Thursday, May 23, 2013
The liquor privatization debate has brought out a new special interest—the property owners who rent space to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.
By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent HARRISBURG — Inside Pennsylvania’s liquor privatization debate, everyone wants a taste. A new special interest is asking for a seat at the table after the state legislature’s actions threaten the finances of its members. The Liquor Store Real Estate Owners Association is the latest opponent to liquor privatization. The group is comprised of property owners who have lease agreements with the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. Among their ranks is David Neal, a Philadelphia real estate owner who owns the property for the state-owned wine and spirits shop on South Street. His lease, like all others in the state store system, has a termination clause, one without any penalties if the agreement ends. This …
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey was a lead GOP negotiator in gun control legislation talks and has come out in favor of background checks.
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Sunday, April 14
By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent HARRISBURG — Federal efforts to impose more extensive background checks on firearms purchases is having a ripple effect back at the Pennsylvania State Capitol. Not only did a large group of Republicans urge Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., to reject a compromise on gun laws, but House Democrats are calling for state legislation to close loopholes, regardless of federal decisions. Toomey was a lead GOP negotiator in the U.S. Senate with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., regarding the The Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act, which expands background checks on gun purchases. Tuesday, 76 of Toomey’s GOP counterparts in the Pennsylvania House penned a plea to the first-term senator, urging him to reject…
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Gov. Tom Corbett’s comments were obtuse and awkward, but those still criticizing him for the 'shut your eyes' comment have shut their ears to half of what he said.
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Saturday, April 13
By Eric Boehm | PA Independent HARRISBURG – As if drubbing the Republicans in last year’s national elections were not enough – thanks in no small part to GOP candidates’ tendency to flub, gaff and flail their way through numerous questions on sensitive issues like rape and abortion – national progressives trotted out 16 of what they called the stupidest right-wing sound bites for a “March Madness”-style bracket to coincide with the 2013 NCAA basketball tournaments. And our very own Gov. Tom Corbett was crowned the champion Wednesday morning for his less-than-suave comments in March 2012 about a Republican-backed bill to require ultrasounds before abortions. Corbett said he was fine with the requirement because there was no way to make a …
Friday, April 12, 2013
The York County representative sponsored House Bill 403, which adds stricter penalties to the state’s unemployment compensation law for those who collect fraudulently.
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Friday, April 12
By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania is on its way to cracking down on unemployment fraud. The House of Representatives unanimously passed a proposal to increase penalties for unemployment fraud. Right now, the state temporarily bans collection for two weeks for those who willfully receive improper payments. House Bill 403 will increase the penalty from two to 10 weeks, and increase monetary penalties from a $100 to $1,000 range, to a $500 to $1,500 range. The bill will also erase the statue of limitations for imposing the penalty. Rep. Seth Grove, R-York, sponsored the bill. “Taking into consideration the Commonwealth’s alarmingly high rate of unemployment fraud, as well as the dire financial status of our …
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Two Pennsylvania state senators—one a Democrat, the other a Republican—are peddling a nine-bill package aimed at increasing accountability and transparency.
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Thursday, April 11
By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent HARRISBURG — That cozy, long-term relationship between politicians and special interest groups may be coming to an end in Pennsylvania. Sen. John Eichelberger, R-Blair, and Sen. Mike Stack, D-Philadelphia, on Monday unveiled their proposals that address gift reporting, alter lobbying laws and expand campaign disclosures for certain groups, among other ethics-minded reforms. The bills would clean up the laws to stop even the appearance of impropriety, which can be damaging, Stack said. “It’s disrupting, and it erodes the public faith in what we’re trying to do here,” Stack said. One of Eichelberger’s proposal would prohibit registered lobbyists and lobby firms from working for candidates on political …
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Pennsylvania House OK'd bill to fast track online investigations without judicial oversight
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Wednesday, April 10
By Eric Boehm | PA Independent HARRISBURG – A bill to give law enforcement faster access to online information has moved through the state House and is headed for the state Senate. Civil liberties groups warn that the proposal contained in HB 90 will erode privacy rights and allow law enforcement to bypass judicial oversight when obtaining data about Internet users in the name of tracking down child predators on the web. But advocates for the legislation, including many groups representing law enforcement agencies in the state, say the change will let them move more quickly to track down the 3,000 suspected child sex offenders in the state. The bill would allow police to get a so-called “administrative subpoena” from a district attorney …
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
More than 40 percent of Pennsylvanians reside in distressed municipalities.
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Tuesday, April 9
By Eric Boehm | PA Independent HARRISBURG – More than 5.2 million Pennsylvanians – about 41 percent of the state’s 12.6 million inhabitants – live in a city, township or borough facing some form of financial distress. And civic leaders warned on Monday that things are probably going to get worse before they get better. Ed Pawlowski, mayor of Allentown, said municipal pension costs are eating a hole in his budget. Costs rose from $6 million last year to more than $18 million this year and will climb to $31 million within a few years. By 2015, fully 30 percent of Allentown’s budget will pay for benefits to retired city workers, police officers and firefighters, he said. “Unless we fix this problem, we’re going to see cities across this …
Monday, April 8, 2013
Pennsylvania Rep. Seth Grove, R-York, will pitch a municipal pension overhaul.
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Monday, April 8
By Eric Boehm | PA Independent HARRISBURG — A plan to overhaul municipal pension plans for police and firefighters could help some struggling cities in Pennsylvania deal with millions of dollars of pension debt. It also could bring an end to a guarantee in state law that gives police and firefighters’ unions the right to arbitration in any contract dispute. State Rep. Seth Grove, R-York, will join with business and municipal groups from around the state on Monday to introduce a plan to overhaul some of Pennsylvania’s municipal pension systems. His proposal would create a new type of pension plan for police officers and full-time firefighters in the state’s municipalities, but it leaves Philadelphia out. Pennsylvania municipalities face a $…
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Some Pennsylvania employees get paid, collect a pension and get unemployment benefits.
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Sunday, April 7
By PA Independent Staff HARRISBURG – It was a bit of an ugly week for taxpayer funds. Despite some action from the state House, a loophole allowing retired state workers to collect a paycheck and unemployment benefits remains open for now. Meanwhile, a solar energy firm in Pittsburgh that got $10 million from taxpayers is going bankrupt and a new no-bid contract means residents and business in Pennsylvania will be paying fees of $2 or more for some online government services. The House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill to ban “triple-dipping,” or the practice of state retirees who come back to work temporarily and then receive unemployment benefits. House Bill 421, sponsored by Rep. Adam Harris, R-Juniata, would prohibit …
A $10 million investment by the federal government and millions more from the state were not enough to prop up a solar energy company in western Pennsylvania.
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Sunday, April 7
By Eric Boehm | PA Independent HARRISBURG — A Pittsburgh-area solar energy company that received more than $10 million as part of the federal stimulus is asking a federal judge to allow it to file bankruptcy. Ten former employees at the Flabeg Solar U.S. Corp plant have petitioned a federal judge for severance pay after they lost their jobs last month as the plant was shut down. Media reports indicate that as many as 60 workers were laid off at the 4-year old, 228,000 square foot facility near Pittsburgh. The 10 employees listed in the filing are seeking $197,000 in severance pay, according to court documents. Robert Lampl, the Pittsburgh-based attorney for the energy company, was not immediately available for comment, and a receptionist …
Liberty 1
5:20 pm on Friday, May 24, 2013
Just what we need - another special interest. They ignore the main special interest - the consumers of wine and spirits. Why not just put it on the ballot for the people to vote it up or down? It could all be settled this November if they were serious. more ›