tate Representative

Kate M. Harper

61st Legislative DistrictateHarper.net

RSRT STD.S. POSTAGEAIDARRISBURG, PAERMIT NO 432

July 2010

Dear Neighbors

As the summer draws to a close, the childrenhead back to school, and long-planned vacationsbecome memories, the good news is thatPennsylvania has a state budget. As requiredby our constitution, it balances revenues withexpenditures and will guide the Commonwealthin the coming year. This time last year, we didn’thave a budget, nonproﬁt agencies were bitingtheir nails waiting for reimbursements andtextbooks were late for nonpublic school childrenwhile the Governor insisted on tax increases theGeneral Assembly refused to approve. As budgets go, this was a tough one. Although the horizon looks brighter, therecession continues and that means revenuesare down – no spending at the mall means fewer sales taxes, no raises mean fewer income taxes,and business bottom lines hovering just in theblack result in fewer corporate taxes collected.In such a time, many of you have told me, thesolution is for government to do what you aredoing and

stop spending

. We are working onthat, but it isn’t easy.Good news about this year’s state budget,at $28.04 billion, is that its increase in spendingis modest, less than 1 percent over last year’sbudget, which is a much smaller rise than in thepast eight years. The bad news is that the budgetdepends on $2.75 billion in federal stimulusspending, including $850 million in federalMedicaid money that Congress has not yetapproved. If that money does not come through,the Governor will make unilateral spending cutsin other areas to pay those bills.Much of our budget cannot be cut easily. About 40 percent of the budget goes tokindergarten through grade 12 public education.Costs rise every year, largely because of salaries which, per contract, have risen everyyear. Another 40 percent of our budget goes toMedicaid, welfare and social service spending.n a state like Pennsylvania, where a largepercentage of the population is over 65, medicalcosts make up a large part of this line itemand rise faster than inflation every year. Theeconomy also means more people need help.Surprisingly, perhaps, Pennsylvania isbetter than most states in controlling the sizeof its government work force. We rank third inhe nation for the fewest public employees per 0,000 in population according to the ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index.Penn State, Pitt, Temple, Penn VeterinarySchool and Lincoln are funded in specialappropriations which I supported. CommunityColleges, busier than ever in this economy,were level-funded. For the most part, servicesfor the developmentally disabled were held tomodest reductions.he Governor held out for a $250 millionincrease in education spending, and that’sincluded, but our public schools will not seemuch of it—receiving only the minimum increasein basic education funding that is guaranteed(Colonial and Wissahickon get 2 percent; NorthPenn, 2.5 percent) based on a formula thatfavors needy school districts.he bad news about the state budget is thatgeneral library support was reduced again. TheDepartment of Environmental Protection andhe Department of Conservation and NaturalResources suffered deep cuts that will doubtlessresult in layoffs. At the same time, discretionaryspending, tucked into the Department of Community and Economic Development andnot listed by each allocation, actually rose by2 percent. That’s why I voted no.he ugly part of this state budget is what’sahead for Pennsylvania. In future years, fundingour government employee and teacher pensionswill produce spikes in taxation at the state andlocal levels as we struggle to maintain actuarialsolvency in our pension funds, which have beenhard hit by the retirements of the Baby Boomersand poor market performance in investments.he House took the first step to deal with thissituation earlier this year when we passed areform bill that would reduce benefits for newhires and smooth out the funding requirementsover time. The bill awaits Senate action. Wemust be able to make pension payments thathave been earned and are due. However,private industry long ago shifted from definedbenefit plans to other retirement programs andgovernment must follow suit or face seriouseconomic woes. I supported this, and in fact,oted no for the last pension enhancements for state employees and legislators and did not takehe benefit. I knew this day would come.If we can get our economy moving again,some of the revenue problems will correcthemselves. In the meantime, we in governmentmust do what you are doing, and watch our spending.

Enjoying a sunny North Wales Day are Mayor Doug Ross, Rep. Harper and Police Chief Barry Hackert.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: This Year’s State Budget

Be In TheKnow!

For updates on everything from localroad construction detours to key state andlocal issues, sign up at

www.KateHarper.net

.You can also ﬁnd discussion of local andlegislative news by following PA State Rep.Kate Harper on Facebook.

The Phillie Phanatic brought added “phun” to Lower Gwynedd Little League’s opening day. Play Ball!!

Consumer Protection forManufactured HousingCommunity Residents EarnsUnanimous House Support

Legislation to help protect residents of manufactured hocommunities from unreasonable and unexpected ground rent anincreases has passed the House unanimously and now awaitsin the Senate.The joint, bipartisan effort by Reps. Kate Harper and Rick Taylor about out of concern for senior citizens who reside in these commuand are living on fixed incomes. The bill requires manufactured hocommunity owners to give residents more information and moreof rent or fee increases.Specifically, House Bill 2212 requires the owners the communitprovide potential lessees with a disclosure that includes informatihow and when rent can be increased and a three-year history of therate for the tenant’s lot. The disclosure must also include informatiutility and user fees charged to residents, as well as general informabout the facilities, rules and regulations of the park.If a rental agreement is executed prior to the communityproviding the ground rent information, the tenant may choose tohe lease within five days after receipt of the document.The bill is now awaiting action in the Senate.

PA Sights to See!

Looking for a late summer or early fall getaway? Check ouhese resources for great places to visit right here in PA.

www.heritage.net – Provides a gateway of information onstate and national heritage areas in and around Pennsylvaniawww.paartisantrails.com– Offers information on uniquePennsylvania artists along the state’s highways and byways. – A comprehensive source of traveldestinations in PA for people of all ages and all interests.

Rep. Kate Harper enjoys welcoming students from area schools to the state Capitol for lessons in history and government. Among those groups visiting this year were fourth-grade classes at Mary,Mother of the Redeemer School (top two photos) and Gwyn-Nor Elementary School (bottom two photos).

House Considers SextingLegislation

With cases of “sexting” – transmitting nude or sexually expliphotos of oneself or others via cell phone – cropping up in varioareas of the state, the state House has approved legislation outlinipenalties for the offense.Currently, there is no state law that speciﬁcally addresses sextinleaving some prosecutors to ﬁle child pornography charges againoffending teens. This very serious felony offense could harm the youperson’s chances to pursue professional careers in adulthood.Recognizing that most of these cases are the result of immaturiand impulsiveness, House Bill 2189 creates a new misdemeanor the second degree for minors age 13 to 17 caught sexting. The bill alallows the minors to be charged in juvenile courts, providing a numbof options, including counseling and expungement of the prosecutifrom a minor’s permanent record.he bill is now awaiting action in the Senate.

www.Kate

Bills to Prohibit Cell Phone Use,Texting While Driving Stalled

he state House had the opportunity this summer to enact a new law prohibiting junior drivers (drivers under the age of 18) from usingcell phones while driving. Unfortunately, the majority of lawmakers rejected this legislation.House Bill 67 was ﬁrst voted on in the House last year. It imposed a number of new and enhanced restrictions on junior drivers, including thecell phone prohibition. The Senate made a number of changes to the bill and sent it back to the House in late June, where it was rejected.Many lawmakers agreed the Senate’s changes weakened the bill; however, some, including Rep. Harper, felt it was best to get a law onthe books now and then work to improve upon it. Now that the bill has been rejected, it is unlikely a law will be enacted until at least 2011.As of February of this year, six states ban handheld cell phones for all drivers, while 21 states and the District of Columbia ban them for novice drivers. Drivers in 19 states are banned from texting, while novice drivers are singled out for the offense in nine states.According to a Carnegie Mellon University study, using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37percent.

Rep. Kate Harper congratulates Nicholas V. Iaquinto for achieving the rank of Eagle Scout. His community service project involved collecting more than 300 toys and coloring books for patients at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.Nicholas is a member of Troop 152 in West Point and is the son of Janet Iaquinto.Rep. Kate Harper congratulates Bryan Andrew Bennett for achieving the rank of Eagle Scout. Bryan’s community service project was to deliver 5,000 recycling awareness informational letters to the residents of Plymouth Township. He is a member of Troop 216 and the son of Mark and Wendy Wood Bennett.

Eagle Scout Awrds

Rep. Kate Harper congratulates Gregory Cox Kozemchak for achieving the rank of Eagle Scout. His community service project included clearing a quarter-mile trail in the Penllyn Woods to connect two sections of the Wissahickon Valley Water Association’s Green Ribbon Trail, as well as leading 25 fellow scouts in building and installing eight wooden footbridges and installing sign markers along the trail. Gregory is a member of Troop 98 in Whitpain and is the son of Clifford W. and Barbara C. Kozemchak.

Public Libraries – A Wealthof Information at YourFingertips

Montgomery County Library and Information Network Consortiumwww.mclinc.orgDownloadable Audio Books – http://montcolibs.lib.overdrive.com• Bookmobile Schedule – www.mc-npl.org• Books by Mail Program for homebound residents10-278-5100 ext. 5North Wales Memorial Free Library - www.northwaleslibrary.org233 S. Swartley Street, North Wales, 215-699-5410Wissahickon Valley Public Library - www.wvpl.org• Main Library: 650 Skippack Pike, Blue Bell, 215-643-1320Montgomery County-Norristown Public Library - http://mnl.mclinc.org/1001 Powell Street, Norristown, 610-278-5100

Wissahickon Robotics Team Earns International Award

Congratulations to these ﬁne young men ontheir Eagle Scout achievements!

Harper.net

Rep. Harper welcomes members of the award-winning Wissahickon High School Robotics Team and North Montco Technical Career Center to the state Capitol.The students were honored for capturing the International Chairman’s Award at the 2010 FIRST Robotics championship. FIRST, which stands for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology,”is a program aimed at building students’ knowledge, confidence and life schools while also exposing them to opportunities in science, technology and engineering fields. The students’ prize-winning robot, Miss Daisy, traveled over bumps and through tunnels while moving soccer balls in this year’s contest. In addition to the International Chairman’s Award, Team 341 also earned a first-place win in the New York City regional competition and the Philadelphia regional competition. The team was also recognized for its website, entrepreneurship and for success as a role model team. Congratulations to the students and coach Alan Ostrow on a job well done. To learn more, visit www.team341.com.

Property Tax RebateDeadline Extended

Rep. Harper took part in Whitpain Township’s Earth Day celebration at Prophecy Park,where the Wissahickon Elementary School Ensemble provided beautiful music.