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tate Representative
Kate M. Harper
61st Legislative DistrictateHarper.net
November 2009
Dear Neighbor
,
Budget Resolved: Result Pleased No One
“It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.” – Sir Winston Churchill
he budget, required to be balanced by June0th each year, was finally settled in October. Ivoted against the final budget because it madedeep cuts in the Educational Improvement TaxCredit, used the doctors’ assessments in theMCARE fund to plug holes in the General Fund,and virtually requires unlimited drilling in our state forests to balance. I thought there was abetter way.Revenues were down this year because of the poor economy. Sales taxes, income taxesand corporate taxes all lagged, reflective of theweak economy, leaving us with a $3 billion holein our $27 billion budget that is required to bal-ance each year. Most of the delay in balancingthis year’s budget was due to the Governor’searly insistence on raising “recurring revenues,”and his preferred method was a 16 percent hikein the personal income tax.Many of you made it clear to me that youdidn’t want your taxes increased in a recessionunless there was no other way to get the budgetdone. You told me you believe governmentought to do what you are doing – budgetingcarefully and cutting back on extras, vaca-tions, splurges and dinners out to make surethe money’s there for the important things likethe mortgage, food, health care and education.Ultimately, however, any legislator can vote for or against only those proposals that reach theHouse Floor.I always believed it would be possible toget the budget to balance without eliminatingnecessary government services and withoutraising taxes. I believe this because I saw suchbudget proposals. They did not make it to theFloor for a vote.
Thus, when the Legislature began todebate the possibility of leasing our stateforest lands for natural gas drilling
initiallyI thought it would be possible to lease some of the forest land safely. We have done that in thepast—limited acreage, carefully selected, under the watchful eye of the Department of Conserva-tion and Natural Resources—and the proceedswere deposited into an account that benefits thestate forests and parks.
This year, despite my efforts to get anamendment requiring that only land wheredrilling could be accomplished withoutadverse environmental impacts be consid-ered, and a bipartisan agreement to limit theamount of acreage that could be leased, andset a “floor” for the minimum bid price thatcould be accepted, the final version of thebudget contained none of those safeguardsand requires the land to yield more than $100million in this fiscal year.
Our state forests are Commonwealth assetsin so many ways. They are beautiful places thatallow for recreation and tourism opportunities. Above the ground, they contain millions of treesthat can be safely and selectively timbered fromtime to time and below the ground, valuable min-erals that can be mined or drilled. On the other hand, the forests also contain pristine, environ-mentally advantageous lands and streams thatprotect the sources of clean drinking water. Allof those trees help us filter impurities out of thevery air we breathe. Exploiting the natural gasbelow the surface without carefully mitigating theadverse environmental impacts from clearingfor roads and pipelines, as well as planning for risks due to the chemicals used in the process,is simply irresponsible.It just isn’t right, and it didn’t have to be thisway.The Governor and the Democratic majority inthe House spent very little time looking for waysto tighten our belts and thus were forced to lookfor ways to increase revenue. Left untouched,for reasons known only to the Governor, was atax on smokeless tobacco products and a tax onnatural gas. Instead we endured weeks wherewe considered increasing income taxes and atax on school children visiting the Art Museum.There are times in all of our lives when wemust clearly state what we stand for and whatwe will not stand for. This budget battle was oneof those times. . er
Be Safe:Call BeforeYou Dig
Pipeline accidents can cause major property damage and serious, or evenatal, injuries. Excavation activities arehe leading cause of these types of acci-dents, but they can be avoided by simplycalling
Pennsylvania One Call SystemInc. at 8-1-1
(or 1-800-242-1776). Statelaw requires contractors and others plan-ning any type of digging or excavation tocontact One Call three days in advanceo allow utilities to come to the excavationsite and mark the location of undergroundutilities. One Call operates 24 hours aday, seven days a week. For more infor-mation, visit
www.pa1call.org
.
Rep. Kate Harper hosted threeconstituent breakfastmeetings thissummer, includingone at the CentralMontco TechnicalHigh School. Thebreakfasts providethe opportunity totalk about people’sconcerns with what’shappening in theCommonwealthand in MontgomeryCounty.
R
SRT STD.S. POSTAGEAIDARRISBURG, PAERMIT NO 529
www.Kate
New Law Ensures Survivor Death Benefit, Protects Taxpayers
Families of paid firefighters, police officers and rescue squad members are now assured appropriate death benefits, paid for by the Common-wealth, should their loved ones be killed in the line of duty.Under Act 51 of 2009, spouses and minor children of public safety officers killed in the line of duty will receive benefits equal to the amount of the decedent’s monthly salary.Previously, the death benefit depended upon where the public safety officer worked. In larger cities, pension and workers’ compensation paymentscovered a portion of the officers’ salaries, while smaller boroughs and townships that provided the benefit had to bear 100 percent of the cost.he new law requires the Commonwealth to cover these costs to ensure the public servants’ families are provided for without placing an undueburden on taxpayers.Rep. Harper sponsored similar legislation and voted in support of Act 51.
New LawProhibits MandatoryOvertime for Nurses
To improve patient safety and working conditions for health care pro-essionals, a new state law prohibits hospitals from imposing mandatoryovertime on their nursing staff.The law makes exceptions for national or state emergencies, naturaldisasters, disease outbreaks or other unexpected absences for which thehospital could not plan. However, chronic short staffing is not an acceptablereason for mandatory overtime, and hospitals that violate the law couldace fines of $100 to $1,000. Studies have shown excessive mandatoryovertime increases the likelihood of medical errors. It also contributes toa significant number of nurses leaving the profession at a time when theneed for their services is growing.Visit the state Department of Labor and Industry at
www.dli.state.pa.us
or more information on the new law.
Attention Contractors,Consumers
Rep. Kate Harper attends the Centre Square Fire Company banquet. Pictured leftto right are Whitpain Township Fire Marshal David Camarda, Centre Square FireCo. President Doug Thomas, Rep. Harper, Centre Square Fire Chief Lee Miller,Centre Square Firefighter Matthew Maguire and Harmonville Fire Chief KevinLawrence.Students at St. Helena School and their families recently benefited froma contribution to the Bridge Educational Foundation to support studentscholarships. The funding came from three area businesses – CSX Transportation,Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Motorola – as part of the state’s EducationalImprovement Tax Credit (EITC) program. The EITC program provides tax creditsto businesses that contribute to educational support organizations in an effortto enhance the business-education partnership.Rep. Kate Harper kicked off Breast Cancer Awareness Month by hosting theFox Chase Cancer Center’s mobile mammography van at her Blue Bell officeOct. 1. Pictured with Harper, left to right, are Fox Chase staff members CherylBurkhardt, Ray Cherry and Mary Piccolo.Rep. Kate Harper joins in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new traffic signal at theNorth Penn High School Driveway on Valley Forge Road. The signal will improvesafety for drivers entering and leaving the high school. Pictured left to right are:Towamencin Township Supervisor H. Charles Wilson III, Harper, North PennSchool District Assistant Superintendent Curtis Dietrich, Rep. Robert Godshall,and Towamencin Supervisors Chairman Daniel M. Littley Jr.
Eagl Scu Awrds
Congratulations to these fine young men on their Eagle Scout achievements!
Harper.net
Rep. Kate Harper congratulates Cornelius Van Galen Jr. for achieving the rankof Eagle Scout. His community service project included organizing a groupof volunteers to remove book cases at North Wales Library in preparation for renovations. He also moved shrubbery outside the library to make room for additional renovations. Corey is a member of Troop 84 in North Wales and isthe son of Marianna and Cornelius J. Van Galen Sr.
House OKs
GrowingGreener
Program Study
he state’s nonpartisan Legislative Budget and Finance Com-mittee (LBFC) is conducting a comprehensive review of the state’sGrowing Greener II program under a resolution sponsored by Rep.Harper and approved unanimously in the state House.he goal is to ensure that money spent on the effort to preserveclean air, clean water and open space in the Commonwealth is doneso in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible.he final report will examine how funds were allocated and spentby various state agencies and will determine costs and benefits of the program, including the acres of farms and open space saved,acreage of wetlands restored and abandoned mine lands reclaimed,and number of abandoned oil and gas wells plugged. The report isdue by next June.he original Growing Greener program was enacted into lawin 1999. In 2005, the General Assembly enacted Growing Greener II, which was funded by a $650 million bond issue approved byPennsylvania voters in the primary election that year.
Rep. Kate Harper presents a House citation to Kyle Gutshall for achieving therank of Eagle Scout. His community service project was to help clean up alarge stack of old and rotting picnic tables at the Fort Washington State Park.Kyle is a member of Troop 117 and is the son of Roy and Cynthia Gutshall.
Congratulations to Andrew Dougherty for achieving the rank of EagleScout. His community service project included construction of a bridgeat Crickle Wood Park in Montgomery Township. Andrew is a member of Troop 152 in West Point and is the son of Brian and Lynn Dougherty.
Rep. Kate Harper presents a citation from the House of Representatives to Art Loeben inhonor of his 90th birthday. Among his many accomplishments, Mr. Loeben served as Director of Planning for Montgomery County from 1957 to 1995 and initiated the county’s first openspace program. He also established scholarship funds at both Temple University Ambler and Montgomery County Community College. Pictured with Harper and Loeben is Dulcie F.Flaharty, Executive Director of Montgomery County Lands Trust.
Rep. Kate Harper congratulates Jeremy David Edwards for achieving the rank of Eagle Scout. His community service project was clearing out a storage compartmentat Lansdale United Methodist Church and remodeling the area by adding shelves anda storage locker for the church’s JC Kids program. Jeremy is a member of Troop 610in Lansdale and is the son of David and Marsha Edwards.
Did You Know...
Rep. Kate Harper presents a House citation to William Parkinson for achievingthe rank of Eagle Scout. His community service project was to construct alabyrinth at St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church. A member of Troop 98 in BlueBell, he is the son of Graham and Mary Beth Parkinson.
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