Mar. 19, 2015 /
![Greiner and Grove Introduce Municipal Pension Reform Bill]()
HARRISBURG – As local elected officials across the Commonwealth continue to join with Auditor General Eugene DePasquale in calling on Harrisburg to enact reforms that would put Pennsylvania’s distressed municipal pension systems on a sustainable path forward, Reps. Keith J. Greiner (R-Lancaster) and Seth Grove (R-York) today introduced a bill that would do just that.
Mar. 18, 2015 /
![Turzai, Reed Question Governor’s Authority on School District Demands]()
HARRISBURG – Speaker of the House Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny County) and House Majority Leader Dave Reed (R-Indiana County) today questioned Gov. Tom Wolf’s authority to mandate the state’s 500 school districts expend time and resources on a plan to spend what is, thus far, an unfunded budget proposal.
Mar. 18, 2015 /
![Taylor to Join Toomey in Calling for New Drug Reporting Legislation]()
WHAT: Rep. John Taylor (R-Philadelphia) will joined U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey to call on Congress to pass bipartisan legislation called the National All-Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting (NASPER) Reauthorization Act, which would help states develop more robust prescription drug monitoring programs.
Mar. 17, 2015 /
![Dunbar Confirms Recently Launched Website Reveals Winners and Losers Under Governor’s Property Tax Shift Plan]()
HARRISBURG – As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. George Dunbar (R-Westmoreland) is encouraging all local taxpayers to visit the committee’s newly launched website TaxpayersThatPay.com, which offers a comprehensive assessment of how they would fare under the governor’s proposed 2015-16 state budget.
Mar. 17, 2015 /
![House Committee Explores Pittsburgh’s Municipal Pension Challenge, Says Petri]()
PITTSBURGH -- Rep. Scott Petri (R-Bucks), majority chairman of the House Urban Affairs Committee, was in Pittsburgh today where he held the first of several statewide public meetings to find solutions to Pennsylvania’s $7.75 billion municipal pension funding problem.
Mar. 17, 2015 /
![Aument, Bloom Introduce Bills to Protect Excellent Teachers]()
HARRISBURG – State Sen. Ryan P. Aument (R-Lancaster) and Rep. Stephen Bloom (R-Cumberland) today introduced legislation in the House and Senate to keep Pennsylvania’s best teachers in the classroom and boost student achievement by ending the practice of seniority-based layoffs.
Mar. 16, 2015 /
![House Majority Appropriations Committee Launches ‘Taxpayers That Pay’ Website, Santora Says]()
HARRISBURG – The House Majority Appropriations Committee today launched a website, www.TaxpayersThatPay.com, which provides details on how Pennsylvania taxpayers in each school district would fare under Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposed property tax shift plan, state Rep. James R. Santora (R-Delaware) said.
Mar. 16, 2015 /
![House Gaming Oversight Committee to Hold Hearings on State vs. State Competitiveness]()
WHAT: House Gaming Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. John Payne (R-Dauphin) will hold two public hearings at Philadelphia-area casinos to gather input from industry representatives about what they believe is necessary to keep Pennsylvania casinos competitive with casinos in surrounding states.
Mar. 16, 2015 /
![Day Questions State Education Secretary on Budget Plan]()
HARRISBURG – During today’s House Appropriations Committee hearing with the state Department of Education, Rep. Gary Day (R-Lehigh/Berks), a member of the committee, spoke with Acting Secretary Pedro Rivera about what the governor refers to as his “School Property Tax Reduction Plan.”
Mar. 16, 2015 /
![Diamond: Governor Misrepresents Cornwall-Lebanon Tax ‘Relief’]()
HARRISBURG – Rep. Russ Diamond (R-Lebanon) today challenged Gov. Tom Wolf on claims that the governor’s budget proposal would offer tax relief to residents of the Cornwall-Lebanon School District
Mar. 16, 2015 /
![Everett Says Information on How Taxpayers Will Be Affected by Gov. Wolf Budget Plan Now Available]()
HARRSIBURG – In an effort to provide comprehensive information to area taxpayers on the effects of the tax increases being put forward by Gov. Tom Wolf, the House Appropriations Committee has constructed a website that contains a financial breakdown of how income and sales tax plans match up with a planned property tax shift proposal.
Mar. 16, 2015 /
![Greiner Announces New House Appropriations Committee Website Detailing Effect of Governor’s Property Tax Shift Plan]()
HARRISBURG – Rep. Keith J. Greiner (R-Upper Leacock), a member of the House Appropriations Committee, today announced the launch of a new website, TaxpayersThatPay.com, which details the net impact of Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposed tax increases on Pennsylvania’s taxpayers. TaxpayersthatPay.com shows how much more in new personal income and sales taxes that taxpayers in each school district would pay and compares that amount to the funds proposed to go back to taxpayers under Wolf’s property tax shift plan.
Mar. 16, 2015 /
![Payne Bill Establishes Penalties for Viewing Porn on State Computers]()
HARRISBURG — In response to revelations announced by the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General last session, Rep. John Payne (R-Dauphin) today introduced legislation that would establish penalties for state employees who use Commonwealth-owned computers, networks or cellular phones to view and/or exchange pornography.
Mar. 16, 2015 /
![TaxPayersThatPay.com Unveiled]()
New House Appropriations Committee website provides taxpayers with a comprehensive assessment of how they fare under Gov. Wolf’s property tax shift plan
Mar. 13, 2015 /
![Toepel Works to Keep Casino Money in Montgomery County]()
HARRISBURG – Rep. Marcy Toepel (R-Montgomery) testified on behalf of her legislation to use Montgomery County casino money to benefit county initiatives at a public hearing of the House Gaming Oversight Committee meeting on Thursday.
Mar. 12, 2015 /
![Municipal Pension Crisis to Top House Committee Meeting in Pittsburgh]()
WHAT: Rep. Scott Petri (R-Bucks), majority chairman of the House Urban Affairs Committee, will hold a public meeting in Pittsburgh to hear concerns regarding the state of municipal pensions. Many municipal pension plans, including Pittsburgh’s, are severely underfunded and threaten the financial health of these communities. The committee will take testimony from Pittsburgh officials that will help lawmakers develop legislation to restore struggling municipal pension systems.
Mar. 12, 2015 /
![Parker Comments on Wolf's School Funding Plan]()
HARRISURG –Today, the Basic Education Funding Commission met and heard testimony on Gov. Wolf’s School Funding Formula plan.
Mar. 12, 2015 /
![Cutler, Greiner Respond to Governor’s Budget Presentation]()
LANCASTER – In response to Gov. Tom Wolf’s presentation of his 2015-16 Commonwealth budget proposal at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology in Lancaster today, Rep. Bryan Cutler (R-Peach Bottom), House Majority whip, and Rep. Keith Greiner (R-Upper Leacock), House Appropriations Committee member, released the following statement:
Mar. 12, 2015 /
![Bloom Welcomes Policy Committee to Dickinson Law for Hearing on Job Readiness]()
CARLISLE – As deputy chair of the House Majority Policy Committee, Rep. Stephen Bloom (R-Cumberland) today hosted a committee hearing at Dickinson School of Law to listen to testimony from local entrepreneurs, educators and business representatives on the readiness of Pennsylvania’s graduates to fill in-demand and available job openings.
Mar. 12, 2015 /
![Stephens’ Application for Assistance to Bring ‘Pay for Success’ to PA Approved by Harvard]()
HARRISBURG – Following months of input from pre-K providers, private sector investors, education advocates and Harvard University, Rep. Todd Stephens (R-Montgomery) is proud to announce Harvard University has selected Pennsylvania as a site to develop a “Pay for Success” (PFS) initiative. Specifically, the Harvard Kennedy School will now dispatch a Government Innovation Fellow to Pennsylvania to work full time to develop this program.