Recent Reports
Turnpike Spent $24 Million on Failed I-80 Tolling Project
Says costs were required by feds requests
May 28, 2010 | Investigative Report by ERIC BOEHM
Between the passage of Act 44 in 2007 and the final death of the plan to toll Interstate 80 at the hands of federal Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on April 6, 2010, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission spent more than $24 million to prepare the road for tolling.
Turnpike Commission spokesperson Carl Defebo said the spending was mandated by the federal government as part of gaining a phase one "provisional" acceptance in a federal pilot program allowing states to place tolls on previously free interstate highways.
Probation Changes Could Solve Prison Dilemma
Shift funds to front end of system to save money, says expert
February 10, 2010 | Investigative Report by ERIC BOEHM
The growth of Pennsylvania’s prison population is costing the state more money each year and forcing lawmakers to consider alternatives to building more prisons and incarcerating more offenders.
“The cost of housing prisoners in Pennsylvania continues to rise. We must reverse this trend, if for no other reason than the failure to do so threatens to overwhelm our ability to meet skyrocketing prison costs,” said Governor Ed Rendell during his budget address on Tuesday. Mr. Rendell suggested that more funding for education could be one solution.
Recent News Stories
Legislative Fiscal Office Awaits Action During Fall Session
House, Senate pledged to act by October 1
September 6, 2010 | by ERIC BOEHM
Legislative leaders say they remain committed to a deal struck in June to create an independent legislative fiscal office for the state by the end of the fall session, despite the large workload they already face.
When an agreement was reached for the state budget on June 30, leadership in the state House and Senate compromised on two crucial stumbling blocks. House Democrats, backed by Gov. Ed Rendell, had refused to pass a budget without the inclusion of an industry-specific tax on natural gas extraction, but Senate Republicans said they would not pass the tax unless legislation creating the fiscal office was also included.
Both issues were solved, temporarily, with an agreement to place both issues on hold until the fall. To satisfy the demands of both sides, the state's fiscal code bill, passed July 3, included identical language pledging the House, Senate and governor to pass a severance tax and create a legislative fiscal office by October 1, to take effect on January 1, 2011.
Less than a month remains until the deadline, but leaders from all four caucuses said this week the independent fiscal office remains a priority heading into the fall.
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House Speaker Keith McCall (D-Carbon) said he expects compromises to allow the General Assembly to pass the fiscal office bill, the severance tax, and other pressing issues.
"I fully expect the same spirit of compromise and negotiation to continue this fall on both of these issues while we also seek solutions to our transportation funding crisis and make sure every budget hole is filled responsibly," said Mr. McCall, stopping short of offering a conclusive promise on the fiscal office issue.
Senate Republicans, who pushed hardest last spring for the inclusion of the fiscal office promise in the fiscal code bill, say the deal will be honored.
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"The governor likes to hold our feet to the fire on the extraction tax issue, and in the interest of fairness he should do the same on this issue," said Erik Arneson, a spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-Chester). "We made a promise we intend to keep and at the same time we expect [the other caucuses] to keep it as well."
Gary Tuma, a spokesperson for Mr. Rendell, said the governor will have to see the language in the final version of the bill before deciding on whether he would sign it. Mr. Rendell does not view the issue as a "quid pro quo" agreement in exchange for the passage of the severance tax.
Mr. Arneson said legislators still have to work out the size and scope of the powers the office would hold.
Under current law, Pennsylvania's Budget Office is controlled by the governor's office and is a part of the administration. Actual revenues were $3.2 billion short of the revenue projections provided by the governor's budget office for fiscal year 2008-2009, and were $1.2 billion behind for fiscal year 2009-2010.
More Info:Legislative Leaders Agree To Make Independent Fiscal Office A Reality (7/2/10) FY 2010-2011 Fiscal Code Bill (Fiscal Office language on page 155) |
Under the independent fiscal office proposed in Senate Bill 1, passed by the state Senate in July 2009 and still awaiting action in the House Finance Committee, the new office would certify the state's revenue on June 15 of each year. Once the office had determined the amount of revenue available for the coming fiscal year, its estimate would establish the maximum amount of tax revenue available for appropriations.
In addition to setting the final revenue estimates each June, the office would lay out a baseline budget for the year each January, allowing the General Assembly six months to conduct hearings and negotiate line items for agencies and services.
Sen. Pat Browne (R-Lehigh), the architect of the proposal, said the office would be particularly important during difficult financial times.
"The end result would be that we will conclude each budget session more expeditiously with a pragmatic and realistic spending plan that most closely meets the need of the Commonwealth," said Mr. Browne.
Ten states, including Pennsylvania, have either a completely partisan budget office or none at all, according to the National Association of State Budget Officers.
One concern raised by House Democrats during budget negotiations was the potential cost of the new office, which would require $4 million to establish and $3.6 million in each subsequent year, according to a fiscal note attached to Mr. Browne's bill.
The state House will reconvene Tuesday and the state Senate is scheduled to return from their summer break Sept. 20.
Eric Boehm is a reporter for PA Independent. He can be reached at Eric@PAIndependent.com
Letter Reveals Sestak Knew of Non-Profit's For-Profit Connection
Democrat senatorial candidate clarifies earmark controversy
September 2, 2010 | by ERIC BOEHM
This story has been updated from it's original format. See bottom for changes.
Democrat candidate for U.S. Senate Joe Sestak released a letter Thursday afternoon detailing his knowledge of the connection between a non-profit organization and its chairman's for-profit wind energy company.
Mr. Sestak, currently a member of Congress representing Pennsylvania's 7th district, attempted to secure a $350,000 earmark for the Thomas Paine Foundation for a wind energy turbine project. The funds were to go to Drew Devitt, the sole officer of the Thomas Paine Foundation.
The Morning Call (Allentown, Penn.) newspaper reported last weekend the funds were being channeled through the non-profit and were actually funding Mr. Devitt's for-profit company, New Way Energy LLC. In the story, and in days after the story was published, Mr. Sestak and campaign staff denied knowledge of the connection between the two organizations.
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In a letter written by Mr. Sestak to the director of the U.S. Department of Energy on April 12 of this year, the congressman makes the connection between Mr. Devitt, New Way Air Bearings, and the Thomas Paine Foundation.
"I am writing to introduce you to Drew Devitt, the Founder and Chairman of New Way Energy LLC, a company located in Aston, PA," wrote Mr. Sestak. "Mr. Devitt would like to discuss utility scale floating Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) as a means to reach off-short winds quickly and cost effectively. The technology has been developed in conjunction with his non-profit organization, the Thomas Paine Foundation."
The letter was obtained by the Philadelphia Daily News.
Mr. Sestak told the newspaper he was asked by Mr. Devitt to write the letter after applying for the earmark. He took responsibility for the mistake and said he "failed to catch in the letter" the connection between the two organizations.
Nachama Soloveichik, a spokesperson for the campaign of Pat Toomey, Mr. Sestak's Republican opponent, accused the congressman of misleading voters.
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Sestak's Letter to Dept. of Energy"Over the past couple of days, Congressman Sestak has broken congressional rules, misled the public about his involvement in the violation, and tried to funnel hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to a tiny atheist group to build a wind turbine demonstration project with which it had no experience," said Ms. Soloveichik.
The Thomas Paine Foundation is part of the Freethought Society of Philadelphia, founded in 1993 to promote humanist ideas and maintain the constitutional division between government and religion, according to its website. The organization has no previous experience with alternative energy projects, said Margaret Downy, a spokesperson for the Freethought Society.
The earmark request, listed on Mr. Sestak's congressional website, includes an address in Media, Penn., but says the money will be spent in Aston, Penn., about five miles away. Aston is the home of Mr. Devitt's company.
The U.S. House passed a rule this year banning earmarks to for-profit companies.
This story originally reported the U.S. House had passed a law banning earmarks to for-profit companies. The House passed a rule that applied only to its own members.
AG Wants 'Unusual' Combined Trial For DeWeese, Stetler
Bonusgate duo had separate grand juries, hearings, and alleged crimes
September 2, 2010 | by ERIC BOEHM
The state Attorney General's office has moved to join together the upcoming trials of two public officials accused of different crimes and indicted with different grand jury presentments.
The lawyer for one of the defendants said the move is unusual given the circumstances of the case, but the Attorney General's office maintains the decision was made for the sake of efficiency.
The two public officials - state Rep. Bill DeWeese (D-Greene) and former state Rep. Stephen Stetler (D-York) - are charged with crimes uncovered during the Attorney General's wide-ranging investigation of political corruption in Harrisburg. The investigation has focused on elected official's use of public personnel and resources for political efforts.
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Mr. DeWeese is charged with the use of taxpayer money to pay staffers to conduct political fund raising activities and do general campaign work. Mr. Stetler is accused of doing the same thing, but his charges are entirely separate from the charges against his former colleague.
In other words, according to the grand jury presentments against them Mr. DeWeese was not involved in the alleged criminal behavior of Mr. Stetler, and Mr. Stetler was not involved in the alleged criminal activity of Mr. DeWeese.
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William Costopoulos, Mr. DeWeese's defense attorney, said joining defendants together when they are charged with the same crime is common, but in this instance he was surprised to see the government ask for such action.
"This case in particular was generated by different grand juries and different witnesses and there is really no commonality in the charges," said Mr. Costopoulos. "This is an unusual effort by the Attorney General's office in light of the fact that these cases are not the same."
Nils Frederiksen, a spokesperson for the Attorney General's office defended the decision to join the cases, saying the two trials were similar enough to be tried at the same time.
"They are similar matters and similar types of conduct and it is most appropriate and more efficient to deal with those matters at the same time," said Nils Frederiksen.
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John Burkoff, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, said the prosecution typically needs a very good reason to put trials together, and usually it is only done when the same list of witnesses will be used against both defendants.
Mr. Frederiksen declined to comment on witness lists or prosecution strategy prior to the trial.
Bruce Ledewitz, a professor of law at Duquesne University. He said trials can be combined in situations when multiple defendants are involved in the same crime, such as when a team of criminals carries out a bank robbery.
Read More on Bonusgate:Aquitted Bonusgate Defendent Alleges Political Conspiracy (8/3/10) Mike Veon Given 6-14 Years In Prison (6/18/10) |
In this case, there is not even a single mention of Mr. DeWeese in the presentment against Mr. Stetler, nor is there a single mention of Mr. Stetler in the presentment against Mr. DeWeese.
Mr. Ledewitz noted the charges of conspiracy against both defendants made it easier for the prosecution to combine the trials despite differences in the alleged crimes.
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Another public official -state Rep. John Perzel (R-Philadelphia) - is also awaiting trial on similar charges of using taxpayer money to conduct political activity out of his Harrisburg office. Yet the Attorney General's office is not moving to combine his trial with that of the Mr. DeWeese and Mr. Stetler.
Mr. Frederiksen said there is a difference in how the corruption was conducted.
"The Republican case is about the misuse of technology, while the Democrat case is about the misuse of personnel. They functioned in different ways," said Mr. Frederiksen.
Since the request has been made to join the trials, it now falls to the defense to prove the cases should be separated, Mr. Frederiksen said.
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Mr. Costopoulos declined to comment on whether his client would challenge the government's request.
The next step for both Mr. DeWeese, Mr. Stetler and their co-defendants is a pre-trial hearing on Sept. 23, at which time the case will be scheduled for trial.
Mr. Perzel and other Republican co-defendants will have a scheduling hearing on Sept. 10 to establish a timetable for proceeding with that case.
Mr. DeWeese has been a member of the state House of Representatives since 1976, and has served as both Democrat Leader and Speaker of the House during his tenure. He is charged with theft, conspiracy, and conflict of interest.
Mr. Stetler served as a state representative from 1991 until 2006. He was appointed by Gov. Ed Rendell as Secretary of Revenue in 2009, but resigned in December of the same year when charges were filed against him. He has been charged with a six counts of public corruption.
Attorney General Tom Corbett is also the Republican candidate for governor. He is opposed by Dan Onorato, the Democrat candidate and current Allegheny County executive.
Eric Boehm is a reporter for PA Independent. He can be reached at Eric@PAIndependent.com
