focus on a few of Wolf’s initiatives that we believe make good sense for Pennsylvania.



In our view, that approach may be an improvement — but it's not a sufficient one. As we have stated repeatedly, the fair funding formula enacted in 2016 must be fully implemented as soon as possible. In October we noted that less than $700 million of the $6.7 billion for basic education is flowing through the formula. That means that some of our schools — including those in the School District of Lancaster and Conestoga Valley School District — are seriously underfunded.


Chronic underfunding harms both students and taxpayers, because when school districts must meet ever-increasing costs, school boards are forced to raise property taxes. And then the brunt of the burden falls on the shoulders of those who can least afford those hikes — senior citizens and homeowners with low incomes. We need a bipartisan push in Harrisburg to fix these inequities in education funding.


Wise use of funds

Of course, it must also be understood that new spending — however necessary it might be — cannot be viewed in a vacuum. Unfunded mandates can be especially harmful in the state’s poorer regions.


And we must be wise about any additional burdens on taxpayers. The Lancaster County House Republican delegation made that clear in a joint response to Wolf's budget proposal: “We agree on funding programs that work and have proven results. But not all the current government programs taxpayers have already been asked to fund are performing as they should. Pennsylvania’s families cannot just create and fund new items in their budget when they have already busted their current budgets. They don’t understand how a government continues to spend when it has already blown through what they have given it.”


And state Sen. Ryan Aument, R-Mount Joy, added this, in a tweet: “While many of the ideas that Governor Wolf presented today in his Budget Address are laudable, I voiced concerns about the level of new spending and borrowing in the $36.1 billion budget plan.”


We hope our elected officials can blend the important goals of being fiscally smart but also assisting our most vulnerable residents as they work in bipartisan fashion on this budget.


This is a crucial year for Pennsylvania. Wolf and our legislators must understand that no budget can best serve our state unless it is accompanied by meaningful property tax reform.


It won’t be easy. But that is the elephant in the room that can no longer be ignored in Harrisburg.

Source: Scranton Times-Tribune Date: 2/7/2020

No gas tax, but more gas subsidies

B Y T HE E DIT O RIA L B OA R D


The natural gas industry has a keen understanding of fluid dynamics relative to the flow of gas and oil, and of political dynamics relative to the flow of state tax money.


Leaders of the Republican majorities in both houses plan to reject Gov. Tom Wolf’s renewed call for a reasonable and wholly appropriate severance tax on natural gas production, in line with such taxes in every other natural gas-producing state. For the industry, everywhere but Pennsylvania, such taxes are part of the cost of doing business.


Those politicians profess to be protecting taxpayers rather than political benefactors in the gas industry, since the industry would pass on to customers the cost of any extraction tax.


Politicians of both parties do not wear that heartfelt concern on their sleeves, however, when the industry or its biggest customers want those very same taxpayers to help pay for development projects.


Lawmakers already have agreed to a whopping $1.7 billion subsidy for the $6 billion- plus petrochemical refinery being built in Beaver County by Shell, the world’s third largest company by revenue — nearly $372 billion for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30.


The size of the state giveaway has set the bar for other gas-related development, which taxpayers will be required to help finance.


By margins large enough to overcome an expected gubernatorial veto, both houses have passed a massive subsidy package for any company that builds a gas-related industrial plant valued at least $450 million and with 800 jobs. The original bill called for

$1 billion in investment and 1,000 jobs to qualify for the subsidy, but lawmakers amended it downward to accommodate the industry.


According to the online state news organization, Pennsylvania Capital Star, Connecticut-based Elis Energy is interested in building such a plant in Luzerne County to produce methanol, which is used as a solvent, in antifreeze and to help break down other chemicals.


The state Department of Revenue estimated that the subsidy package will be worth $22 million per plant, per year, for 10 years. So a $450 million investment would produce a

$220 million tax subsidy.


Instead of treating the massive gas industry like a startup that will crash if it has to pay taxes and can’t survive without public subsidies, lawmakers should treat it like the mature, well-established enterprise that it is.

Source: Scranton Times-Tribune Date: 2/7/2020

Lawmakers owe taxpayers $172 million

B Y T HE E DIT O RIA L B OA R D


Many Republican legislators tsk-tsked Gov. Tom Wolf this week over his proposed

$36.1 billion 2020-2021 fiscal year budget, calling for greater efficiency and less expensive governance.


Their concern would have a great deal more credibility if they would stop stealing taxpayers’ money by hoarding it for their own political purposes.


Tuesday, the same day as Wolf’s budget address, the state Legislative Audit Advisory Commission reported that the Legislature cost Pennsylvanians $362 million for the fiscal year that ended June 30.


That figure is second-highest nationally among state legislatures. It easily could be reduced, with a bonus of improved governance, if lawmakers would stop paying lip service to the obvious need for a smaller Legislature and bring it to the people for approval.


The last time reducing the size of the Legislature came up, lawmakers larded it with poison pills to ensure its failure. The modest measure to reduce the size of the House from 203 to 151 seats is dead, but another measure to gerrymander the judiciary lives, thus proving the pressing need for reform.


The audit also revealed that lawmakers have amassed a collective cash reserve of more than $172 million — a preposterous 47.5% of the Legislature’s operating budget, and climbing. Unlike executive branch agencies, which are required to return any excess funds to the treasury to preclude overbudgeting, lawmakers routinely budget more for themselves than they actually need to drive up their own reserves.


Legislative leaders claim that the reserve is necessary to maintain legislative operations in the event of a budget impasse with the governor. But history shows that is a self- fulfilling prophecy: the presence of massive reserves encourages the very impasses that lawmakers say it is meant to prevent. It enables legislative leaders to stonewall with impunity rather than compromise, contributing mightily to poor state governance.


Pennsylvania has many potential uses for the hoarded taxpayers’ money, as the crisis involving water and lead contamination of schools in Scranton, Philadelphia and elsewhere demonstrates. Legislators should return all but a small reserve to the treasury, and then get to work on reducing the size of the Legislature, which in itself would work against using taxpayers’ money to fund politically based obstruction.

Source: Erie Times-News Date: 2/7/2020

Our view: Nation sits up, notes new Erie


By the Editorial Board


National award underscores just how much Erie has changed.


The grand prize awarded to the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership’s Flagship Opportunity Zone on Wednesday did not come with investments attached. But that does not mean it was empty.


Forbes magazine and the Sorenson Impact Center selected Erie out of an original field of 113 entrants as the nation’s leader in capitalizing on federal Opportunity Zones tax incentives to seed equitable growth in deeply impoverished census tracts. The city in the final four round bested Los Angeles and locales in Colorado and Alabama, because ours was the first city in the nation to draft an Opportunity Zones investment prospectus and because of the chamber’s savvy Erie Homecoming event in August.


That gathering resulted in the creation of Erie Insurance’s $50 million Opportunity Zone investment fund and Connecticut-based CapZone Impact Investment’s $10 million venture capital fund focused on Erie startups. Also key to the award-winning profile was the Erie Downtown Development Corp.’s work to develop historic North Park Row properties.


Thousands of needy, worthy communities crowd the field of contenders vying for Opportunity Zone investments. This award spotlights Erie as a community prepared to partner with investors and places it in the forefront of the race. It should, as Flagship Opportunity Zone leader Brett Wiler said, open doors.


Indeed, John Persinger, CEO of the EDDC, said he had been asked to share Erie’s story repeatedly at the award event in Salt Lake City. At least one person is looking to make an investment by June, he said.


Doubts have been raised in national coverage about whether the Opportunity Zones tax incentives will line investors’ pockets solely and not deliver the intended change in impoverished areas. We hope this news signals that Erie, which so badly needs to root out entrenched, racially disparate poverty, has the potential to disprove that narrative. Paired with Mayor Joe Schember’s campaign to end racism in Erie, the city’s Opportunity Zones could, as he said, be a powerful tool to leverage private capital for social impact in Erie.


Beyond that, the prize figures as a compelling affirmation in which all involved should bask, at least for a few minutes, before diving back to work.


Four years ago, Erie Refocused lead consultant Charles Buki delivered a devastating and oracular existential warning: If Erie continued to recline in the status quo, squander its assets, attack its problems in siloed fashion, avoid risk and manage decline, it could look to places like Gary, Indiana, or Flint, Michigan, for a glimpse of its future. “The clock is ticking,” he said.


This award – recognizing Erie’s public- private collaboration, bold, locally crafted solutions and forward-looking leadership – underscores just how much has changed.

Source: Reading Eagle Date: 2/7/2020


Editorial: Is this any way to nominate a candidate?

We’re going to go out on a limb here and suggest that this is probably not the way Democrats wanted to kick off the 2020 campaign. The much ballyhooed Iowa caucuses turned into a disaster.


It was anticipated that we would know the results on Monday night, but that didn’t happen. Party officials blamed technical glitches and “inconsistencies” for the delay.


Partial results were released Tuesday, but by then the horde of Democratic candidates had already moved on to New Hampshire, which holds the first primary of the campaign next week.


None of this will engender confidence in a voting system that has been battered in recent years by everything from “hanging chads” to disinformation campaigns to outright hacking from nefarious outside interests.


Democratic officials in Iowa took great pains to assure that the problems were not the result of a hack or an intrusion. None of that will come as especially reassuring to voters who are growing weary with shenanigans marring our fundamental democratic process. That’s with a small d, not a capital D.


Campaigns spent millions on Iowa. Thousands of workers have been on the ground for months, looking to gain favor for their candidate and perhaps offer a bit of clarity in a very crowded field that lacks a standout front-runner.


Instead we got questions. Some no doubt will focus on the long-running debate about whether it’s proper to choose candidates via caucuses, as opposed to a primary in which voters simply cast ballots. The Iowa contest amounts to a series of statewide town meetings, with candidates put forward and lots of horse trading depending on the amount of support each candidate gathers.


Then there is Iowa’s decades-old tradition of being the kickoff event for the campaign season, the first real test in the marathon that will end when the nation goes to the voting booths in November.


Instead of providing clarity for Democrats, the Iowa caucuses have done the opposite, producing more questions than answers and more suspicions about the legitimacy of the process.


For Democrats, the timing could not be worse.


All of this came as President Donald Trump, who cruised to victory in the GOP caucuses in Iowa, prepared to deliver his State of the Union Address that effectively kicked off his reelection campaign. Then hours later, the Senate acquitted him on impeachment charges Wednesday afternoon.


Trump kicked off his post-caucus campaign celebration by taking a victory lap on Twitter and taking a jab at the Democrats’ situation.


One can’t blame Republicans for their obvious glee at watching the Democrats trip all over themselves as they staggered out of the campaign starting blocks, but the real danger here is one more pin stuck into America’s confidence in the voting process.


And perhaps one more reason to turn off voters, many of whom already have their doubts about the system, its accuracy and the importance of their vote.


All the leading Democrats quickly seized on the uncertainty to claim victory before high-tailing it out of Iowa.


Next stop: New Hampshire. Let’s hope the nation’s first primary adds a little stability — and confidence — to the shaky start provided by the mess that is the Iowa caucus.


Unless, of course, you live in Pennsylvania. Here in the Keystone State, voters can continue their winter slumber, knowing that they will not visit the polls until the last Tuesday in April.


There are efforts underway in Harrisburg to move up the date of the state primary in an effort to give Keystone State voters more of a say in who will be their party’s standard-bearer, as well as pumping up Pennsylvania’s prestige.


They won’t get a better reason than what transpired Monday in Iowa.