Scott

PETRI

178th Legislative District

State

Representative

Dear Neighbors,At long last, Pennsylvania finally has a statebudget. This budget took far too long to settle – going more than 100 days beyond the state-mandated deadline of June 30.Typically, the process of negotiating a statebudget involves research, analysis, negotiationand compromise, and can begin as soon as thegovernor gives his budget address in February.As a member of the Appropriations Committee,I can tell you how difficult this year has been. Weheld hearings in March and April regarding everydepartment. This year, the budget process couldnot begin in earnest until June because of rapidlychanging economic circumstances.In light of the fact that our prior fiscal year ended with a $3.2 billion budget deficit, I wasdetermined to rein-in spending. I supported abudget that cut spending below the previousyear’s level yet preserved funding for essentialgovernment services. I also rejected attempts toimpose major increases in the Personal IncomeTax (PIT) and sales tax, which I believe wouldhave had a detrimental effect given the currenteconomic climate. In my opinion, the budget thatwas ultimately presented for a vote spends toomuch money and allocates funds in ways I do notsupport. Therefore, I voted against it.Just as many of you spend only the moneyavailable to you and budget accordingly, I

Fall 2009

Scott A. PetriState Representative178th Legislative District

For more information visit

www.reppetri.com

today!

believe the state must do the same by makingsure that the budget is balanced and in placeby June 30 each year. There is absolutely noexcuse for delays, and vital services should notbe subject to a line-item veto in order to pressurethe Legislature to pass a budget. Many itemsthat were not in dispute, such as child care andtextbooks for non-public schools were previouslyvetoed.I did not vote for the budget because it does notappropriately account for the current economicsituation. The $27.8 billion plan overspends,drains critical state reserve accounts, burdensPennsylvanians with $500 million in new or increased taxes, and relies too heavily onstimulus funding and one-time revenue. Thefiscal year 2009-2010 budget puts both stategovernment and taxpayers in a vulnerableposition because state revenues continue tofall short.State reserve accounts that were depletedinclude the Rainy Day Fund, $755 million; theHealth Care Provider Retention Account, $808million; and the Tobacco Endowment Account,$150 million. The Rainy Day Fund was developedto help keep the Commonwealth’s General Fundbudget in balance and avoid tax increases.Draining the Rainy Day Fund leaves the statewithout a safety net going into the 2010-2011fiscal year.Additional budgetary dilemmas loom in thenear future, such as substantial increases inpension contribution rates. Also, the $2.6 billionin federal stimulus relied upon so heavily inthe current budget will not be available. Staterevenues through October were already $160.2million below projections for the year. Monitoringour state revenues and expenditures on amonthly basis will be important.I will actively support new regulations toavoid future budget impasses. I will also workto address our state’s looming fiscal obstaclesbefore they become crises. While times arechallenging, opportunities to help our neighborsand our communities are more available thanever. Our success will be measured by how we,as a community, address our local challenges.During the summer, I held six town hall meetingsto discuss the budget and our communities’priorities. I heard from many of you during thebudget process and appreciate your thoughtsand concerns. You will surely see the results of spending cuts, and there will be pain. However,I am hopeful that by being careful with your hard-earned money, we will weather the currenteconomic storm and not reach deeper into your pockets.

Welfare Reform Sorely Needed

State Auditor General Jack Wagner recentlyreleased a report on fraud and inefficiencieswithin the Pennsylvania Department of PublicWelfare (DPW), and state Attorney GeneralTom Corbett has charged DPW employees andothers in multiple cases of welfare fraud.Welfare spending accounts for more thanone-third of the entire state budget. DPWis responsible for administering programsand funding for our state’s most vulnerablecitizens, including children, the elderly anddisabled citizens. These precious dollarsmust be guarded so that monies go toqualified recipients. Welfare fraud drains theseresources.Wagner has so far uncovered more than$600 million in losses to fraud, and earlier this year, 12 people, including nine DPWemployees, were arrested on charges theystole $500,000 from the Low Income HomeEnergy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), whichprovides heating assistance to low-incomepeople. Few safeguards presently exist toprotect the state and taxpayers from theseabuses. I believe that significant savings maybe achieved by closing loopholes to ensure theintegrity of the welfare system. I support effortsto verify the identity and eligibility of those whoreceive public assistance and other measuresto ensure that state money is going to thosefor whom it is intended.One measure would empower countyassistance offices to report cases of suspectedfraud directly to the Office of Inspector General.This would give personnel, who are local andhave direct contact with welfare recipients, theopportunity to report applicants who providefalse information to receive public assistancebenefits such as Medical Assistance, cashassistance or food stamps.Commonsense measures are necessaryto protect your tax dollars and to enable usto continue to serve those who are truly inneed.

For more information visit

State Budget Took Too Long, Costs Too Much

The $27.8 billion state budget was ﬁnallyapproved and signed by the governor on Oct.9, a full 101 days beyond the state mandatedJune 30 deadline. I voted against passageof the budget as proposed because I believeit spends too much, taxes too much, andleaves Pennsylvania vulnerable next year and for the foreseeable future.The budget relies too heavily on federalstimulus funding

and other one-time revenueto pay for new or expanded programs for which there will be little or no money in futureyears. Of the $27.8 billion being spent inthis budget year, $2.6 billion will come fromfederal stimulus dollars. While we can bethankful the funding was available to provide jobs and infrastructure improvements, itshould not be used to grow government. Infact, it would seem sensible in this economicclimate that we gradually reduce the relianceon government funding.Pennsylvania revenues for the new fiscalyear are already more than $160 millionshort of projections. To make matters worse,the state budget drained critical reservefunds that will leave the state and taxpayersvulnerable going into yet another shakybudget year in 2010-11.The Rainy Day Fund was establishedas a reserve fund to help cover the cost of government in lean years. Thanks to somestrong economic times, the fund stood at$755 million, but that amount was depletedwith this year’s budget. There will be noreserves next year when revenues areprojected to be flat. Another fund that was drained in thisyear’s budget was the Health Care ProvidersRetention Account. This account wasestablished in 2003 to retain doctors inPennsylvania. By imposing a 25 cent taxper pack of cigarettes, the fund raised$708 million to defray the cost of medicalmalpractice insurance for Pennsylvaniaphysicians, particularly those in high-riskspecialties. This year’s budget eliminatesthis safety net and diverts the cigarette taxdirectly into the state’s General Fund to helpcover the cost of state government. For the first time, this budget also dips into theprincipal contained in the tobacco settlementfund, claiming $150 million this year and$250 million more next year.The Medical Care Availability of Error Fund (MCARE), which replaced the MedicalProfessional Liability Catastrophe Loss(CAT) Fund, was established in 2002to ensure reasonable compensation for people injured due to medical negligence.Pennsylvania physicians are required tocarry medical malpractice insurance. TheMCARE fund was set up to cover damageawards that exceed primary insurancelimits. This year’s budget claimed $100million from the MCARE fund. We shouldnot be taking money paid into the fund bydoctors to balance our state budget. It is myunderstanding that the state’s use of thefunds may be legally contested by doctorsand hospitals. If they are successful and wintheir suit, the state will have a large hole inits budget.

TAXES

I was successful in preventing hikes inthe Personal Income Tax, and a tax onsmall games of chance that would havehad a devastating impact on volunteer ﬁrecompanies, fraternal organizations andveterans groups. This budget contains $500million in new taxes.By delaying the phase out of the CapitalStock and Franchise tax, Pennsylvaniabusinesses that pay the tax will pay anextra $374 million this year. The budget alsoimposes an additional 25 cents per pack taxon cigarettes and a new tax of $1.60 per packon little cigars for an estimated $117 millionin new revenue.

EDUCATION

While public libraries suffered a $15 millionhit and the Educational Improvement TaxCredit (EITC) program was cut signiﬁcantlyto help balance the budget, the state’s 500school districts were some of the biggestwinners this year. The school districtswill receive an additional $300 million ineducation funding, spread across all districtsstatewide. The Philadelphia School Districtwill receive $200 million more. In the 178

Legislative District, the following increaseswill occur in 2009-10:

School District 2009-10 Increase

Centennial $1.95M 13.5%Central Bucks $3.5 M 15.6%Council Rock $2.7 M 14%Funding for special education, Pre-KCounts, Head Start and an elementaryscience program were held to last year’sstate funding levels. However, federalstimulus money, which will run out after next year, provided a much-needed boostto basic and special education in this year’sbudget.Funding for Penn State, Pitt, Temple,Lincoln and other so-called non-preferredinstitutions is being held up while discussionscontinue regarding the legalization of tablegames in Pennsylvania. Disagreementscenter on acceptable license fees and taxrates for casino operators. College fundingneeds to be resolved.Other funding cut from this year’s budgetincludes $15 million from libraries, $21million from the State System of Higher Education, $33 million from health care-related funding, $58 million in environmentalexpenditures, and the Legislature’s ownbudget was slashed by $17 million.

TrafficCongestionBeing Addressed

My ofﬁce has been working with localofﬁcials, and the Bucks County PlanningCommission to address long existingbottlenecks in Holland. We recently metwith officials in Ivyland Borough, andNorthampton and Warminster townships todiscuss concerns at Bristol and JacksonvilleRoads. No solutions come easy, butworking together we can accomplishmuch.

w.RepPetri.com

today!

I am pleased to reportthat negotiations with thePennsylvania Departmentof Transportationover safety concernsalong Maple Ave. inSouthampton Townshiphave improved driver andpedestrian safety in thearea.Maple Ave. has beenrepaved, the posted speedlimit has been loweredto 30 miles per hour, afour-way stop has beenplaced at the intersectionof Maple Ave. and HardingRoad.In addition, crosswalkshave been added atthe intersections of Maple Ave. and HardingRoad, and at Maple andHogeland Aves.

Many thanks to thetownship supervisorsand residents for makingsure these long overdueimprovements weremade by PennDOT.

Action Needed to Ensure Children Are NotHostage to Future Budget Negotiations

Department of Education refused to order books for non-public schools during budget impasse.

In September, upon learning that Pennsylvania Secretary of Education Gerald Zahorchak failed to process textbook orders for non-public school children until a state budget was passed, I joined with my Republican House and Senate colleagues in Bucks County inurging the secretary to do so. About 275,000 non-public school children across the Commonwealth did not have textbooks when the school year began and someare still waiting today.In a letter from the secretary, Zahorchak said the state budget impasseprevented him from processing the book orders. However, I believe theneeds of our children, particularly when it comes to education, cannot besacriﬁced while legislative leaders quibble over the details of a state budgetthat was months overdue.In subsequent communications, I asked the education secretary to detailwhat steps he would take to ensure that non-public school children receivetheir textbooks should the state experience another protracted budget battlein the future.Speciﬁcally, I asked,“

What steps is the Department of Education taking to remedy this problem so that teachers and students attending non-public schoolsacross Pennsylvania are not without textbooks for several months? Wewould like to hear your suggestions for new regulations or legislationto eliminate this most unfortunate circumstance.”

Legislation that would prevent another state budget impasse, like the onewe experienced this year, is being drafted. One proposal would continuethe prior year’s budget into the new fiscal year should the governor andlegislative leaders fail to agree on a new budget by June 30 -- the officialend of the fiscal year.While not a perfect solution, this would have solved the problem that kepttextbooks out of the hands of 275,000 Pennsylvania school children.

I-80TollingIssue AliveAgain

The Pennsylvania TurnpikeCommission and the PennsylvaniaDepartment of Transportation(PennDOT) have submitted anapplication to the U.S. Departmentof Transportation, seeking to convertInterstate 80 to a toll road.Federal approval is needed to tollI-80. An application ﬁled last year wasdeemed by the feds to be deﬁcient. TheRendell administration has plans touse the proceeds from tolls authorizedunder Act 44 of 2007 for highway andinfrastructure improvements.