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SPRING 2010
Last year, our state budget was de-layed by more than 100 days. is was regrettable, but I held firm againstbroad-based new taxes to fund addi-ional spending that some people - in-cluding the governor - called for.Some of the revenue in questioncame from one-time transfers fromseveral state funds. e Rainy Day Fund was completely depleted. efederal government provided $2.6 bil-lion in bailout money.Because I fought for taxpayers,he spending levels in the final bud-get were greatly reduced. In the end,he adopted budget was much re-duced compared to alternate propos-als. Pennsylvania’s budget was actually less than the prior fiscal year.General Fund spending actually dropped to $25.1 billion, but the statestill spent $27.8 billion because we re-lied on $2.6 billion in American Re-covery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)funding.Federal ARRA money is runningout. e 2010-11 fiscal year budgetrelies on another $2.7 billion from thefederal government, $800 million of which has not been approved and wasrecently removed from the Senate jobsbill. We must spend less now or face theconsequences later when needed pro-grams are short of funding.In this newsletter, I will providesome details about the governor’s pro-posal, as well as information on many other legislative issues I am workingon in Harrisburg.If you would ever like to contactme with any question, please call my offi ce or e-mail me. My Web site is
MarioScavello.com
.Sincerely,
Dear Friends,
Portion of Route 611 Designated asJoshua D. Miller Memorial Highway
A new law designating a portion of Route 611 from Main Street in Tobyhanna toInterstate 380 in Coolbaugh Township, Monroe County, as the Trooper Joshua D.Miller Memorial Highway, was signed into law as Act 55 on Dec. 22, 2009.is highway naming will be a solemnreminder of Trooper Miller’s dedication andservice.e new law is similar to a bill I drafted,House Bill 185. I was pleased to support Act55, which now reminds us each day of the im-portance of law enforcement and of the sacri-fices our police offi cers make every day.I presented the Act of Valor Award to thefamily of Joshua Miller at a ceremony pre-sided over by the Tri-State Troopers FundInc., Monroe County Crime Stoppers andthe Greater Pocono Chamber of CommerceCrime Task Force to recognize the heroism of all four offi cers who responded to a domesticdispute and car chase that turned violent lastyear.Pennsylvania State Police Trooper JoshuaD. Miller suffered fatal wounds on June 7,2009, after an armed suspect fled the scene of a domestic dispute and led police on a0-mile high speed pursuit. When the suspect was finally pulled over, gunfire erupted, also seriously injuringTrooper Robert J. Lombardo. e suspect was also killed, but the suspect’s child wasrescued unharmed. We can’t undo this tragedy, but we can remember.
Sen. Raphael J. Musto (D-Luzerne), Gov. Ed Rendell and Rep. Mario M. Scavello(R-Monroe) attend a bill signing ceremony on Dec. 22 for a new law designatingRoute 611 from Main Street in Tobyhanna to Interstate 380 in Coolbaugh Township,Monroe County, as the Trooper Joshua D. Miller Memorial Highway. Family andfriends of Joshua Miller were also in attendance.
556 Main Street, Stroudsburg, PA 18360Phone: (570) 420-116831 Pocono Boulevard, Mount Pocono, PA 18344Phone: (570) 839-0313 FAX: (570) 839-3612
Rep. Scavello attended the dedi-cation ceremony for the Joshua D.Miller Memorial Highway along withfamily and friends.
DISTRICT OFFICES:
Despite Decreasing Revenue,Governor Proposes $1.29 Billion More in Spending
PENNSYLVANIA STATE BUDGET: FY 2010-11
Projected Revenue:General Fund and ARRA Funds
Corporation Taxes,$4.95 Billion, 16.3%Sales and Use Tax,$8.62 Billion, 28.5%Cigarette Tax,$1.09 Billion, 3.6%Personal Income Tax,$10.38 Billion, 34.3%Non-Tax Revenue,$961.2 Million, 3.2%All Other Tax Revenue,$1.51 Billion, 5%ARRA StimulusFunds,$2.76 Billion,9.1%
* Revenue based on Rendell Budget Proposal
$30.27 Billion
In an economic climate where revenueprojections fell $102.3 million short of es-imates in February, the governor on Feb.9 proposed spending $1.29 billion morehan last year.Once again, Gov. Ed Rendell seeksmore taxes from Pennsylvanians. In theupcoming fiscal year, if his proposed bud-get and taxes were agreed to as submitted,Pennsylvanians would be paying $87 mil-lion more in taxes.e governor proposed a $29.03 bil-lion budget for fiscal year 2010-11.is includes $26.27 billion in antici-pated General Fund revenue and $2.76billion in federal stimulus money, whichruns out after this fiscal year.e proposal assumes Congress will ap-propriate $800 million more in additionalfederal bailout money, which has not yetbeen done.His proposed spending increaseamounts to .6 percent.Unfortunately, we face several econom-ic challenges:• General Fund revenue collectionshave fallen short of projections for 22consecutive months through Febru-ary 2010.• is shortfall marks the third timethis fiscal year that monthly revenueshave fallen short by more than $100million.• February’s below-estimate collectionshave increased the state’s year-to-dateshortfall to $476.7 million.• e Pennsylvania budget gap couldexceed $525 million by June 30, theend of the current fiscal year.
Different Year,Different Proposed Taxesfrom Governor
As taxpayers might expect, Gov. EdRendell once again proposed new taxes,874 million worth in the coming fiscalyear, and $1.4 billion in the 2011-12 fis-cal year, which he wants to set aside in anew fund called the Stimulus TransitionReserve Fund.I want to assure the people I representhat I will not be supporting new taxesand will not support further unrestrainedspending.ince the past two budgets have reliedon billions in federal money to be in bal-ance, the governor is seeking to create thistimulus Transition Reserve Fund. Any new taxes approved would be placed in thisfund to fill budget gaps created when stim-ulus dollars dry up. When federal dollarsare gone, there is going to be a huge rev-enue gap, and taxpayers will be left holdingthe bag if spending is not kept in check this year and in the coming fiscal year. As with any budget, all ideas should beconsidered and debated, but the first thing we need to do is make the state’s depart-ments even more effi cient, and prioritizeour spending accordingly.Of the $874 million in new revenuerequested:• $531.5 million of this revenue wouldbe a result of lowering the state salestax, but broadening it to include cur-rently untaxed items.o e governor has proposedthat the sales tax be lowered to4 percent, but is asking that thesales tax exemptions on 7 cat-egories of items be removed.o e sales tax on some items will drop, but the annual salestax a consumer pays will likely increase.o is plan is unlike the plan ad-vanced by myself and Rep. SamRohrer (R-Berks). We haveproposed for many years thatthe sales tax be lowered andbroadened, but our proposal was revenue-neutral, with therevenue to be used for dollar-for-dollar school property taxrelief, not to pay for generalexpenses incurred by the state.• $140.2 million in taxes affectingbusinesses, including the removal of a sales tax discount incentive for busi-nesses.o Last fiscal year, the governorfought for a change in a key business tax – the CapitalStock and Franchise Tax – thatcost businesses $37 million.• $41.6 million tax on smokeless to-bacco and cigars, amounting to 30percent of the sales price.o is was proposed last yearand failed to gain any tractionamong legislators. It is aboutthe same rate that cigarettes aretaxed now.• $160.7 million in taxes on natural gasextraction.o Pennsylvania has done incred-ibly well executing an idea ad-vanced by myself and HouseRepublicans that leases Mar-cellus Shale lands. is pro-gram brought in $180 millionso far.o e governor has proposedtwo distinct new taxes on Mar-cellus Shale drilling, the firstis a 5 percent tax on the valueof natural gas at the wellhead,plus a 4.7-cent tax per 1,000cubic feet of gas extracted.
www.MarioScavello.com
Transportation Projects in the 176th District
Rep. Scavello attended the DECAinstallation ceremony at Monroe Career and Technical Institute on Dec. 18, 2009.Pictured are Marketing Program and HotelResort Tourism officers, from left: KrystleGano, Sondra North-Padron, Demer Jenkins, Keanu Wapples, Rep. Scavello,Dominique McDermott, Brandon Gargon,Angela Heffer and William Hagen. It wasthe 37th annual installation of officers atMCTI.Kathleen Kuck, CEO of Pocono Medical Center, satdown with Rep. Scavello todiscuss many of the healthcare services availablelocally.Rep. Scavello reads to students at Pocono ElementaryCenter on Monday, March 2, in celebration of Read AcrossAmerica Day, commemorating the birthday of Dr. Seuss.Rep. Scavello metwith Pocono Moun-tain Regional PoliceDepartment Chief Harry Lewis onSept. 24.In a visit to the RSVP/Area Agency on Ag-ing, Rep. Scavello met with Patty Fretz andNorma Fagan.
PennDOT Summer Construc-tion Projects in Monroe County
As we all know, our interstate highwaysand local roads in Monroe County took aremendous beating this winter. e Penn-sylvania Department of Transportation(PennDOT) and its local staff in Engineer-ing District 5-0 and Maintenance District5-4 have done a great job not only in clear-ing the snow this winter, but also in repair-ing the damage from the harsh Pennsylva-nia winter.I have provided a list of road construc-ion projects and maintenance for thesummer/fall 2010 construction season andan anticipated maintenance and resurfac-ing schedule, which is subject to change.More projects could be added. Again, I want to emphasize thatPennDOT is making every effort to main-ain and repair our roads to make themsmooth and safe, and I commend them forheir effort.
Warnertown Bridge (CoolbaughTwp)
Replacement of PA 423 bridge over Tobyhanna Creek.
Thornhurst Bridge (Coolbaugh Twp)
Replacement of the Locust Ridge RoadBridge over the Lehigh River.
PA 314 over Swiftwater Creek (Po-cono Twp)
Replacement of the PA 314bridge over Swiftwater Creek.
PA 33 Betterment Project (HamiltonTwp, Ross Twp and Stroud Twp)
Im-provements to PA 33 between PA 611 andNorthampton County line, including con-crete patching, shoulder upgrades, andresurfacing PA 33 between US 209 twomiles north of the Northampton Countyline. New median guiderail and drainageimprovements will be made along PA 33between PA 611 and the NorthamptonCounty line. Rehabilitations of PA 33bridge over Cherry Valley Road, includ-ing bridge deck repairs, approach slabreplacement, deck joint rehabilitation,and substructure repairs. Est. comple-tion: August 2010.
Milling, paving and new pavementmarkings PA 390/Peterson Road Re-surfacing (Paradise Twp)
between PA940 & PA 191.
PA 715 Resurfacing (Paradise Twpand Pocono Twp)
between PA 611 & PA191.
PA 196/Sterling Road Resurfacing(Coolbaugh Twp and Mount PoconoBorough)
between PA 611 & the WayneCounty Line.
PA 314/Manor Drive Resurfacing(Pocono Twp
)between Pocono Summit& PA 611.
Interstate 80 West Resurfacing/Im-provements (Tobyhanna Twp andTunkhannock Twp)
Project includesconcrete patching, milling, shoulder baserepair, paving, updating guide rail andother miscellaneous construction on I-80from approximately PA 115 to approxi-mately Interstate 380. Improvements areplanned at the PA 115 and I-380 inter-changes.
PennDOT Summer 2010Resurfacing Projects
PA 423 (Coolbaugh Twp)
BetweenTimber Trails & I-380.
PA 423 (Coolbaugh Twp
)Between To-byhanna Army Depot & Wayne Countyline.
Carlton Road (Paradise Twp)
Be-tween Pocono Mountain High School &Mount Airy Road.
Locust Ridge Connector Resurfac-ing (Tobyhanna Twp)
Between PA 940& Locust Ridge Road.
Lakeside Drive (Coolbaugh Twp)
Be-tween Main Street & PA 423.
Toby/Gouldsboro Road (CoolbaughTwp)
Between Main Street & WayneCounty Line.
Gallagher Road (Coolbaugh Town-ship)
Between PA 423 & PA 191.
Pocono Manor Road/Fairview Av-enue (Pocono Township and MountPocono Borough)
Between PA 314and Delaware Lackawanna Rail Roadbridge.Jasmine Nah, a studentat Marywood University inScranton shadowed Rep.Scavello, on March 10.She came to Harrisburgwith her mother Eileen inthis photo taken on theCapitol steps.
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