Fall 2009

PRSRT STDU.S. POSTAGEPAIDHARRISBURG, PAPERMIT NO. 529

Dear Friends:

It continues to be my honor toserve our area in the state Houseof Representatives. Unfortunate-ly, the ﬁrst several months of thenew legislative session were spentpassing a state budget, and wehad little opportunity to addressother issues.One of the most importantparts of being a state representa-tive is listening to the people Iam elected to represent. I main-tain two full-time district oﬃ cesin Montrose and Tunkhannock and make regular visits to WayneCounty so you have the oppor-tunity to let me know your viewson the issues of the day. I en-courage you to contact me at thenumbers listed in this newsletterand to visit www.RepMajor.comfor the latest news about stategovernment.

State Budget Enacted

Albeit 101 days late, Gov. Ed Ren-dell has signed a budget for 2009-10.I could not support the budget, as Ibelieve that not enough was done tocontrol state spending.

Speciﬁcally, the 2009-10 spend-ing plan, which was passed on a nearly party-line vote of 107-93,spends $27.8 billion – nearly $8billion more than when Gov. EdRendell took oﬃ ce in 2003

. espending includes $2.6 billion infederal stimulus aid and $1.5 billionfrom draining both the Rainy Day Fund and the Health Care ProviderRetention Account ($755 million and$708 million, respectively). In addi-tion, $150 million will be taken fromthe Tobacco Settlement Account and$100 million from the MCare Fund.e withdrawal from the MCare Fundmay lead to a state lawsuit that wouldnecessitate reopening the budget.I fear this massive depletion of thestate’s reserves will leave the Com-monwealth with few options if theeconomy does not rebound and rev-enues throughout the current ﬁscalyear continue to decline. e absenceof any reserve accounts could makenext year’s budget even more diﬃ cultthan this one.

Nearly every family in our Com-monwealth has been aﬀected by thecurrent economic downturn andforced to cut back. State govern-ment should do the same. When Isee that welfare is still the largest expenditure in the budget, even af-ter documented cases of fraud andabuse have been exposed, I am con- vinced spending can be further re-duced.Tis budget does include two im-portant initiatives

– the single salesfactor and net operating loss carryover– that will help improve our businessclimate. However, I believe we havetaken two steps back by delaying thephase-out of one of the most onerousbusiness taxes in the nation, the Capi-tal Stock and Franchise Tax. Insteadof keeping the current tax rate, thebudget plan rolls it back to the Janu-ary level, resulting in a 53 percent in-crease for businesses.e 2009-10 budget also con-tains a 25-cent-per-pack increase inthe cigarette tax, a $1.60 per pack taxon little cigars, called cigarillos, and agross receipts tax to Medicaid Man-aged Care Organizations that wouldgenerate $528.5 million. e budgetalso relies on an estimated $60 mil-lion from anticipated leasing of stateforest land for drilling MarcellusShale natural gas wells. DCNR willdetermine what lands will be availablefor leasing.

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Sandra J. Major

State Representative

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Reports to the 111

Legislative District

State Working toEducate Citizensabout Swine Flu

A new Web site, www.H1N1inPA.com, was created by the state Depart-ment of Health to answer questionsand provide the latest news on thenovel H1N1 virus, also known asSwine Flu.e Web site features an explana-tion of the virus, frequently askedquestions, symptoms of the disease,how to care for sick family members,downloadable educational ﬂyers andposters, and links to other resources.e site also outlines simple stepsthat all Pennsylvanians should taketo reduce the risk of becoming ill orspreading the virus to others:• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough orsneeze and promptly discard the tis-sue. If you don’t have a tissue, sneezeor cough into your sleeve, but neverinto your hands or onto bare skin.• Keep your hands away fromyour face and don’t touch your mouth,nose and eyes.• Wash your hands frequently with soap and water, or use an alco-hol-based hand sanitizer.• Keep frequently used surfacesclean, such as doorknobs, countertopsand desks.• Stay home from work orschool whenever you are sick, and re-main home until you are fully recov-ered. As of Oct. 30, there were 6,141conﬁrmed cases reported in Pennsyl-vania.For more information about whenvaccines will become available, visit www.H1N1inPA.com or call theDepartment of Health at 1-877-PA-HEALTH (1-877-724-3258).I am pleased that the new budget does not contain increases in the PersonalIncome Tax or sales tax. Unfortunately, funding for certain universities, muse-ums, arts associations and medical groups -- is dependent on passage of legis-lation allowing table games at the state’s 14 casinos. At present, leaders in theHouse and Senate are still negotiating the tax rate on table games proceeds. Formore information, see the article below.anks, in part, to federal stimulus funds, public schools statewide will re-ceive about $300 million more than last year. Here is a breakdown of total statefunding local school districts will be receiving as a result of the 2009-10 statebudget. (Totals include Basic Education, Special Education and federal stimulusdollars through Title I, Title IID and IDEA funding)

Budget

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School District Total Funding from State Increase

Blue Ridge $7,570,595 $681,464Elk Lake $8,093,338 $752,019Forest City Regional $4,132,507 $436,408Montrose Area $9,294,906 $951,031Mountain View $9,560,466 $647,157Susquehanna Community $7,900,609 $649,769 Wayne Highlands $10,186,833 $1,103,374Lackawanna Trail $6,813,061 $596,776Tunkhannock Area $13,404,737 $1,177,278 Wyalusing Area $8,025,513 $662,612

Rep. Major and volunteer summerintern, Heather Seamans, review lettersfrom constituents in Major’s Montrosedistrict offi ce. Heather is the daughterof President Judge Kenneth Seamansand Suzan Seamans of New Milford.Heather is a sophomore at GeorgetownUniversity in Washington, D.C., andmajors in government and economics.Tiffany Powell, Rep. Major’s sum-mer intern in the Tunkhannock offi ce,is pictured here with the representative.Tiffany is the daughter of Mary RoseCiuccio-Powell and John Powell. Sheis in the 11th grade at Tunkhannock Area High School and is planning togo into the political field after attend-ing college.

Expansion of GamblingLegislation Still Pending

Both the House and Senate have passed competing versions, which wouldexpand our casinos to allow for the operation of table games. Authorized tablegames include blackjack, poker, roulette, craps, baccarat and others.Under the House proposal, there would be a $20 million license fee and a 34percent tax rate would be charged on the gross table game revenue to generatemoney for the General Fund. e Senate proposal, however, would charge a$15 million license fee and a 12 percent tax rate on the gross table game revenuefor the General Fund, plus an additional 2 percent for local municipalities. Be-cause of these diﬀerences, negotiations continue.It is important to note that I did not support the original Act that broughtslots into Pennsylvania, and I continue to oppose the expansion of gambling.2

On Oct. 16, Rep. Major attended the full commission meeting of theNorthern Tier Regional Planning and Development Commission (NTRP-DC) at the Triton Fire Company in Tunkhannock. Seated (left to right)are: Betty Reibson, Sullivan County commissioner; state Sen. Lisa Baker(R-20) and Rep. Major. Standing (left to right) are: Tom Murphy, PennState University Cooperative Extension; Ed Zygmunt from U.S. Rep.Chris Carney’s oﬃ ce; Kevin Abrams, executive director of the NTRPDC;Larry Michael, from Penn College; and Frank ompson, deputy directorof the NTRPDC. NTRPDC is a local development district serving Brad-ford, Susquehanna, Sullivan, Tioga and Wyoming counties.

Commission StudyingWhat Went Wrongwith Luzerne CountyJuvenile Justice System

e Interbranch Commission on Juve-nile Justice began meeting in October toreview the failings in Luzerne County’s ju-venile courts and provide recommendationson how to strengthen Pennsylvania’s juvenile justice system.Specifically, the 11-member panel will ex-amine the actions by former Luzerne Coun-ty judges Mark Ciavarella Jr. and Michael T.Conahan that led to juveniles being wrongly sentenced to a private detention center.In many instances, youth were held onrelatively minor charges as first offendersagainst the recommendation of juvenileprobation offi cers. In the majority of thesecases, the youth were not afforded legalcounsel. According to statistics compiled by the Juvenile Court Judges Commission, 52percent of the youth adjudicated in LuzerneCounty were unrepresented by lawyers, 10times greater than the Pennsylvania averageof 5.6 percent who waived this right.Specifically, the panel is charged with:• Investigating and analyzing the eventsoccurring in Luzerne County involving judges, attorneys, public offi cials, publicemployees, probation and parole offi cers andthe providers of juvenile justice services.• Reviewing procedures, practices andrules relating to the appointment of counselto represent juvenile offenders.• Reviewing the exercise of authority andabuse of power with regard to the disposi-tion and placement of juveniles in LuzerneCounty.• Reviewing the procedures used in re-sponding to judicial and attorney conductand making recommendations for disciplin-ary action.• Reviewing the oversight of juvenile de-tention facilities and investigating the use of facilities in Luzerne County.e commission has subpoena powerand will submit a final report to the publicby May 31, 2010.

Sen. Lisa Baker (R-20); Paul Weilage, Wyoming County planning di-rector; and Representative Major visited the Susquehanna County/Wyo-ming County Equipment Show on July 30.

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On the web at www.RepMajor.com

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Farm Bureau members from Wayne County met with Rep. Majorin her Harrisburg oﬃ ce on March 31. Pictured (left to right) are RobertKieﬀ, Melba Williams, Major, Gilbert Loscig and Marian Schweighofer.