STATE REPRESENTATIVE

MIKE FLECK

81st Legislative District

RSRT STD.S. POSTAGE

AID

HARRISBURG, PAERMIT NO. 529

Dear Friends,

Summer 2008

It’s hard to believe that my firstterm is rapidly coming to a close. I’mproud to represent a community withsuch strong values and convictions. Iwill continue to be a voice for thosevalues in the State Legislature.The Legislature recessed after passing the State Budget on July4. I, along with a handful of other representatives voted against thefinal budget. While the 2008-09budget did hold to the line of inflation,unfortunately I think we’re in for atough time economically and next year we’ll likely be faced with cuts to vitalprograms or a tax increase. I voted infavor of the school code and was gladto see more monies appropriated for education.I look forward to continuing as your Representative and I’m here to serveyou. Feel free to contact my officewith any state-related questions or concerns. We also offer a variety of services, including help with PennDOTissues, information and applicationsabout student financial aid, and senior citizen programs and copies of statemaps and other publications.Sincerely,Rep. Mike Fleck

Water from many of Pennsylvania’sstreams and rivers eventually flows into theChesapeake Bay. These water resources arecollectively known as the Chesapeake BayWatershed. The watershed encompassesmore than 64,000 square miles and crossesthe borders of six states. As one of those sixstates, Pennsylvania accounts for more than34 percent of the watershed.Pennsylvania’s 87,000 farms that raisevarious livestock and harvest crops of grainand timber would be some of the hardest hitby new regulations, though other groups willcertainly be affected as well. Residents will bepressured to replace septic tankswith dedicated sewage systemsand developers will be held tostricter stormwater regulations.Farmers will be forced to find newways to manage nutrient runoff and municipalities will need toupgrade sewage systems toincrease capacity for stormwater and additional wastewater.Regulations initially designedto help improve water quality inthe Chesapeake Bay are provingincreasingly difficult to achieve bythe original deadline of 2010. Asthe deadline for the aggressiveenvironmental plan draws nearer,officials are being forced to facehard truths about how to fundprojects, enforcement and a hostof other unresolved issues.Unfortunately, the cost of theseadditional regulations is provingto be prohibitive. Estimates for the Tyrone Borough upgradeshave been more than $400,000.Huntingdon Borough has projectedtheir upgrade costs to be more

Tightening Federal Water Regulations Hard to Swallow

than $6 million. The price tag for statewidecompliance is estimated to be more than $8billion.I have been on the forefront of theeffort to bring a reasonable degree of state government support to help localgovernments defray the multi-million dollar cost of these upgrades. In March I asked theHouse Republican Policy Committee to holda public hearing at Juniata College on thistopic to try and determine how best the statecould help the communities living within theChesapeake Bay Watershed.

www.RepFleck.com

Todd Cammarata, a government teacher in theTyrone Area School District, met with Rep. Fleck and visited the Capitol on June 27. While at theCapitol, Cammarata sat in on a House CommerceCommittee meeting co-chaired by Fleck and watched the House floor debate on the Real ID Act. Pictured from left to right: Cammarata, Lt.Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll and Fleck. Rep. Fleck would like to encourage area residents to visit theCommonwealth’s Historic Capitol. Reservationscan be made by calling my Harrisburg office at (717) 787-3335 or the tour office at (800) 868-7672.Information regarding tours of the State Capitol isalso available online by visiting my Web site at www.RepFleck.com.

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R e p

Fleck’s Legislation GarnersNational Attention

Rep. Fleck answers questions at a press conference he held unveiling hislegislation, House Bill 2299, which regulates the display of human remainsfor commercial proﬁt. Standing behind Fleck from left to right: Reps. KarenBeyer (R-Lehigh/Northampton), RoseMarie Swanger (R-Lebanon), Kathy Rapp (R-Warren/Forest/McKean) and Jerry Stern (R-Blair).

The cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay is vitalto the environment and the quality of life in centralPennsylvania; however, local governments andresidents living in the watershed should not haveto bare 100 percent of the cost burden. ThePolicy Committee hearing was a first step indetermining how the Legislature can help reduceexpenses for those living within the ChesapeakeBay Watershed.To help local municipalities pay for the mandatedupgrades, the General Assembly has passedtwo major pieces of legislation that will have animpact upon wastewater treatment facilities andothers required to reduce nutrient and sedimentemissions into waters that feed the ChesapeakeBay. Act 63 of 2008, creates an $800 millionstatewide program to improve water and wastewater treatment system infrastructure and torepair or implement new ﬂood control projectsand to repair high-hazard dams. This programis in the form of grants with a 50 percent matchrequirement. Act 64 of 2008, contains a ballot question,wherein voters will be asked if they approveincurring debt of $400 million for grants andloans for the improvement of drinking water and wastewater treatment systems in theCommonwealth. If approved by the voters,the bond money will be administered throughPennVEST in the form of grants and loans tomunicipalities and municipal authorities. Issuingofﬁcials will be authorized to borrow, on the creditof the Commonwealth, money not exceeding in theaggregate $400 million in increments of not morethan $150 million every year over a three-year period.Act 64 allows for the purchase of theChesapeake Bay Tributary Strategy NutrientTrading Credits with these funds. This is animportant tool for those in the Chesapeake Baywatershed to help meet the requirements of theBay Tributary Strategy issued by the Departmentof Environmental Protection.The new laws combined create a fund of upto $1.2 billion for infrastructure improvementsstatewide.

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On the heels of exhibits displaying human cadavers at theCarnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh and the Whitaker Center For Science and the Arts in Harrisburg, I have introduced legislation thatregulates the display of human remains for commercial profit.The exhibits use unclaimed human cadavers to display howthe body works.The bodies used in the exhibits come from China. The exhibitsponsors claim the bodies were legally donated, but given China’srecord on human rights, many believe the cadavers in these exhibitsare those of political prisoners or religious workers. Currently 68crimes in China carry a death sentence.To put these people on public display without their consent is agreat travesty and speaks volumes on where we’re going as a society.I can’t dispute the educational factor cadavers have played in termsof what we know about the human body, but I fail see the correlationbetween education and desensitizing our society to the point that we’dbe so cavalier as to how we treat the deceased. The average Chinesecitizen does not believe in organ donation, so it’s hard to believe thatChina has become the leading exporter of bodies and body partsaround the world.The display of human remains for commercial profit will onlycontinue to grow; therefore it’s vital that the Commonwealth has thenecessary laws in place to regulate this new enterprise. The exhibitsponsors don’t appear to have broken any laws; nevertheless, atthis point we have more laws in place in regard to taxidermy thanwe do concerning the importation of cadavers being shipped to theCommonwealth under the name of ‘art’ or ‘research.’That is why I have introduced legislation, House Bill 2299,which will require proof of body donation before these exhibits arepermitted to go on display. Proof of donation would need to comein the form of written authorization from the deceased, either in awill or other legal document, or the deceased’s next of kin. Not all“bodies exhibits” use unclaimed cadavers. Dr. Gunther Von Hagens,the inventor of Plastination and creator of BODY WORLDS has over 8,000 willing donors who have donated their bodies for commercialexhibition.In February, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo issuedsubpoenas to the owners of Premier Exhibitions asking them toverify the identities of the donors. They couldnot guarantee that the bodies used in their exhibits were not tortured or executed politicalprisoners. Therefore, the New York AG’s officereached a settlement that set aside a full refundfor anyone who viewed the New York exhibits.California Assemblywoman Fiona Ma(D-San Francisco), a Chinese American,has introduced legislation requiring proof of donation. Just this week, Ma’s legislationoverwhelming passed the California Assembly.I’m pleased with the type of support mybill has garnered. We have a very broad rangeof bipartisan support and I expect it to grow aspeople realize the impact of an unregulatedindustry of traveling corpse exhibitions. I amhopeful that this legislation will come beforethe full House for a vote during the fall Housesession. House Bill 2299 only regulates bodiesused for commercial enterprises and does notaffect the medical or scientific community.

e c c o m

I would like to remind

residents of the approachingdigital television conversion. Under federal law,television stations will stop broadcasting analogsignals as of Feb. 17, 2009.Consumers who are already subscribing to cableor satellite television or have television sets capableof reading digital signals will not need to make anychanges to continue watching their favorite shows.However, a device known as a digital tuner will needto be purchased by those who depend on a rooftopantennae or rabbit ears.Most television sets manufactured in the lastfive years have built-in tuners. However, some mayneed to purchase a stand-alone unit. Reviewing anowner’s manual or checking with the manufacturer is a good place to find out if a set is equipped witha digital tuner.If a digital tuner is needed, the federal governmentis supplying coupons in the amount of $40 for thesepurchases. Each household is permitted to use twocoupons.Converters will be available at many major retailers in the coming months as consumers getready for the shift.Individuals wishing to apply for converter boxcoupons can obtain an application from my Web siteor by visiting my district offices.The change is designed to free up additionalairwaves for police, fire and other emergencyresponders. Not only will the switch better servethe nation’s first responders, but it will also enablea better viewing experience for those watching their televisions.

Please mark your calendar for Tuesday, Oct. 14, for my financial planning seminar. I am holding this event toprovide information to residents of the 81st District on how to reach their personal financial goals. Members fromthe Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs (PICPA) will be on hand to present its “Money & Life” program.Those who attend will receive helpful tips on how to set up a household budget and discuss options for retirement savings.There will also be a separate demonstration for college students focusing on credit cards, buying a car andbudgeting. This interactive session helps students address budgeting and saving before starting out in their chosen careers.Throughout the country, more than 30 percent of Americans are financially stressed and 43 percent of American families spend more than they earn each year. This program will help residents avoid these financialpitfalls.This event is

FREE

for all who attend. Refreshments will be provided.For more information and to RSVP, please call my Huntingdon district ofﬁce at (814) 644-2996.My staff and I look forward to seeing you there!

Fleck to Host Financial Planning Seminar

Digital TelevisionConversion Approaching

My district oﬃ ce is here to help you. Ser-vices my staﬀ and I provide include:

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Driver’s license and vehicle registrationapplications and renewals.

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Assistance with PennDOT paperwork.

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Copies of birth and death certiﬁcates.

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PACE and PACENET applications forseniors.

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