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S
TATE
R
EPRESENTATIVE
Frank A. Farry
42
nd
Legislative DistrictepFarry.com
RSRT STD.S. POSTAGEAIDARRISBURG, PAERMIT NO 529
Dear Neighbor:
December 2009
Now that the first half of the legislativesession is behind us, I want to take a mo-ment to thank you all again for the privilegeof representing you and to update you onlegislative developments in Harrisburg andmy work on your behalf here in the 142ndLegislative District.Perhaps the biggest issue we dealt withthis year was the state budget which wasnot passed until October – more than threemonths past the legally mandated deadline.In this newsletter I will discuss my reasonsfor opposing the final budget and legislativeefforts to fix the budget process so the kindof impasse we saw this year never happensagain. In addition, this newsletter contains im-portant information on legislation to eliminatewaste, fraud and abuse at the Department of Public Welfare and efforts to change the waystate government operates and restore Penn-sylvanians’ faith in their elected officials.As always, staff in my district office, lo-cated at 370 East Maple Avenue, Suite 102in Langhorne, are available to answer your questions and help resolve your problems withstate government. The office is open from 9a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and can be reachedat (215) 752-6750. You can also reach me bye-mail at
ffarry@pahousegop.com
or you cancall the office set up an appointment.Also, be sure to visit my Web site at
RepFarry.com
. There, you will find usefulinformation about recent developments in theLegislature as well as the latest happeningshere in the district and you can sign up for periodic e-mail updates.Once again, thank you for the opportunityto serve as your representative. Please donot hesitate to contact me if I can ever be of service.
Sincerely,Frank FarryState Representative142nd Legislative District
www.RepFarry.comState Budget ImpasseHighlights Need for Reform
For the seventh year in a row, Pennsylvania began the new fiscal year without a budgetin place. This year, the new budget was not approved until early October, more than four months after the legally mandated deadline.The budget plan offered by the governor and House Democrats would have imposed9.7 million in additional taxes on residents in the Neshaminy School District but the districtwould have received only $650,000 back. In addition, their plan would have reduced fundingfor important local services, like public libraries. I fought hard against those proposed cutsbecause in these tough economic times, access to public libraries is more important thanever as people search for employment opportunities and seek to further educations.firmly believe that state government must live within its means and that we cannotontinue to raise taxes on Pennsylvania families. The final budget approved by the Leg-islature failed both of those tests. It spends too much, and to pay for all that spending, itrequires a $1 billion tax increase. So, while I understand the need to pass a budget so stategovernment can continue to function, I could not, in good conscience, support this plan.Throughout this year’s budget negotiations, I heard from many people who werefrustrated that the process was taking so long. Many of the calls and e-mails I receivedwere from Pennsylvanians who rely on services funded by the state budget includingstate colleges and universities, public schools, and county social services. I share their frustration and I believe something must be done to ensure that an impasse like the onewe saw this year never happens again.have co-sponsored a number of legislative proposals to reform our budget process.Among them:
House Bill 2101
states that if there is a budget impasse beyond July 31, the previousyear’s general appropriations act shall become law at a 20 percent reduction untilsupplemented by a new budget.
House Bill 1915
would establish the Emergency State Employee Salary Fund toensure that state employees will continue to be paid in the event of a budget impasse.
House Bill 1460
would require the establishment of a searchable onlinedatabase detailing state revenue and expenditure information.am very interested in your thoughts on how we can improve the budget making pro-ess. Please feel free to contact my district office or visit my Web site at
epFarry.com.
Pennsylvania School DistrictsSee Funding Increase
While I have some concerns about the levels of spending and taxation in the final009-10 budget, I am pleased that the plan provides every school district in Pennsylvaniawith an increase in the basic education subsidy. The chart below details the subsidiesfor Neshaminy School District.
School District
Neshaminy
otal 2009-10Funding
20,606,889
Increase Over 2008-09 BasicEducation Funding
$2,468,728
PercentageIncrease Over 2008-09 BasicEducationFunding
13.6%
Legislative Proposals Aimedat Restoring Pennsylvanians’Faith in State Government
Recent developments in the investigation into the use of taxpayer dollarsfor campaign purposes have clearly demonstrated that while we have madesome progress at reforming state government, there is still much to do.Substantive changes are needed in the way state government operates.The misuse of taxpayer dollars, whether it be through the so-called“pay-to-play” practice of awarding campaign contributors with good-payinggovernment jobs and/or lucrative contracts or through the use of legislativestaff and resources to campaign at the taxpayers’ expense is wrong and itmust stop. Pennsylvanians have lost faith in their state government anduntil we take meaningful steps to earn back their trust, we will not be ableto govern effectively.House Republicans have offered a series of legislative initiativesdesigned to strengthen Pennsylvanians’ trust in government. Theseproposals, known as the Pennsylvania’s Agenda for Trust in Harrisburg(PATH), are the first step toward restoring the trust Pennsylvanians have intheir elected officials and ensuring that the peoples’ business is conductedethically and openly. Among other things, the PATH proposals would:• Bar legislative staff from campaigning for the organization for whichthey work during scheduled work-day hours. Using government-ownedequipment would remain illegal, day or night.• Prohibit public officials from starting nonprofit organizations while in office.• Require full reporting of all campaign contributions, lobby disclosure andethics statements within two weeks. The Department of State wouldcreate and maintain the cross-relational database making theinformation easily accessible and understandable to Pennsylvaniaresidents.• Require the creation of a searchable online database detailing allstate spending.• Strengthen whistleblower protections for all state employees in allthree branches of government.• End the “pay-to-play” mentality in Pennsylvania by enacting statecontracting reform.
www.Rep
Bills WouldAddress Fraudand Abuse at DPW
Auditor General Jack Wagner has conductedeveral recent audits highlighting waste and abusein the Department of Public Welfare. According tohis reports, the potential fraud and abuse could costtaxpayers tens of millions of dollars. Somethingmust be done to stop this abuse.House Republicans have introduced a series of reforms designed to bring about greater account-ability and efficiency within DPW to ensure thatthe Pennsylvanians who truly need assistance arereceiving it. Among other things, our legislationwould:Require that residency be a prerequisite for receiving assistance. Residency would beestablished when an individual resides in theCommonwealth for at least 90 days.Require applicants between the ages of 18 and 65 to take and pass a test for illegaldrugs as a condition of receiving benefits.Prohibit the purchase of alcoholic beverageswith welfare dollars.Provide for a comprehensive audit of DPWwhich includes provider and recipient samplingto identify fraudulent actions in the department.Establish a computerized Income EligibilityVerification System that would cross check19 different federal and state databases on aquarterly basis to ensure that applicants areeligible for the benefits they are claiming.am committed to ending waste, fraud andabuse at every level of government. These mea-ures are reasonable, commonsense solution to theproblems outlined by the auditor general. It is myincere hope that House leaders will bring them tothe House floor for consideration soon.
Expanding Access to Healthcare
One of the biggest challenges facing our health care system is the need to provide health insurance to those who do nothave it. In this legislative session, I supported two measures which were signed into law by the governor and which will provideaccess to insurance for tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians.House Bill 1089, which was signed into law as Act 2 of 2009, makes COBRA health-insurance coverage available to Penn-ylvania businesses with fewer than 20 employees. In 1986, Congress passed the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconcilia-ion Act, giving workers and their families who have health coverage through their employer the right to continue coverage for a period of time after they leave employment. However, that continuation of coverage through COBRA currently doesn’t applyo small businesses with fewer than 20 employees. Act 2 changes that and makes group-rated health insurance available toemployees and former employees of small businesses in Pennsylvania.Senate Bill 89, which was signed into law as Act 4 of 2009, allows individuals to remain on a parent’s health insurance planshrough age 29 if they are not married, have no dependents, are residents of the Commonwealth or enrolled as a full-time studentat an institution of higher education and are not provided insurance coverage or eligible for government benefits. According tohe Pennsylvania Insurance Department, as many as 400,000 individuals, ages 19 to 29, are currently living in Pennsylvaniawithout health insurance. Our high unemployment rate has exacerbated the problem, forcing otherwise qualified individuals torely on part-time jobs with limited or no health benefits. Act 4 provides them with an option to receive health care coverage ata cost they and their families can afford.
ARRY.COM
Community Corner
Bills Would AllowCounties to Eliminatethe Office of JuryCommissioner
Our Commonwealth and our nation are enduring the worsteconomic recession since the Great Depression. County govern-ments are not immune to these financial realities. Like the restof us, they must take every opportunity to eliminate unnecessarypending to make sure funds are available for the necessities. As state lawmakers, my colleagues and I should do all we can tohelp counties make ends meet.In many counties across Pennsylvania, the position of juryommissioner has become obsolete since technology performsmany of the functions of the office. Juries are selected from voter registration, property tax, welfare and PennDOT records, makinghe position of jury commissioner unnecessary in many counties,but state law mandates that counties fill both the majority andminority jury commissioner positions.I have co-sponsored two bills, House Bills 2000 and 2001,which would give counties the option of eliminating the office of jury commissioner. These bills would provide county commission-ers with a means of eliminating the position of jury commissioner hrough a ballot referendum. They also provide a process by whichonstituents could force the issue onto the ballot.If counties determine that the position of jury commissioner isunnecessary, a mandate from Harrisburg should not stand in theway of eliminating it. This bill does not mandate that the positionbe eliminated but it does give counties the freedom to do so if itmakes sense in their jurisdiction.The measures have passed the House Local GovernmentCommittee and are awaiting action by the full House.
Keystone Works PlanAimed at LoweringPennsylvania’sUnemployment Rate
While Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate is lower than thenational average, it has nearly doubled over the last two yearsand something must be done to improve it.House Republicans are developing a package of legislationknown as Keystone Works. These bills are designed toreate incentives for employers to hire by reducing the costsassociated with filling job vacancies and pairing unemployedPennsylvanians with employers who are actively seeking tohire.The Keystone Works package includes:•
Keystone Works I
-- This bill will allow people collectingunemployment benefits to work for selected businessesup to 24 hours a week for eight weeks at no cost to theemployer. Employers will be required to certify that theyintend to immediately hire for the position and followup with a performance evaluation, whether they hire theworker or not. A similar program has been implementedin Georgia and is seeing great success.•
Keystone Works II
– This bill is similar to Keystone Works I,but will target public assistance recipients who are seekingto return to employment.•
een Employment Incentive Tax Credit
– Teenunemployment in the United States is at a record highof 27.6 percent. This legislation would provide tax creditsto businesses which provide jobs to teenagers (ages 14 to 17).These bills are currently being drafted and will be introducedin the near future.
Rep. Farry presents a citation fromthe House of Representativescongratulating the Neshaminy HighSchool Varsity Cheerleaders for their championship season.Rep. Farry presents citations fromthe House of Representatives tofour members of Boy Scout Troop78 congratulating them on attaining the rank of Eagle Scout. Pictured are (from left to right): Kyle Markloff,Peter Ciarlante, Rep. Farry Gerard McGowan, and Stephen Moyer.
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