The Union, the Beer Magnate and the Bucks County Senator

State Sen. Charles McIlhinney, R-Bucks, is at the center of the liquor privatization fight.

By Eric Boehm | PA Independent HARRISBURG – In April 2010, there was a party in Newtown, Bucks County — a political fundraiser, like dozens or perhaps hundreds of similar events held across the state that election cycle. But this was different, an illustration of how complicated Pennsylvania politics can be. It was held at the Temperance House, an ironic name, perhaps, since the restaurant is owned by Pasquale “Pat” Deon, a businessman who owns a chain of beer distributors in the Philadelphia suburbs. Deon also chairs the board that governs SEPTA, serves on the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and is a major player in Republican politics. The event raised money – tens of thousands of dollars, according to campaign finance reports – for a …

•  15 Comments
• Photos (1)

New Legislative Districts – Who is Moving Where?

In a unanimous decision announced Wednesday, the state Supreme Court upheld a redistricting plan drawn by a commission of legislative leaders and ordered it to be used for the next round of legislative elections in 2014.

By Eric Boehm | PA Independent HARRISBURG – Yesterday, the state Supreme Court unanimously approved new state House and Senate districts that will be in place for the 2014 election cycle. The new maps are drawn to reflect population changes in the state since the last redistricting in 2001, and by necessity some districts have to be literally picked up from one place and plopped down in another – moving out of areas where there is low population growth and into areas where people are moving. When the new maps were first drawn last year – before the 2012 elections – the five state House districts headed for the moving van were all occupied by retiring lawmakers.  The idea was to keep any incumbents from having their districts yanked out …

• Photos (1)

For PA Municipalities, it’s About Seeking Change, Not Dollars

More than 40 percent of Pennsylvanians reside in distressed municipalities.

By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent HARRISBURG — Across Pennsylvania, times are tough for local governments. About 41 percent of the state’s population live in a municipality facing some kind fiscal distress. Yet Gov. Tom Corbett’s proposed budget holds municipal assistance relatively flat. That includes funding assistance for cities in Act 47, the official classification for the fiscally distressed. But municipalities aren’t necessarily looking for state dollars. They’re looking for change, the kind that requires legislators to act. This year, the administration proposes a $7 million transfer to the Municipalities Financial Recovery Revolving Aid fund for fiscally distressed governments. Last year the state transferred in a little more …

• Photos (1)

State News

Supreme Court: PA House, Senate Districts to Stand

The state House and Senate redistricting maps were approved by the state Supreme Court on Wednesday.

By Eric Boehm | PA Independent HARRISBURG – Finally, Pennsylvania will have new legislative districts. In a unanimous decision announced Wednesday, the state Supreme Court upheld a redistricting plan drawn by a commission of legislative leaders and ordered it to be used for the next round of legislative elections in 2014. The plan had been challenged by residents for containing too many legislative districts that unnecessarily divided counties and municipalities, but the court dismissed those appeals. A previous plan prepared by the Legislative Reapportionment Commission, or LRC, had been rejected by the Supreme Court in January 2012, largely because the court found it contained too many county and municipality splits. But the commission …

• Photos (1)

State News

PA Drivers one Step Closer to Paying Higher Fees, Gas Prices

Pennsylvania lawmakers are in the throes of a discussion on whether or not to increase driver fees and potentially gas prices in order to get more funding for roads.

By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent HARRISBURG — In 1997 a postage stamp cost 32 cents, a dozen eggs about $1.17, and a gallon of gas about $1.32. It was also the most recent time Pennsylvania lawmakers touched the state gas tax to raise more money for roads and bridges, said Senate Transportation Minority Chair John Wozniak, D-Cambria. As consumer costs have risen, so have the costs for roads. “I challenge anybody to say they’ve stopped at a convenience store and a cup of coffee is the same today as it was 15 years ago,” Wozniak said. “Government isn’t immune to market forces.” As a result, drivers may have to pay more, too. Wozniak was among the lawmakers who voted in favor of a $2.5 billion transportation funding package, which passed …

•  15 Comments
• Photos (1)

PA Gov. Corbett Sees Affordable Care Act 'Collapsing'

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has since met with federal officials on the matter but has not made a recommendation to expand Medicaid, much to the chagrin of Obama-care supporters.

By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent HARRISBURG – Gov. Tom Corbett has made no secret of his concerns about the Affordable Care Act. He remains steadfast in his uncertainty about the Medicaid expansion piece of the legislation. He’s reiterated costs to the state would be too much to absorb – and he doesn’t trust the federal government to pay for the program. And as one of the state attorneys general who filed a federal lawsuit contesting the act, Corbett played a primary role in the political battle the law inspired. But when Corbett spoke at a recent panel discussion in Washington, D.C., he pointed out another aspect of the legislation he finds troubling – that the many problems it could bring to states and the health care system was the …

•  11 Comments
• Photos (1)

James Rountrey

8:13 am on Thursday, May 16, 2013

That Fracking is safe!   more ›

State News

Nine PA Reps Cited in Congressional Nepotism Report

A first-of-its-kind report names nine members of Pennsylvania's 18-member U.S. House delegation who have paid, gifted or somehow benefited themselves, family members or associations they have worked with.

By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent HARRISBURG — Call it nepotism, or call it the status quo. A first-of-its-kind report gives voters an in-depth look into just how far political patronage permeates the U.S. House of Representatives. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, an accountability watchdog group, released the “Family Affair” report” examining what favors sitting House members have gifted on family members, or themselves. The report examines all sitting House members, compiled using information from research databases and campaign disclosure forms. Nine members of Pennsylvania’s 18-member House delegation are named in the report, which covers 248 representatives of the 2008 and 2010 election cycles. Findings break …

•  2 Comments
• Documents (1)

Annual PA Lawmaker Gift Disclosures Turn up Pens, Robes, Trips for Corbett

Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley received a $375 Waterford bowl at the Irish Society Man of the Year Dinner in 2012, according to recently published state filings.

By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent HARRISBURG — Back in March 2012 when Gov. Tom Corbett traveled Europe on a trade mission, he received a suave souvenir – a $275 fountain pen gifted by a public official at an event in Oyonnax, France. That was while Corbett was touting Pennsylvania as part of trade mission paid for by the Team Pennsylvania Foundation, a trip that cost nearly $11,000. Pennsylvania lawmakers, Corbett included, reported the extent of gifts and travels as part of financial disclosure forms due this week with the State Ethics Commission. The reports give a glimpse into what public officials receive from special interests in their district, across the state or even internationally. But some government watchdogs say gifts for …

• Photos (1)

Revenues Up, But Not Up Enough—Budget Challenges Ahead in PA

The Corbett administration is backing away from a February projection that expected more tax revenue this year.

By Eric Boehm | PA Independent HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania has an extra $67 million in the bank with two months to go in the fiscal year. But that won’t make the budget process any easier. That’s because the budget proposal put forward by Gov. Tom Corbett in February assumed the state would have about $230 million in extra cash at the end of the fiscal year June 30. The governor planned to use that extra money to plug some of the gaping holes in next year’s budget, mostly the result of $500 million in additional pension costs expected during the 2013-14 budget year. So even though the state is ahead, it is also behind. Make sense? After the official figures for April were released Tuesday, administration officials backed off the higher …

•  3 Comments
• Photos (1)

Horrors! Private Liquor Spells Doom for PA, Groups Say

Testimony at Tuesday’s hearing told of liquor privatization as a harbinger of social chaos, but advocates of privatization say the concerns were overblown.

By Eric Boehm| PA Independent HARRISBURG – For most of the last two years, the debate over alcohol privatization in Pennsylvania has focused on the financial aspects of the Republican-backed plan to sell-off the state liquors. But such bottom-line issues took a backseat on Tuesday as the state Senate held the first of three planned hearings on the liquor bill passed by the state House in March. Social issues were front and center in the Senate Law and Justice Committee, with privatization painted as a harbinger of doom by a litany of testifiers who promised everything from an increase in crime and disease to higher rates of unemployment and prostitution. And all, they said, because a private retailer would be allowed to sell a bottle of …

•  7 Comments
• Photos (1)