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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
PRSRT STDU.S. POSTAGE
PAID
HARRISBURG, PAPERMIT NO 529
Visit me on the Web at
RepRock.com
January 2010
Rock Report Going Digital
During my first three yearsin office, I have taken severalpersonal steps to savePennsylvania taxpayers inexcess of
$20,000 annually
.These include refusing to accepta
taxpayer-funded automobile
,
mileage reimbursement
to andfrom the State Capitol or the
$163 daily per diem
for
meals
and
lodging
.Throughout 2009, I donatedmy
Cost of Living Adjustment(COLA)
, totaling
$1,560
, to
localcharities
.As we begin the new year after enjoyingthe blessings of family and friends during theholiday season, I wanted to update you on anumber of key topics regarding my legislativeefforts in Harrisburg. 2009 was a year of much debate in Harrisburg over the size anddirection of state government, and that debatewill continue in 2010.As I look back over 2009, one thing standsout. The volume of citizen comments sharedwith me and all elected officials has grownby leaps and bounds. Whether through e-mails, calls, letters, or just catching up in thehardware store aisle, I regularly hear fromcitizens who are passionate about healthcare, taxes, education, rising tuition costsand a host of other causes, concerns andgovernment reform issues.Our representative form of governmentsurvives and thrives based on the activedebates that happen in our community fromneighbor to neighbor, and the communicationof those same thoughts and views with thosewho hold office.Clearly, in a House district with well over 60,000 residents, not all views will prevail.But as your representative, input from all of my constituents is appreciated and valued.It has been and continues to be my honor to listen to and exchange ideas with an ever-growing number of Franklin County residents.Once again, I thank you for the high honor of serving of you in the Pennsylvania HouseSincerely,Todd RockState Representative90th Legislative District
Representative Rock welcomes a group of Franklin County homeschoolersand their parents for a State Capitol tour.
In the interest of further reducing taxpayers costs, thiswill be my final district-wideprinted newsletter.All District 90 residentsinterested in receiving my futuree-newsletters can simply visit
RepRock.com
and click onthe
“Have Your Newsletter Delivered Online”
icon.A convenient form is there for you to complete to be added to mye-mail distribution list.For those without computer access, a limited number of printednewsletters will be available at mydistrict offices.
RepRo
After the unprecedented 101-day stalemate,on Oct. 10, I had no choice but to vote againstthe 2009-10
$27.8 billion state budget
due tomore than
$1 billion
in
new taxes
and
increasedspending
.I voted against this year’s budget because it is just plain wrong for state government to spendmoney it doesn’t have and then demand thatworking-class families and job-creating employersmake up the difference through more than
$800million
in increased taxes. Especially during aneconomic recession, state government has anobligation to live within its means.Some of my other primary reasons for rejectingthe state budget for the third consecutive year include:
◆
House Democrat majority
holding nearly
$700 million
of
higher education tuitionassistance hostage
to the
Commonwealth’sf our major state-related universities – PennState, Lincoln, Pitt and Temple –
as
negotiating leverage
to
legalize tablegames
.
Failure
to address the
hundreds
of
millions
of
dollars
in
welfare fraud
identified by Auditor General Jack Wagner.
Retroactive increase
in the
job-killing CapitalStock
and
Franchise Tax
by
$374 million
.
Millions
of
dollars
in
special interestdiscretionary funding
or
WAMs (WalkingAround Money)
.
Draining
of
critical state reserve funds
,including the
$755 million Rainy Day Fund,$708 million Heath Care Provider RetentionAccount, $400 million Tobacco EndowmentAccount
and
$100 million MCARE Fund
.
The governor and individual lawmakers needto remember that they were elected to serve thepeople who work hard and pay the taxes, rather than knowingly supporting legislation that will leadto massive revenue shortfalls and more economy-crippling tax increases in the future.Now more than ever, this Legislature should beabout taking every step possible to protect thebest interests of Pennsylvania’s most importantspecial interest group:
You the Taxpayer
.
Rock and House RepublicansHold the Line to DefeatNearly $2 Billionin Rendell Tax Increases
✔
NO! $1.5 Billion Personal Income Tax Increase.
(Estimates indicate that the governor’s
16percent PIT increase
would have costPennsylvania more than
24,000 privatesector jobs
).
✔
NO! Marcellus Shale Natural Gas DrillingSeverance Tax
(Natural gas industry experts predict this Rendelltax proposal would cost the Commonwealthapproximately
53,000 new jobs
during thenext five years.)
✔
NO!
20 percent tax increase
on
small games
of
chance benefiting local volunteer firedepartments
,
veterans groups
and other
community
and
non-profit organizations
.
✔
NO! expanded state sales tax
on
admission
to
art exhibitions, concerts
,
museums
,
theaters
,
etc
.
Rock Votes to Protect You The Taxpayer!
One week before the governor’s annual budget address,Representative Rock joined with nearly a dozen fiscally conservative House Republicans in the state Capitol Rotunda to offer several government-limiting solutionsthat are designed to put
Pennsylvania TaxpayersFirst.
During this press conference, Rock officially reintroduced the
Tax and Expenditure Limitation Act
(House Bill 1100) to constitutionally cap all stategovernment spending at the concurrent growth of inflation and population from the previous fiscal year.
k.com
Rock Working to AdvanceCastle Doctrine
As an NRA member, an avid hunter and gunowner for many years, I believe that governmentshould take no action that infringes on our self-evident right to keep and bear arms.Each year, there are thousands of cases of murder, in-home assault, kidnapping and rapeacross our nation. While our law enforcementofficials do an excellent job of protecting us,they cannot be everywhere all the time. Mostimportantly, citizens must have the legal rightto defend themselves and their families fromattack, even it means using lethal force.As a member of the House Judiciary Committee,I am working to advance
House Bill 40
to make
Pennsylvania
the
24th state
in the nation toadopt the
Castle Doctrine
.If enacted, the
Castle Doctrine
wouldestablish the presumption that an attacker or intruder intends to do great bodily harm. Inaddition, it would offer specific protection againstcivil liability for the lawful use of force in self-defense.This bill is not intended to give anyone thelegal right to misuse lethal force. However, it isimportant to assure Pennsylvania’s law-abidinggun owners that they have the explicit legal rightto protect themselves and their families if theneed should ever arise.
As a member of the House Judiciary Committee, Representative Rock is working to advance the
Castle Doctrine
(
House Bill 40
) to fully restore the legal ability of law-abiding gun owners to use lethal forceto protect their homes, businesses or automobiles against criminal intruders. Sign the
No Gun Control petition
at RepRock.com.Representative Rock receives a warm greeting in the State Capitol Rotunda from members of the
Franklin County 4-H Seeing Eye Puppy Project.
In commemoration of 2009 EMS Week , Representative Rock welcomed two very special guests to the state Capitol: Arley Scott, president of the Waynesboro Ambulance Co. (left) and BobShockey, a life member of the Waynesboro Ambulance Company (center), who drove to Harrisburg in a vintage 1954 Henney Packard ambulance to receive the EMS Star of Life award.Representative Rock and Quincy Township Sewer Authority ChairmanCarroll Wilhide break ground for a new public sewer extension along Stamey Hill Road. From left: Supervisor Chairman Robert Gunder,Rep. Rock, Supervisor Kerry Bumbaugh, road crew member Corey Kasier, Supervisor Wilbur Sanders and Wilhide.
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