Scott

PETRI

178th Legislative District

State

Representative

Fall 2010

Scott A. PetriState Representative178th Legislative District

For more information visit

www.RepPetri.com

today!

Dear Friends,

On June 30, the state Legislature passed abudget on time for the first time in eight years,but that is where the good news ends. Hastemakes waste!When the budget bill was announced on theHouse floor that night, I argued vehementlythat it was premature. The budget was far from complete and we all knew it. To vote ona budget in the interest of expediency wasnot the right thing to do. The Legislature’sdetermination to save face after last year’s101-day budget impasse by passing a budgetthat was incomplete and unbalanced will costus all dearly.I voted against this budget and here aresome of the reasons why: The budget relieson funding that is speculative at best and, at$28.02 billion, we are simply spending toomuch.The budget assumed $850 million in FederalMedical Assistance Percentages (FMAP)stimulus funds. Congress recently approvedonly $600 million, leaving Pennsylvania witha $250 million funding gap. It was clearlyirresponsible to count on this money when itwas known that it might not fully materialize.Now the governor will be forced to choosebetween cutting programs, eliminating jobs andraising taxes to make up the difference.There were many cuts in this year’s budget.The governor managed to increase spendingfor public basic education by $250 million.The share of Bucks County schools from thisincrease is very small. Philadelphia schoolsreceive most of the increase. This fundingcould be in peril due to the loss of FMAP funds.What’s worse is that many other line items of education were cut drastically, meaning thatmost of our schools will experience a net loss.Next year the projected loss in basic educationwithout federal stimulus money is around $600million.Incredibly, there was nothing in the budgetfor job creation or for job creators. Right now,unemployment and under employment is oneof the greatest obstacles to our economicrecovery. In fact, it is costing us dearly. Twoyears ago, if we raised the state income tax byone-tenth of 1 percent, we would have raised$500 million. Today, one-tenth of 1 percent of the state income tax is equal to $300 millionin revenue. That is a 40 percent reductionin state income tax. Is it any surprise thatPennsylvanians are suffering?Many are lauding the budget as containingno new taxes. However, it is a safe bet thatwhen anticipated revenues or federal fundingdoes not come through, there will be calls for new and increased taxes.While I must commend our work on the Appropriations Committee, of which I ama member, about $1 billion was cut fromGovernor Ed Rendell’s original budget wishlist and the overall spending plan is still atleast a half billion dollars too high. Perhapsmost disappointing is that there is nothing inthis budget to prepare for the fiscal challengesahead.The Commonwealth is facing a projected$3 billion to $5 billion shortfall next year whenfederal stimulus money dries up. The stateis defending a lawsuit stemming from lastyear’s raiding of the MCare Fund, and pensionobligations are looming. Prudent planningshould have included further cuts in spendinglast year, this year, and next year.We need to look for ways to stimulate our economy and get people back to work, andwe need to closely examine how we spendthe taxpayers’ money and spend it like it wasour own. That is why I have proposed RebuildPA and Energy Independence Bonds—privatebond programs whereby there is no governmentinducement except to ensure that the bondrecipient keeps its promise to investors not tooutsource jobs for the projects.Because I believe it is important andappropriate for you to know how your taxdollars are spent, over the past two years Ihave held a series of public hearings in mydistrict to both provide information and toaddress your questions regarding the statebudget. I will continue to provide informationto you. As always, your input is appreciatedand welcome.

Small BusinessSeminar to PromoteJob Creation

In June, I hosted a small business seminar atBucks County Community College to provide a one-stop shop for those interested in starting or growinga small business in Pennsylvania.I believe that small businesses and businessdevelopment generally are key to job creation andgetting our state’s economy back on track, but oftenthose who are interested in starting a businessdon’t know where to start. They need answers andthey don’t know where to turn to get the adviceand assistance they need. My goal was to makeit easy.Experts and resources were brought together under one roof where would-be entrepreneurscould attend presentations, ask questions and pickup valuable forms and materials. Representativesof the Bucks County Workforce Investment Board,CareerLink, accounting and insurance firms, anattorney, the Small Business Development Center,the National Federation of Independent Business,the Department of Labor and Industry, and localzoning and land use boards were available to sharetheir knowledge.The seminar was so well received that I plan tohold another on

Thursday, Oct. 7, from 6 p.m. to 9p.m.

at Bucks County Community College. Admissionis free and all are welcome. I encourage anybodywho is interested in starting their own business totake advantage of this worthwhile event.

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Pension Reforms Fall Short

The House-approved plan to reform thestate’s ailing pension systems is a good start.I support several amendments which wouldprovide for real reform. The plan returns thepension plan to the law as it existed in 2000including increased vesting periods, increasedretirement ages, and caps on increases to savetaxpayers money.I joined nine of my House colleagues inintroducing amendments to House Bill 2497that would have further softened the financialblow that is coming in 2012 when the state’scontribution to the plans is scheduled to risesharply. My amendment and those of severalother House members were not permitted tobe considered for a vote, despite having beenfiled in a timely manner. The House should notfear an open debate on further pension reformmeasures. There is no silver bullet to resolvingthis crisis. All solutions should be debated.We approved major reforms to the statepension systems, but I wanted those reformsto go much further. From my first days asa legislator, I have been pushing for a taxdeferred retirement plan to save schooldistricts and the state money and to makecontributions more predictable. My amendmentwould have established an optional definedbenefit retirement plan for individuals under theState Employees’ Retirement System (SERS)and Public School Employees’ RetirementSystem (PSERS), giving employers another choice.Other cost-saving amendments that werenot considered would:

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Establish a statewide deﬁned contributionplan for future state and local public employees,including public school teachers;

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Convert PSERS to a defined contribution/defined benefit plan for future employees;

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Allow federal stimulus money not targetedto a specific program to cover PSERS’unfunded liability;

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Minimum contribution rates to eliminatefuture spikes in contribution rates;

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Increase PSERS employer contributionrate to allow school districts to pay off shortfallsbefore the projected rate spike, and

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Removal of the cap on school districtreserve balances for future pensioncontributions, permitting school districts tocontribute more and taxpayers to save in thefuture.Pennsylvania is currently facing a multi-billion dollar unfunded liability in its pensionsystems. The changes contained in HB 2497will not affect retirement beneﬁts for existingSERS or PSERS members. Instead, they willapply to new hires. The plan will help addressfuture expenses and will enable the state andschool districts to better manage their annualpension obligations. The bill is now in theSenate which may add additional reforms.Both retirement systems are funded byemployee and employer contributions andinvestment earnings. Lagging employer contributions and a down economy arelargely responsible for the pension crisis thatwill require an estimated 30 percent increasein employer contributions in 2012, if notaddressed by legislative action.To help avert a crisis, it was necessary torestructure the plan for future employees bychanging contribution rates, extending the timeit takes for a new employee to become vested,increasing the retirement age and eliminatingthe lump sum payout option.The pension system will look different for future employees. Changes were necessaryto smooth out what would have been a certainﬁscal disaster. It’s just unfortunate we have notyet had the opportunity to do more. Hopefully,the Senate will amend the bill to provideadditional measures.HB 2497 passed by a vote of 192-6 in theHouse and is now under consideration in theSenate Finance committee.

HB 2249 –

Proposes a change in thePennsylvania Liquor Code to allow a volunteer ﬁre company to obtain a club liquor licenseregardless of whether the licensing quota in thehost county has been met. Current law will notpermit the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Boardto issue a license to a club once the county’slicensing quota is ﬁlled.

HB 2248 –

This legislation would

force thosewho commit hoaxes to pay full restitution for the cost of investigating their crime.

HB 1383 –

Requires a cost beneﬁt analysison state contracts that exceed $50,000 unlesssuch would adversely affect public health,safety and welfare, or the urgency will notpermit a delay. Contracts would also be postedon the state Treasury Department website.

HB 2194

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This legislation would expandthe authority of the Pennsylvania Departmentof Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) toarrange for formal military burials of deceasedU.S. veterans at Washington Crossing National

Highlights of Pending Legislation

The following is a brief description and statusof some of the House Bills I am sponsoring:

Cemetery. State law presently permits suchburials only at Indiantown Gap NationalCemetery in Lebanon County and NationalCemetery of the Alleghenies in WashingtonCounty.

HB 788

– This bill would establish an

Ofﬁceof Children’s Ombudsman

investigatecomplaints of suspected child abuse and followup to help prevent tragic circumstances.

HR 117

– This joint resolution calls for astudy to determine the feasibility of creating aregional public transportation system to servethe southeast region of the state. The studywould look at savings that can be achievedby consolidating SEPTA, the PhiladelphiaParking Authority, Delaware River Port Authority, Delaware River Joint Toll BridgeCommission and the Philadelphia Airport under one transportation umbrella. The new regionalauthority would include Berks, Bucks, Chester,Delaware, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northamptonand Philadelphia counties.

MCare Decision Appealed

The Rendell administration has filed anappeal of a court decision ordering theadministration to return $850 million that itraided from the

MCare Fund

. It was wrong touse this money to ﬁll holes in the budget and Isupport the court’s decision to give the moneyback.

MCare

is a fund paid into by doctors andhospitals to help defray the cost of exorbitantmedical malpractice claims.

Gas Tax Expected to beon Agenda in Fall

The issue of taxing natural gas extractionin the

Marcellus Shale

region is expected tocome up this fall. The Legislature will debatesuch issues as the rate of taxation, when toapply the tax and what environmental rulesand regulations will be necessary. While Ibelieve drilling in

Marcellus Shale

will create jobs and be a source of additional revenuefor the Commonwealth, we must proceedcautiously. Any taxes on extraction shouldbe used for environmental monitoring, cleanup and infrastructure improvements aroundthe sites. Some of the revenue is necessaryfor administrative oversight and enforcementof environmental regulations, but this moneyshould not be absorbed into the GeneralFund.

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Community Support Making a Difference atWashington Crossing Historic Park

The Friends of Washington Crossing HistoricPark has entered into a one-year agreementto provide park volunteers to help with visitor services such as tours and educational programs.It is important that this park remain open for allresidents of Pennsylvania, and my goal is toensure that everyone receives the best possiblevisitor experience.We will break ground for the WashingtonCrossing Park Visitor Center any day now. Thelong overdue restoration of the visitor center will return Washington Crossing to the historicallandmark that it once was.My thanks to the many volunteers whodonated their time to improve the condition of thepark, which has been underfunded and fell intodisrepair. By working together as a community,we can ensure that the park receives appropriatecare.Due to legitimate concerns over deeding aportion of the park to an outside entity, Sen.Chuck McIlhinney plans to hold a public hearingof the Senate State Government committee in Bucks County. While there was a hearing several years ago, it is important to revisit this issueto ensure that the community is aware and comfortable with any changes in the management of the park.

Field of Dreams BecomingReality in Northampton

I have long supported the efforts of local residents to create the Northampton Miracle League,a field dedicated to sporting activities for special needs children. The task at first seemedinsurmountable. However, the Northampton Township supervisors and a determined communityare raising the funds that will make this dream a reality. We will soon break ground for thefield in the park on Hatboro Road. There are about 100 Miracle League fields throughout thecountry and 100 more, including Northampton’s is on the way!

Rep. Petri joined officials of TruMark Financial Credit Union in cutting the ribbon at its newest branch at 984 Second Street Pike in Richboro. The building is an example of local revitalization.

Credit Union Celebrates Expansion in Bucks County

Food PantriesServing You

With many Pennsylvanians out of work,our ofﬁce is handling more calls concerningthe whereabouts of area food pantries.Therefore, I am listing the locations and hoursof the food pantries in our area.

Bucks County Housing Group

Doylestown Food Pantry

470 Old Dublin PikeDoylestown(215) 345-1492