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Pennsylvania Legislators Flying a Too-Friendly Sky?
Taxpayers pick up tab for conferences in California, union meetings
AUGUST 16, 2010 | Investigative Report by DARWYYN DEYO
Between 2007 and 2009, Pennsylvania’s state legislators spent $52,564.80 on flights within the state and to special legislative conferences and presentations around the country. Some waited until the day beforehand to book their flights, and some lacked receipts for flights costing hundreds of dollars. Of the 59 state legislators who r
Philly Nonprofit Bails Out Evans’ Friends
House Appropriations Chair started organization 10 years ago
JANUARY 27, 2010 | Investigative Report by JIM PANYARD
PHILADELPHIA – Friends and colleagues of state House Appropriations Chairman Dwight Evans (D-Philadelphia) were bailed out of a failed nightclub venture at a cost of more than $700,0
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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
House Legislation Would Add Text Ads to Do Not Call List
Creates state version of federal regulations
AUGUST 31, 2010 | by DARWYYN DEYO
A Pennsylvania state lawmaker wants to stop a new form of nuisance advertising in its tracks by adding text message advertisements to the state’s Do Not Call list.
Sponsored by state Rep. Seth Grove (R-York), House Bill 2675 adds cell and smart phones and text messages to the state’s Telemarketer Registration Act. However, the would-be revised Do Not Call list would not apply to political candidates and parties, non-profit organizations, or businesses that have established relationships with the consumer.
Mr. Grove said the bill was a preventative measure against the next wave of nuisance advertising, even though such messages are already investigated at the federal level.
“It’s more effective than email, so I can really see this as being the next nuisance consumer issue,” said Mr. Grove. “Really, try to be a little proactive and stop this before it begins. Text message advertisements can be a huge win for ad agencies and so forth. A little proactive government.”
He said exceptions for non-profits and politicians have been included since the original telemarketer Act 147, passed in 1996, but he would have no issue with those stipulations being amended in the future, but said telemarketers outside of the U.S. were another issue.
“Someday maybe we’ll have a U.N. Do Not Call list,” said the representative.
While Pennsylvania is only just moving to add text message advertisements to the Do Not Call list, federal agencies already manage a Do Not Text list and investigate complaints and violations of the list. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) handles robo calls and unsolicited calls and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) handles unsolicited text message advertisements.
In Pennsylvania, the Bureau of Consumer Protection under the Office of the Attorney General manages the Do Not Call list, which is sent out to telemarketers on a quarterly basis.
“The reality is there are existing federal regulations that address these things, there are existing federal agencies that already take complaints, and the majority of text spam matters originate outside Pennsylvania and from far outside the United States,” said Nils Frederiksen, spokesperson for the Office of the Attorney General. “Trying to address those things on state level would be extremely challenging.”
More Info |
Act 147 of 1996As far as privacy law goes, Andy Hoover, legislative director of the Pennsylvania ACLU, said as long as the bill includes the exceptions for politicians and non-profits, it remains a non-issue.
“They cannot do a total ban on political marketing or nonprofit telemarketing because that is protected speech,” said Mr. Hoover. “A few years back there was an attempt to do that.”
Mr. Frederiksen explained the majority of telemarketing business in Pennsylvania are legitimate and have a vested interest in continuing to operate, and so follow regulations and purchase call information legally.
“We’ll certainly review anything the General Assembly considers and we’ll move forward from there but as of now unsolicited advertisements, text message ads are already addressed by the FCC,” said Mr. Frederiksen.
“As it stands right now, text messages are outside Pennsylvania Do Not Call law, and any complaint we get goes to the FCC.”
The FCC and FTC did not return requests for comment.
Darwyyn Deyo is a reporter for PA Independent. She can be reached at darwyyn@paindependent.com
State Reps to Rendell: Cut the WAMs
Claim $100 million could be saved
AUGUST 11, 2010 | by ERIC BOEHM
Note: This story has been updated from its original form. See bottom of story for details.
The same day that Gov. Ed Rendell unveiled his plan for dealing with a $280 million state budget deficit, state Rep. Curt Schroder led a group of 27 House Republicans who sent a letter to the governor calling for pork projects, called WAMs, to be cut.
"Use your Executive authority to eliminate all discretionary grant programs, sometimes referred to as WAMs," wrote the representatives. They provided the governor with a list of 14 grant programs they believe should be trimmed from the budget, saving the state $100 million.
WAMs, or Walking Around Money, is a nickname given by some legislators to the discretionary grant programs operated by various state agencies. Individuals, businesses, and other organizations can apply through the executive branch to receive funding from those programs.
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"Certainly Rep. Schroder is entitled to his opinion, but just because he or any elected official refers to a program as a WAM does not make it so," said Johnna Pro, a spokesperson for state Rep. Dwight Evans (D-Philadelphia) the House Appropriations Chair.
Ms. Pro said the spending by the state is frequently "in the eye of the beholder." Communities and organizations which receive funding through the grant programs would be hurt by cutting them, she said, pointing to one grant which provided $10,000 to an ambulance association.
Mr. Evans flatly denied the existence of WAMs in the budget when he was asked about it shortly before the budget passed in the House.
"While some line items have names reflecting economic development for these troubled times, let's not engage in semantical discourse about the nature of these funds. They are to be used in a discretionary fashion and are therefore WAMS," reads a portion of the Republican representatives' letter.
The authors of the letter noted the budget line items they targeted were either not funded in the fiscal year 2009-2010 budget or they were not funded as part of the original budget proposal made by the governor in February.
State Rep. Jerry Stern (R-Blair) was the only one to sign the letter who had also voted for final passage of this year's budget, which included the discretionary grants in the first place.
Correction: This story originally reported that state Reps. Matt Gabler (R-Clearfield) and Randy Vulakovich (R-Allegheny) voted for final passage of the budget on June 30. They voted against it. PA Independent regrets the error.
Eric Boehm is a reporter for PA Independent. He can be reached at Eric@PAIndependent.com
