State Representative

DAN MOUL

PRSRT STDU.S. POSTAGE PAIDHARRISBURG, PAPERMIT NO. 529

Serving the 91

Legislative District

FALL 2009

Date:

Thursday, December 10

Time:

11 am - 2 pmand4 pm - 7 pm

Location:

30 W. Middle StreetGettysburg

Please join me and my s

taff for our ...

HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE

Pennsylvania finally has a state budget, but it is far from perfect and leaves many issues unresolved. Thebudget took far too long to settle – going more than100 days beyond the state-mandated deadline of June30. During the impasse, day care centers, libraries andcommunity services that rely on state funding were af-fected, and some people lost their jobs.In light of the fact that our prior fiscal year endedwith a $3.2 billion budget deficit, I was determined toreduce spending. I supported sensible budget plansthat cut spending below the previous year’s level yetpreserved funding for essential government services.I also rejected attempts to impose major increases inthe Personal Income Tax (PIT) and sales tax, which Ibelieve would have had a detrimental effect given thecurrent economic climate.Just as most of you spend according to what youmake, I believe the state must do the same, and have abalanced budget in place by June 30 each year. Thereis no excuse for delays, and vital services should notbe subject to a line-item veto that serves to pressurethe Legislature to pass a budget that is not in the bestinterest of Pennsylvania citizens.I did not vote in favor of the budget because the$27.8 billion plan overspends, burdens Pennsylvanianswith $500 million in new or increased taxes, and reliestoo heavily on stimulus funding and one-time revenue.It also drains critical state reserve accounts, leavingthe state without a safety net going into the 2010-11fiscal year. One of the casualties of our tough economictimes is the annual calendar that many of you haveenjoyed receiving.Because of my mother’s passing, it was necessaryfor me to cancel my town hall meetings in October. Ihope you can all stop by and visit me at my districtoffice during my Holiday Open House. I hope to seeyou there!

Happy Holidays! Dear Neighbor,

Moul Planning Event HonoringOur Veterans

Next year I will be hosting an event in honor of our military veterans. If you served in the U.S military andyou live in the 91

Legislative District, please contactmy ofﬁce at (717) 334-3010, and tell us how we maycontact you. I am looking forward to meeting andhonoring those who served our great country.

RepMoul.com

While most Pennsylvanianswere relieved when Gov. EdRendell ended a more than 100-day-long stalemate by signing astate budget into law, I voted nodue to the tax hikes and exces-sive spending in the ﬁnal budgetagreement.

Tax Hikes

The budget includes a 25-cent-per-pack increase in thestate tax on cigarettes and cre-ates a new tax on “little cigars”at $1.60 per pack. The statespending plan also calls for a$374 million tax on Pennsylva-nia employers at a time whenthe Commonwealth’s workersand job creators are reelingfrom the international economicrecession.In addition, the budget in-cludes a tax on Medicaid Man-aged Care Organizations(MCOs).At various points during thebudget process, the governor called for both a Personal In-come Tax (PIT) increase and anexpansion of the state Sales andUse Tax (SUT). The General

BUDGET PROCESS TOO LO

Assembly was able to block bothof the governor’s broad-based taxincreases.

Draining the Reserve Accounts

Budget negotiators balancedthe state spending plan, in part,by draining several reserve ac-counts. The Commonwealth hadbuilt up a $755 million Rainy DayFund that is intended to help thestate pay for unanticipated ex-penses. That fund will be com-pletely depleted during the cur-rent budget year.The budget also calls for de-pleting the $708 million HealthCare Provider Retention Accountand taking $100 million from theMCare Fund. Both of these fundsare used to help cover the cost of medical malpractice for the healthcare industry.Furthermore, $150 millionwould be taken from the TobaccoSettlement fund, which receivesmoney from a federal lawsuit andallocates those funds for tobaccoprevention and statewide healthcare programs.By draining the state’s reserveaccounts, nothing will be avail-able next year. This could be dev-astating in the event the economydoes not turn around. Given thefact that state revenues are al-ready $160.2 million short for theyear, this is a serious concern.

Federal Bailout Dollars

The American Recovery andReinvestment Act (ARRA), which,among other things, providedfederal dollars to subsidize statebudgets.The Pennsylvania state budgetincludes more than $2.6 billion infederal bailout money. Added tothe nearly $25.2 billion in statedollars in the ﬁnal budget, thismeans the Commonwealth willspend approximately $27.8 billionin the current spending plan.Due in part to the extensiveuse of federal dollars for educa-tion, school districts in the 91stLegislative District received largeincreases in funding within thestate budget. Although I am anadvocate for education, this levelof spending cannot be maintainedonce the federal money runs outin a couple of years, which meanstaxpayers will have to make upthe difference. This, in my opin-ion, is not an ideal situation.

2010-11 Budget Process

We will be working on the2010-11 budget in less thanthree months, and we mustfollow our constitutional obli-gation to get a state budgetpassed on time.There are several legisla-tive proposals currently be-ing circulated that might helpexpedite the process and putmeasures in place to hold theGeneral Assembly more ac-countable. Those initiativesshould be coming beforethe House and Senate in thenext few months.

RepMoul.com

NG, TOO COSTLY

Table Games Threaten Equine Industry,Promise No Tax Relief

The original slots legislation passed in 2004 was sold to us onthe promise of property tax relief. After ﬁve years, we have seenlittle in the way of meaningful relief. Now the state is planning toexpand gaming to include the legalization of table games. Thisis bad policy for Adams County, the state’s equine industry andPennsylvania taxpayers.A percentage of slots revenue supports the horse racing indus-try in the Commonwealth. Adding table games to the mix will hurtthe state’s equine industry by drawing people away from slots.As slots revenue declines, so does the ﬁnancial support for theequine industry. This will also have a detrimental impact on all of the businesses that support the industry and the jobs those busi-nesses provide.I am not against table games to bring in added revenue to theCommonwealth. However, it must be done responsibly. Proposalsunder consideration now would shortchange Pennsylvania in termsof the state’s share of proceeds and licensing fees. They also ig-nore the basic premise on which legalized gambling was originallyapproved – property tax relief.

Moul expresses his support for a group protesting the state budget impasseon the Capitol steps in August.

RepMoul.com

Arts Funding Announced

Congratulations to the following Adams Countycultural organizations on receiving grants from thePennsylvania Council on the Arts:

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Adams County Arts Council

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Gettysburg Chamber Orchestra

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The Gettysburg Review

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The Majestic Theater

Welfare ReformSorely Needed

State Auditor General Jack Wag-ner recently released a report onfraud and inefficiencies within thePennsylvania Department of PublicWelfare (DPW), and PhiladelphiaDistrict Attorney Lynne Abraham hascharged DPW employees and othersin multiple cases of alleged welfarefraud.Welfare spending accounts for more than one-third of the entirestate budget. It is responsible for ad-ministering programs and funding for our state’s most vulnerable citizens,including children, the elderly and dis-abled citizens. These precious dollarsmust be guarded so that monies goto qualified recipients. Welfare frauddrains these resources.Wagner has so far uncoveredmore than $600 million in lossesto fraud, and earlier this year 12people, including nine DPW employ-ees, were arrested on charges theystole $500,000 from the Low-IncomeHome Energy Assistance Program(LIHEAP), which provides heatingassistance to low-income people.Few safeguards presently exist toprotect the state and taxpayers fromthese abuses. I believe that significantsavings may be achieved by closingloopholes to ensure the integrity of the welfare system. I support effortsto verify the identity and eligibility of those who receive public assistanceand other measures to ensure thatstate money is going to those for whom it is intended.One measure would empower county assistance offices to reportcases of suspected fraud directlyto the Office of Inspector General.This would give personnel, who arelocal and have direct contact withwelfare recipients, the opportunity toreport applicants who provide falseinformation in order to receive publicassistance benefits such as MedicalAssistance, cash assistance or foodstamps.Commonsense measures arenecessary to protect your tax dollarsand to enable us to continue to servethose who are truly in need.