The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Just a few things that have crossed my screen or my memory this week regarding the Pennsylvania State House.

The Good

In the previous post on the May 07 House Journals I noted two things that are rather extraordinary. It was noteworthy discussion. On May 21 a number of elected officials had a substantive meaty discussion on the issue of mandatory overtime for nurses. You seldom see that in the Pennsylvania House. I don’t know why.

On May 23 State Rep. Josh Shapiro took questions on legislation he sponsored proposing loan forgiveness for physicians who stay in the state for a certain length of time. The questions were on specific aspects of the bill (are osteopaths included? If doctors leave before the time period listed do they have to repay the cost of the forgiven loans?). Shapiro was prepared with answers for all of the questions.

It was very heartening to read that every now and then the legislature operates as one hopes it would.

The Bad

Rep. Darryl Metcalfe made the news this week and not in a positive way. As reported in the June 20 Inquirer, (“Metcalfe’s remarks draw more fire“ by Mario Cattabiani):

At issue are remarks Metcalfe made in opposing a resolution recognizing the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community U.S.A., a religious organization founded in 1889 that is holding its 60th annual national convention in Harrisburg this weekend.
"The Muslims do not recognize Jesus Christ as God and I will be voting negative," said Metcalfe (R., Butler), one of the legislature's leading conservative voice.”

Rep. Metcalfe is correct in his interpretation of Muslim beliefs. His negative vote in this case makes one wonder if he will be voting against resolutions honoring conventions held by Holocaust survivors, who also may not recognize Jesus Christ as God.

Metcalfe says his remarks were taken out of context but, since the House Journals are usually released after a 6 month lag time we won’t know for sure until next December.

The Ugly

Last July 9th I was home sick and turned on PCN to watch the budget proceedings. State workers had been furloughed and little progress was being made. The House Republicans staged a publicity stunt by going to the House floor when the Democrats were not there. When a reporter asked House Minority Leader Rep. Sam Smith how long they would be there he said “until you turn the cameras off.” Another of Smith’s comments was not included in the blog post but stayed with me. He told a reporter that this was a great day for the press. State workers furloughed and he’s saying it’s a great day.

Since the House wasn’t formally in session there is no House Journal for that day but if PCN makes a tape available for July 9th you can get it and watch for yourself.

It was one of the ugliest things I have seen since writing about the state legislature.

Let’s hope things go better this year.