Steil and Shapiro on PCN

On Monday, June 11th State Rep. Josh Shapiro (D-153) and State Rep. Dave Steil (R-31) appeared on PCN’s Call-In Show to talk about the Speaker’s Commission on Reform, which they chair.

Larry Kaspar (LK) interviewed Shapiro (JS) and Steil (DS). Callers also asked questions.

These are rough notes from the online copy of that program. My apologies for any errors or misinterpretations.

Introductions.

JS: Proud to serve on commission. Dennis O’Brien tapped 12 Democrats and 12 Republicans, got to work right away on reforming rules, now working on statutory rules. Members check partisan affiliations at the door. Got a ways to go but accomplished a lit.

DS: extension of work begun 2 years ago, speaker picked up on that, appointed JS and himself.

LK: positives and negatives

JS: Always hard to make recommendations to change yourself. Pennsylvania govt needs to reform itself. Not too many Pennsylvanians sit home at night worrying about rules in legislature but if we don’t reform ourselves and change culture in Harrisburg we’ll never pass important legislation, bread and butter issues.

LK: ill-fated pay raise had something to do with atmosphere?

DS: no question, raised level of public scrutiny. many people wondered if their reps had a fair opportunity to represent their interests,

LK: What was accomplished in today’s meeting?

JS: discussed cutting cost of legislature, cut $31M out of legislative line item

LK: where coming from

JS: in budget line item for legislature, 12 recommendations for additional cuts

DS: many deal with staffing, staffs now partisan, could combine into bipartisan staffs, reducing number of people to do job

JS: also today took a start with campaign finance reform, caps on contribution. Commission voted to put limits on contributions, 527…

LK: why called 527s?

DS: an organization formed under McCain Feingold, section 527 of IRS Code

JS: we wanted to make sure anyone who contributed to one of those should be disclosed, hope to come up with number for cap, but members of both parties said there should be contributions limits

LK: more audits?

DS: one of the things we looked at was opening up audits at end of each 2 year session. Current routine done by house audit committee, simple audit of expenditures, if they are proper, never tied to invoices, when processed, if properly approved

LK: just making recommendations?

JS: are making recommendations, require supermajority of each part to pass recommendations. In phase one we adopted more than 30 changes in house rules, adopted by house. Now meeting to discuss statutory and constitutional issues, open records, campaign finance, etc.

Caller: getting a masters degree in international relations, does reform take globalization issues into account?

JS: a form of reform, but task force concerned with institutional issues not policy. Has been reading about globalization

DS: We want to make sure every member has the opportunity to present issues before the house

LK: 527s, how much of an impact?

JS: ask John Kerry about Swiftboat, ask Tom Knox about 527 formed at end of camping (he probably would have lost anyway). If you make a contribution we need to know who you are and how much you gave

Caller: game commission, penndot, too many employees

DS: looking at legislature, did vote on size of legislature, compared to cost of other states, it is high, purpose is to look at ourselves first

LK: proposed numbers on reducing size of legislature

JS: conducted thorough investigations, pa house districts are 14th largest in nation, a lot of pushback from legislators, like connection to constituents, issue was cost not number of legislators, looked inside, cut $31M and look in future at further cuts

LK: term limits, voters 75% support term limits

DS: constituents are from other districts. Voters believe that their rep is acceptable but want to get rid of others that don’t think like they do, if people had problems with me they wouldn’t re-elect me

JS: won election by 76% of vote, honored to have support of R & D, but level of support for legislature generally was around 30%. Want to get rid of somebody else’s legislator. Voters feel connection to their own legislator

LK: what are term limits, 8 years?

DS: 19 states have term limits, range from 6 years to 12 years, usually tie house and senate to same number

LK: clip of State Rep. Sean Ramaley (D-16) on term limits (detrimental to process, take away right of people to serve, every 2 years we have to apply for our jobs, they have decision making authority, term limits take that choice away from voters)

DS: believe term limits already in place, 2 years, out of a job unless voters reelect us

Caller: we need term limits, have to stop career politicians, not listening to the voice of the people, most important reason for term limits,

JS: we legislators need to do a better job of listening to people, not sure term limits are the best way, contribution caps would limit special interest, don’t let one or two legislators make decisions but let whole body be involved

DS: people see high return of incumbents but turnover in legislature higher than people realize, this past election 25%, in my first 12 years 50% turnover, natural attrition as members move on to other phases of their life, more uncommon for people to serve more than 20 years,

LK: 50 new faces in legis

JS: brought a new spirit, new expertise to the house, forced the dialogue to change, can’t point to a particular bill but manner in which debate occurs indicates change, only in 2nd term but thinks there is an impact

LK: Do the newcomers stick together?

DS: they do stick together, reform efforts would not have happened without group effort by new people

Caller: term limits not necessary, can vote out, question about pensions, if term limits of 8 years would those term limited have pensions, why can’t people vote on benefits on legislature

DS: constitution guides how legislators are paid

JS: much more comfortable with a commission established to determine pay and benefits than with legislators voting on their own

Caller: 5 years ago school employees received a cost of living adjustment, have a number of retirees receiving less than $1K a month and have to pay health insurance

DS: support cost of living adjustment if paid for out of teacher retirement fund, because of investment issues, not currently fully funded, in private sector no cost of living adjustments

JS: also support a cost of living adjustment

LK: reform, open records, what is current law?

JS: if citizen of PA wants access to govt document has to prove why they should get it, want to reverse that presumption, burden is on govt agency why it shouldn’t be public, wants to restore integrity of process

LK: How does PA rank?

DS: probably right about the middle, looking at debate and record, many states have declared their records open records, produced with tax dollars, people have right to see them, some reasons to keep records closed, contains personal info, etc., reversal of presumption a good thing

LK: records of state universities included? [bloggers note: one sticking point in open records is that it might make Penn State football coach Joe Paterno’s salary public – it is currently a closely kept secret]

JS: important issues with keeping some personal information private, salaries, depend on how funded, public tax money or private donations

DS: in terms of all employees’ salaries, there are some personnel issues, people can compare salaries, with merit aspect of salaries, creates hr problems

Caller: make it easier for people to become involved in the electoral process, easier to get on ballot

DS: several pieces of legislation that would lower number of signatures an independent would need, supports this. Reps have to run every 2 years, sometimes in primaries, independent doesn’t have to do that

JS: reform checklist determined by speaker, not on the list now, state govt committee addressing that issue

Caller: term limits, with tenure comes power and corruption, after hours pay raises, professional politicians rather than public servants

JS: reason pay raise came out after midnight, several reasons, now can’t vote after 11 p.m., in states with term limits one complaint, some have reversed, term limits created career politicians. We may have career representatives, but career politicians look for next office to run for, jump from one office to another, good elected official should be kept, others vote out

Caller: former legislator, first elected in ’64 in for 28 years, loved the house, first salary $6K a year, phone in home, wife took phone messages, he called them all back.

DS: number and complexity of issues has increased, experienced legislators can be important, do people want legislators making decisions or staff and lobbyists making decisions?

JS: we are more to our constituents today than in prior years. Are we spending too much? Yes, which is why commission adopted $31M in cuts. We are too expensive and too bloated.

Caller: casinos and revenue, how much longer do we have to wait for real estate tax relief?

DS: good question, good news in that regard, took awhile for casinos to be up and running, revenue greater than expected, he thought it would be 2009 before relief, but now may be 2008.

LK: didn’t a casino open today?

DS: yes, 5th opened today

JS: Act 1 did have something good for seniors, now 52% of his seniors qualify for tax rebate, will help more as more gaming venues open

Caller: in California costs $10 per person per year to pay for legislature, in PA $23. term limits are a good idea, serve 2 terms and leave, no pensions

JS: issue of cost, again we tried to address that today with $31M and recommendations for more, term limits would increase costs because need more staff and time to learn, knee jerk reactions to problems instead of thoughtful response

DS: those states that have reversed term limits because they are losing experience, could not get budgets and other bills passed because no experienced legislators

Caller: term limits a catch 22 situation. Better off to keep good legislators

DS: experience is the key, my first few terms, first term didn’t accomplish anything because didn’t know how, took into 3rd term to learn how to get things done, if no experience legislators look elsewhere, staff and lobbyists

LK: legislative leave [bloggers note – sometimes also called “ghost voting”]

JS: in most recently passed session, allowed to vote by proxy, did away with that practice in reform. Must be present to vote. Members have a responsibility to listen to debate.

DS: usually we review bills and amendments in advance, but vote can change as a result of listening to the debate.

LK: info on bills posted online

JS: proud of that and commission proud of that, every bill and vote either on the floor or in committee, spending, all now available electronically. Created more transparency and open govt

DS: eliminated private car leases, must be through state general services dept, saves state money, can utilize fleet rates

Caller: fund for motor vehicles protected, but Rendell moving funds? [bloggers note: I did not quite understand this question but it dealt with moving monies from one budget line to another]

DS: compare last years budget to this years, same line items, some things moved from one line to another, [missed some of this]

JS: spending somewhere around 3 or 4%, not a partisan issue, problem is irresponsible spending in DC, must have fiscally responsible budget

Caller: disagree with Steil on experience, have to have fresh blood to get new ideas

DS: institutional knowledge not gained in one or two terms, takes time to learn about issues. Reason I can get bills passed is people who may not know issue know me and know I can be trusted.

JS: working on bill of rights for foster children, most representatives don’t deal with this issue, Rep. Phyllis Mundy put it forth, took a lot of time and knowledge that she has developed over the years. Without someone like that it would have been written by special interests

Caller: propaganda to say term limits already in place, elections are a popularity contest, who you know

DS: votes who ultimately vote for us. I only have to satisfy people in 31st district, even if others in the state disagree.

JS: I am a test case that is it not a popularity contest, when I ran 3 years ago more Republicans than Democrats in my district, first poll showed me down 51 points to former congressmen whose approval rating was in the 90s. but I went out knocked on doors, eventually won. Voters able to make a conscious choice

LK: session hours, late night pay raise, can vote to change hours (11p.m.)

JS: house rules can be suspended with 2/3 vote. Important to end at 11p.m. but must have ¾ vote to stay late and vote after 11. It has worked.

DS: changes to rules committee itself. Ensured that the rules committee that was no longer repository of bills that were changed without vote on amendments

Caller: remember education sales tax, how much goes to education, govt structure in PA out of control, every year we don’t pass a budget on time, governor comes up with wild eyed spending

JS: confident we will get a budget on time, members sobering to fact that tough choices to be made. It is a negotiation, it is a bargain. Each of Rendell’s budgets passed with Republican and Democratic support. First time he has a house with Democratic control. Important issues to deal with outside budget, mass transit, governor’s energy proposal, health care proposal. Confident if not June 30 then shortly after. Now have 24 hour waiting period before voting on a bill, more legislators involved in budget process, more people involved.

DS: now that bills posted, look at votes most bills have bipartisan support

Caller: in favor of term limits, tax relief is really tax shifting, most PA voters do not look at issues and how state representative votes. Unless media brings to attention the mistake a rep makes voters don’t notice

DS: agree that voters need to be more involved in the process. When legislators have town meetings or breakfasts and only 8 people show up this is bad

LK: preview of next big issue:

JS: term limits for members and committee chairs and open records

DS: term limits issue is a rules issue. That recommendation can go directly to house rules. Open records – who will be included and who won’t

LK: thank you to guests and callers

PA in the WSJ

Things picked up this week.

PA Politicians

Our officials remain very quiet.

PA Businesses

Campus Apartments, Inc. of Philadelphia is buying more properties, per “Dorm Mates,” by Jonathan Karp, Alex Frangos, Ryan Chittum and Kemba J. Dunham (6/13)

Brief mentions: Journal Register of Yardley (6/12), Safeguard Scientifics of Wayne (6/13)

Other PA

Dr. Paul Offitt of Philadelphia Children’s Hospital is quoted in “Debate over vaccines’ role in autism heads to a court,” (6/11).

Pennsylvania’s loss of college graduates is discussed in depth in “Stopping the brain drain,” by Lauren Tara LaCapra (6/11). An encouraging note near the end of the article: “But there are signs that Pennsylvania’s effort it working on some.”

“Vital Signs” on 6/11 has a number of charts and graphs. Pennsylvania ranks #21 in the country for the total local, state and federal tax burdens as a percentage of each state’s income. Our state’s percentage is 31.9%, less than the national average of 32.7. We rank 6th in investments in venture-backed companies, 2006, with 102 deals, or $777,783,000. We ranks 16 in the number of feature films produced or partially produced, 2005, with 15. We are #12 in patents issued with 2,992. We rank #30 in percentage of people living below the poverty level, 2005, with 11.9%, below the national average of 13.3%.

“Investing in the fast lane,” by Joanna Slater (6/13) mentions the PA Turnpike in passing.

This past October’s court case between Wal-Mart and employees not paid for off-the-clock work, from “Missouri, New York courts split on Wal-Mart pay,” by Gary McWilliams (6/13)

While the 10 other regional banks report an upbeat outlook, Philadelphia and Richmond report acceleration in growth, from “Consumer-spending uptick eases drop-off fears,” by Mark Whitehouse (6/14)

The new tv series “Heartland” takes place in Pittsburgh, “Doctor’s dilemma,” by Dorothy Rabinowitz (6/15)

The contrast between children’s books available in stores and libraries in Chestnut Hill and Kingsessing is mentioned in “It seems to exist, but how to measure class gap in reading,” by Carl Bialik (6/15)

An entire article on the bread-eating carp of Linesville, “Loaves and fish: piscine gluttony in Pennsylvania,” by James R. Hagerty 6/16, provides a lot of fascinating information about one of the state’s more unusual tourist attractions.

An obit for Peter Wright who founded Keystone Helicopter Corp, appears on 6/16.

A staged explosion in Wilkes-Barre at a WWF event in Wachovia Arena led to rumors of the death of WWF chairman Vince McMahon, “News flash: pro wrestling is fake,” by Tim Hanrahan (6/16)

Other Interesting Tidbits

If you’ve said something foolish or someone smears you online you may need the services of the companies outlined in “Firms tidy up clients’ bad online reputations,” by Andrew LaVallee (6/13)

weekly legislative update

This is a list of bills that passed the Pennsylvania State House or Senate this week, as well as links to other weekly updates. Standard caveats -- sponsors omitted if the list is longer than 3 lines in the original format.

Other updates:

our accountant friends at PICPA

Senate GOP

Senate Democrats

House GOP (daily session)



House

HB 635 An Act amending the ct of August 9, 1955 (P.L.323, No.130), known as The County Code, further providing for meetings of auditors and for audit of accounts by auditors and financial report to Department of Community and Economic Development.

HB 872 Printer's No. 1027. An Act designating the bridge carrying State Route 15, known as Lycoming Creek Road, over Bottle Run, Old Lycoming Township, Lycoming County, as the John Gross Memorial Bridge.

HB 1367 Printer's No. 1632. An Act amending the act of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31, No.21), known as the Public Welfare Code, further providing for medical assistance payments for institutional care, for definitions, for authorization, for amount, for repayment, for regulations and for time periods; and providing for the Senior Care and Services Study Commission.

HB 179 Prior Printer's No. 205.Printer's No. 1525. An Act amending the act of June 13, 1907 (P.L.560, No.373), entitled "An act designating the official flag of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and describing the same; providing for the carrying of such flag by the regiments of the National Guard of Pennsylvania; authorizing the Secretary of the Commonwealth to provide, and have deposited in the office of Secretary of the Commonwealth, a model of said flag, and making an appropriation therefor," further providing for specifications for the official flag of the Commonwealth.

HB 284 Prior Printer's Nos. 316, 1630.Printer's No. 1754. An Act amending the act of November 24, 1992 (P.L.732, No.111), known as the Pennsylvania Quality Improvement Act, further providing for legislative findings and intent, for establishment of the Keystone Alliance for Performance Excellence Awards, for the Keystone Alliance for Performance Excellence Advisory Council; repealing provisions relating to board of examiners and panel of judges; further providing for establishment of the foundation, for awards and for restriction on funds from Commonwealth.

HB 420 Printer's No. 484. An Act amending the act of April 23, 2002 (P.L.298, No.39), known as the Main Street Act, further providing for the Main Street Program.

HB 972 Printer's No. 1136. An Act mandating health insurance coverage for cancer prevention and early detection programs; and providing for powers and duties of the Department of Health.

HB 999 Prior Printer's Nos. 1165, 1534.Printer's No. 1658. An Act amending Title 75 (Vehicles) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, further providing for restoration of operating privilege.

HB 1280 Printer's No. 1541. An Act amending the act of July 31, 1968 (P.L.805, No.247), known as the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, further defining "traditional neighborhood development"; further providing for grants of power to municipalities, for standards and conditions for traditional neighborhood development designations and for manuals of written and graphic design guidelines; and providing for subdivision and land development ordinance provisions applicable to traditional neighborhood development.

SENATE

HB 906 Prior Printer's Nos. 1058, 1264, 1417, 1526.Printer's No. 1887. An Act amending the act of July 31, 2003 (P.L.73, No.17), known as the Volunteer Fire Company and Volunteer Ambulance Service Grant Act, further defining "volunteer ambulance service"; further providing for guidelines and procedures, for award of grants and for expiration of authority; providing for publication and notice, for special provisions; and repealing an obsolete act.

SB 799 By Senators M. WHITE, GORDNER, FERLO, COSTA, SCARNATI, ROBBINS, ORIE, STOUT, RAFFERTY, WASHINGTON, KASUNIC and REGOLA. Prior Printer's No. 891.Printer's No. 1165. An Act amending the act of June 30, 1987 (P.L.163, No.16), known as the Rural Pennsylvania Revitalization Act, further providing for board of directors and for grants.

SB 844 Prior Printer's No. 978.Printer's No. 1142. An Act amending the act of February 19, 1980 (P.L.15, No.9), known as the Real Estate Licensing and Registration Act, defining "qualified association"; further providing for prohibited acts and for duties of licensee generally; and providing for handling of deposits and other escrows.

SB 877 Printer's No. 1039. An Act amending the act of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31, No.21), known as the Public Welfare Code, in public assistance, adding definitions; and further providing for prepayment for contracted medical services and for established drug regimens.

HB 876 Prior Printer's No. 1031.Printer's No. 1446. An Act amending Title 71 (State Government) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, further providing for the employer contribution rate.

SB 385 By Senators CORMAN, WONDERLING, COSTA, C. WILLIAMS, TOMLINSON, KITCHEN, PUNT, TARTAGLIONE, M. WHITE, WOZNIAK, WASHINGTON, FERLO and FONTANA. Prior Printer's Nos. 433, 1087.Printer's No. 1152. An Act amending the act of July 9, 1990 (P.L.340, No.78), known as the Public Safety Emergency Telephone Act, providing for interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol service; and establishing the VoIP 911 Emergency Services Fund.

SB 834 By Senators RHOADES, MUSTO, FONTANA, RAFFERTY, ERICKSON, LAVALLE, COSTA, FERLO, LOGAN, EARLL, TOMLINSON, PILEGGI and BROWNE. Printer's No. 970. An Act amending the act of June 14, 1961 (P.L.324, No.188), known as The Library Code, further providing for appointment, qualification and tenure of members of the Advisory Council on Library Development.

SB 413 By Senators BROWNE, WONDERLING, WASHINGTON and BOSCOLA. Printer's No. 460. An Act amending the act of July 28, 1953 (P.L.723, No.230), known as the Second Class County Code, further providing for assessment of signs and sign structures; and making related repeals.

In the News: Maybe Not So Good Things

Two examples of what not to do in the news lately.

1) Do not invite 14 year old girls to a party and suggest they wear bikini tops. ("Bikini parties draw ire," by Melissa Busch, PhillyBurbs, 6/14). Even if your stated rationale is to charge people a $10 entrance fee, remember that parents tend to frown on such things.

2) Things posted on the Internet can be read by anyone with access to a computer. And they never ever really go away. And, yes, it can affect your job. No matter how many times the media and blogs report on people who are fired for what they post online someone new comes along who is shocked to find this out. The latest "learn the hard way" case is an employee of a state senator who wrote some hard core comments on a Lehigh Valley blog. ("Lawmaker's aide quits over blog," Inquirer 6/14)

In the News: Good Things

A few items from the papers lately:

Philadelphia is taking the initial steps to make the city's Inspector General an independent office. As reported in the 6/13 Daily News ("Panel OKs independent insp. general," by Mark McDonald):

And as the current inspector general, R. Seth Williams, testified yesterday in City Council, "Anytime in the future a mayor theoretically could be upset about our investigations or maybe it hits too close to home and by a mark of the pen, 'poof!' you eliminate the office of IG. I think we don't want that to happen."

later

Joyce Wilkerson, Mayor Street's chief of staff, noted that the IG at present can't investigate allegations involving Council and the offices of other elected local officials. The new bill would give the IG that authority.

The Inky's piece on the same subject ("City Council moves to give wider power to Inspector General," by Patrick Kerkstra) has some additional information:

In a letter to Council, City Controller Alan Butkovitz identified 15 flaws in the proposed legislation, including no provision that the office be well-funded and a lack of clarity as to the "scope" of the inspector general's mission.

The committee amended the legislation to address some of his concerns, and further amendments seem likely once Council revisits the matter in September following its summer recess. Since the changes require an amendment to the City Charter, voters would have to approve the modifications, perhaps in November's general election.

A lingering concern is that a beefed-up Inspector General's Office may end up fighting for turf with other local investigatory agencies and bodies, such as the controller, the new ethics board, the district attorney and the state attorney general.

On another subject, the efforts to make Pennsylvania documents more accessible are picking up. According to the Inky ("Big boost for public records initiative," by Mark Scolforo 6/05) the state senate majority leader is supporting the change. The open records website (www.passopenrecords.org) is reporting that the Speaker's Commission is also in favor.

To Inky: Hire More Copyeditors

I'm reading along in the Inquirer this morning, enjoying an article by Mario Cattabiani on Josh Shapiro ("Pa lawmaker on fast track to top") when I see this section:

A former top aide to U.S. Rep. Joe Hoeffel (D., Pa.), Shapiro got to Harrisburg after pulling off an improbable victory in 2004 over a well-known candidate, former Rep. Jon Fox.

Neil Oxman, the political consultant from Philadelphia, received an e-mail from Chris Mottola, a GOP strategist, congratulating him on his work on Michael Nutter's mayoral campaign. It surely was Oxman's best work to date, Mottola wrote.

Not so, replied Oxman. It was what he did for Shapiro in what looked to be a doomed campaign to unseat incumbent Fox.

Ummmmm, it was an open seat. Incumbent Ellen Bard decided to run for Congress, leaving her state house seat open. True, Fox had held the seat before Bard, and had then been in Congress himself, but he was not in elected office when he and Shapiro vied for the 153rd house seat.

This was just too much of a wowser to pass up mentioning. I can't imagine Mr. Cattabiani making that error and surely Mr. Oxman did not, so let's assume it was put in somewhere along the editorial process. But, wow, that's major.

PCN Smackdown

I've had PCN on in the background while blogging tonight (woo hoo! party time!). State Rep. Dwight Evans and State Rep. Sam Smith have been going at it hammer and tongs. It was all cloaked in smiles and flowery language but basically boiled down to Did So! Did Not! They were talking about whether or not the Democrats intended to meet with the Republicans to go over the proposed state budget. After beating around the bush for a while Evans said they weren't going to negotiate on the budget proposed by the Republicans. State Rep. Bill DeWeese said some document had been "molested" in the legislative process. Sir, that isn't how that word is usually used.

A note for Mr. Evans -- where were the smiles and charisma when you were running for mayor?

Legislation on Homeless Veterans

I don't usually write about legislation unless I can actually see it and read it but will make an exception this evening. According to a press release I received from Rep. Patrick Murphy's office (D-08), Murphy introduced legislation today to assist homeless veterans. Murphy estimates that there are over 3,300 homeless veterans in Pennsylvania and at least 550 in the greater Philadelphia area alone.

As it happens one of Mr. J's sisters, who lives in another state, has worked with homeless veterans for a number of years. I gave her a call to run the provisions of this legislation by her. In one of those cosmic convergences she had planned to call us this evening because a co-worker of hers plans to move to Bensalem and she wanted to ask us about the area for him. So, heads up Bucks County, another taxpayer is moving in soon.

In any event, the four bullet points listed on Murphy's press release are:

* Congressman Murphy's bill eliminates the ability of the Department of Veterans Affairs to adjust the grants and per diem payments that Homeless Veterans Service Centers receive because of other income. In other words, community-based organizations that aid homeless veterans have no reason to seek additional funding because an increase in private dollars will simply be offset by a decrease in VA funding. This eliminates the inevitable decrease.

* The bill also makes permanent a program to identify service members on active duty who are at risk of becoming homeless after they are discharged or released. The program will work to prevent these members from becoming homeless.

* Homeless Service Center Grants are expanded to also provide funds for staff.

* The Department of Veterans Affairs is instructed to take steps to make their homeless vets programs more accommodating for female veterans.

Mr. J's sister said these are all good ideas. She added a few information points. For example on identifying those at risk, she said there are people who are asked to leave the military because of drug or alcohol problems; making sure they are referred to a service agency or rehab or support group would be a good idea as they are otherwise likely to continue a downward spiral. She also said that in some places patient advocates were traveling from Dept of Defense hospitals or areas with veterans and their families to their home of origin or record or wherever they are going, to make sure they connect with all service agencies to which they are entitled.

Regarding women veterans she said that she is sometimes called out of her administrative office to do casework with homeless women who are not comfortable talking with the male caseworkers. Many of the women she talks to have been subjected to sexual trauma, often at the hands of their fellow soldiers.

Another items she brought up, and one I hope to write on at greater length in the future, is the increased incidence of brain trauma among veterans.

When I can get a bill or resolution number and link to the text and the press release, I will post it.

What is a Mandate?

Last week my fellow blogger across the aisle, Matt Best at Courage of Conviction, asked us to think about mandates, specifically what a mandate is. A flippant answer would be a mandate is when everyone in my house agrees on what we should have for dinner. A more political explanation is probably what Matt had in mind.

The Webster's dictionary we have at home lists a number of definitions for mandate. The most applicable one is "an authorization to act given to a representative." We tend to think of it as something indicated by a lopsided electoral vote. There is no understanding on what that percentage is. Pres. Bush claimed he had a mandate with a bare majority (if that). I would tend to think you would have to have somewhere close to 70% to say you have a mandate. You could probably get a 70% agreement on the need for immigration reform, health care reform, and the need to end the war in Iraq. Where things get sticky is now the what but the HOW. How should we change health care? How should be get out of Iraq? How should we change our immigration laws? The devil is in the details.

I don't know if this answers Matt's question, it's just what came to mind.

Inky: Women Lag in Political Contributions

From today's Inquirer ("Women give less in campaign donations,") by Cynthia Burton:

Women control 51 percent of the nation's wealth, but account for just 27 percent of federal political donations, according to a report released yesterday by the Women's Campaign Forum Foundation.

There is a link on the article to highlights of the report and the full report is available via email. I couldn't tell from the brief methodology on the highlights but I do have a few questions. One is, if part of the data is derived from reviewing giving trends in federal elections, what safeguards were in place for evaluation donations from married couples? In my household I am responsible for all charitable and political donations. Many, but not all, of these are made by check and both names are on the check. I sign them but it is not uncommon for follow up invitations or mailings to be addressed solely to Mr. J. He finds this humorous but it annoys me; offenders seldom get a second check. Far too many organizations and campaigns will automatically file the donations under the male name listed. Households with two surnames present additional problems since some software products designed to do accounting and mailing lists for non-profits and political campaigns can't accomodate two names in one field. Even if there are two name fields they are still indexed primarily under the male name. Just sayin'....

Nutter Live Chat

The Next Mayor invited Michael Nutter for a live chat on their website today. Al Taubenberger is up next Thursday at 10:00 a.m. These aren't like those nifty webchats that Dwight Evans had. These are unmoderated free for all strictly text chats. I connected and hit refresh every once in a while to see what new things had been posted but it was hard to follow. The questioners started chatting (arguing) with each other. Nutter, bless him, tried to keep up. The topics went from the broad and general (crime, education) to the very specific (why isn't my street plowed?).

Wendy at The Next Mayor tried to put the answers with the proper questions and divide it by topic. The transcript is up on their blog. Some of the extraneous questions (you're really a Republican, aren't you?) are not included. This is okay with me.

Nutter is really trying to get some feedback from the citizenry and the Next Mayor is providing a real service offering these chats.

Inquirer Changes

Chris Satullo is stepping down as editorial page editor for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Whether you agreed with his editorials or not, I think it is universally agreed that his work with Citizen Voices a civic engagement program he helped found in 1996, has been a positve force in the area. A buddy of mine was involved in this some years ago and told me it was a great experience. In Sunday's paper, in the Center Square column where he makes this announcement, he also lists some regrets and some accomplishments. About a year ago he and I emailed a bit and I found him intelligent, interesting, and genuinely interested in getting more people involved in the social fabric of the region. I wish him all the best in his new ventures. He will continue to write Center Square and work with Citizen Voices.

Koufax Nomination

Hey hey!! This blog has been nominated for a Koufax Award, in the Best Coverage of State or Local Issues category. As you may know, Koufax Awards are for lofty blog writing. Unbelievably enough, only one other Pennsylvania blog is on the list. I'm am proud and pleased to share the honor with Gort42. Huzzah!!! As always, I am pleased just to be nominated.

Call for Mandate Definitions

Fellow blogger Matt Best at Courage of Conviction (www.courageofconviction.org)is asking people to think about answers to the question "What's a mandate?" I've been working on it but nothing cogent has come to mind yet. So help me out and leave some comments. I'll post a definition later this week.

Request from Michael Nutter

Democratic mayoral candidate is asking people to tell him what their top priority for the city should be:

“Imagine that Michael Nutter has shown up at your home, and is sitting across the kitchen table from you. You have his undivided attention.

“So, complete the following sentence: “Yo, Mike, the one thing I really need you to do is ...”

“The key to this exercise is not to list seven things, 11 things, or 32. They key is to think hard, then narrow your wish list to the single thing most important to you as you live your life in this city or region.

“Once you’ve done that, write down how you’d finish that sentence in a little essay of 150 words or so.”

Send your thoughts to the Inquirer's Great Expectations blog:

PA in the WSJ

Another slow week.

PA Politicians

Our officials are being very quiet these days.

PA Businesses

A half page ad announced the new president of Fox Chase Cancer Center (6/06)

Hershey mentioned briefly in “General Mills raises price on line of ‘Big G’ cereals,” by Julie Jargon (6/06)

Yardville National Bancorp, which has branches in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, has agreed to be acquired by PNC Financial Services Group, as mentioned in “For small banks, beware ‘takeunders’,” by Robin Sidel (6/08)

Holland Art House of West Chester is mentioned in “From Wall Street to Walker Evans,” by Laura Landro (6/08)

Mark Zandi of Economy.com in West Chester is quoted in “Economists see housing slump enduring longer,” by James R. Hagerty, Jonathan Karp and Mike Whitehouse (6/09)

Chef Marc Vetri of Vetri restaurant is profiled in “A Philadelphia chicken story,” by Raquel Pelzel (6/09)

Brief mentions: Innovative Solutions & Support (6/06)

Other PA

Widener University School of Law mentioned in “How health-law degree can open new career opportunities,” by Aja Carmichael (6/05). Widener University again mentioned in “Student-loan probe expands into possible discriminatory practices,” by Anne Marie Chaker (6/07)

Pennsylvania included in a bar graph but not mention in “As insurers flee coast, states face new threat,” by Liam Pleven (6/07)

Heads up dinosaur fans, Beltzville State Park in Lehighton is having a dino dig on Aug. 23, from “The oldest crop” by Kelly Crow (6/08)

Other Interesting Tidbits

Nothing that really caught my eye.

weekly legislative update

Here is a list of the bills that passed the Pennsylvania House and/or Senate this week. Standard caveats: list of sponsors deleted if it ran over three lines in the original format, resolutions not included.

Other weekly updates:

our accountant friends at PICPA
PA GOP Senate
PA Dem Senate
PA GOP House (daily session notes)
PA Dem House


HOUSE

SB 437 By Senators REGOLA, WAUGH, LOGAN, ROBBINS, WONDERLING, BOSCOLA, RAFFERTY, McILHINNEY, O'PAKE, BAKER, BROWNE, FONTANA, TOMLINSON, D. WHITE, EARLL and VANCE. Prior Printer's Nos. 163, 425.Printer's No. 853. An Act amending the act of November 10, 1999 (P.L.491, No.45), known as the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, further providing for the adoption of regulations.

HB 161 Printer's No. 182. An Act amending the act of November 6, 1987 (P.L.381, No.79), known as the Older Adults Protective Services Act, further providing for the definition of "exploitation."

HB 483 An Act establishing the Mine Families First Program; providing assistance to persons whose family members are trapped, injured or waiting rescue during an underground mine emergency and for duties of the Department of Environmental Protection.

HB 1169 By Representatives DERMODY, DeLUCA, MARKOSEK, PETRONE, PRESTON, LEVDANSKY, DeWEESE, McCALL, FRANKEL and CALTAGIRONE. Prior Printer's No. 1433.Printer's No. 1535. An Act designating the bridge carrying State Route 2073 over Plum Creek between the boroughs of Oakmont and Verona in Allegheny County as the Roger F. Duffy Viaduct.

HB 1214 Prior Printer's No. 1474.Printer's No. 1660. An Act amending Title 34 (Game) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, further providing for organization of the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

HB 1228 Printer's No. 1513. An Act redesignating the Clarion River Bridge on Main Street in Ridgway, Elk County, as Rear Admiral Paul H. Speer Bridge.

SB 218 Prior Printer's Nos. 23, 39, 981.Printer's No. 1056. An Act amending the act of December 31, 1965 (P.L.1257, No.511), known as The Local Tax Enabling Act, providing for local services taxes; repealing provisions relating to emergency and municipal services taxes and to continuation of occupational privilege taxes; and making editorial changes.

SB 760 An Act designating the section of State Route 219 that is situated in Somerset County as the Flight 93 Memorial Highway.


SENATE

SB 8 Prior Printer's Nos. 477, 896, 1089.Printer's No. 1091. An Act establishing the Medical Safety Automation Fund; and providing grants to implement medical safety automation systems.

SB 100 By Senators TOMLINSON, WONDERLING, BOSCOLA, RAFFERTY, ERICKSON, LAVALLE, FERLO, BROWNE, PILEGGI, STACK and LOGAN. Prior Printer's No. 135.Printer's No. 1037. An Act providing for the regulation of home improvement contracts and for the registration of certain contractors; prohibiting certain acts; and providing for penalties.

SB 116 By Senators COSTA, GREENLEAF, FONTANA, TARTAGLIONE, ORIE, KITCHEN, STOUT, EARLL, MUSTO, O'PAKE, C. WILLIAMS, WASHINGTON, WOZNIAK, LAVALLE, BROWNE, MELLOW, FERLO and LOGAN. Prior Printer's No. 93.Printer's No. 1038. An Act amending Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, further providing for selection of prospective jurors.

SB 221 Printer's No. 258. An Act amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, further providing for the offense of firearms not to be carried without a license and for license to carry firearm.

Bucks County VA Cemetery Moves Forward

Last night the Council Rock School Board voted to sell the Melsky tract to Toll Brothers who have said they will in turn sell around 200 acres of the Dolington tract in Upper Makefield, Bucks County, to the VA to be used as a federal veterans cemetery.

There are still a few niggling details. Read more here:

Gentry, Kendra, and Rachel Canelli, "Melsky tract sale approved," Bucks County Courier Times 6/06

PA Congressmen in CQ

Three of Pennsylvania's freshman congressmen are briefly outlined in a new CQ Politics article. Read up on Jason Altmire (D-04), Chris Carney (D-10), and Patrick Murphy (D-08) in "Vulnerable newcomers stray from Democrats party line," by Greg Giroux

Update on Regional Airport Authority

As mentioned in a previous blog post, Pennsylvania State Rep. Bryan Lentz (D-161) of Delaware County has introduced legislation (hb 1182) to create a regional airport authority for the Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley airports. The Lehigh Valley International Airport board has rejected the idea.

However, it is indisputable that traffic is increasing at the Philadelphia airport and going down at Lehigh Valley, as shown by these two quotes:

Last year, LVIA had its lowest passenger volume in more than 10 years. Some of the larger airlines have reduced service here. Earlier this year, a leisure carrier canceled planned nonstop flights to Myrtle Beach, S.C. This month, a US Airways contract carrier halted four daily nonstop flights to Pittsburgh from here. (Bonner)

Philadelphia served 31.8 million passengers last year, with nearly 516,000 arrivals and departures. It is expected to reach its theoretical capacity between 2014 and 2017, though it exceeds capacity during certain peak hours and in poor weather, according to airport spokeswoman Phyllis VanIstendal. The average delay is 11 to 13 minutes per flight, she said. (Bender 4/26)

Lentz believes that a regional authority would help redistribute some flights in the region. It should also be noted that the FAA plans to have more flights in and out of the Philadelphia airport fly over Delaware County, where residents (including Lentz’s constituents) are concerned about increased noise and safety. (Bender 4/26)

However, the idea of a regional authority is not a new one. In 1971 a tri-state commission recommended the creation of such an authority (Lentz 6/02). In fact, Pennsylvania is the only state in the Northeast without a regional authority. (Lentz 4/18). The reduction in flights at LVIA means residents of the area must travel farther to fly.

More than half of all Lehigh Valley residents who fly rely on airports other than LVIA. An estimated 25 to 30 percent use Philadelphia International; another 25 to 30 percent travel to Newark/New York. LVIA has ample capacity and desire for increased airline business. (Lentz 6/02)

While Lentz’s bill only concerns those two airports, others are being looked at as well. The Wilmington and Atlantic City airports might also be considered when looking at flight distribution.

Nor is Lentz the only one looking at the issue. The FAA funded a study on the feasibility of diverting some flights from New York to LVIA.

The port authority this month is scheduled to wrap up a three-year study of whether it would be effective to divert excess flight traffic from New York City to the Lehigh Valley.
The Federal Aviation Administration funded study will estimate how many flights could be diverted to LVIA, how much it would cost and which travelers would respond well to such a change.
The study also focused on other airports, including Trenton Mercer, Atlantic City International and Stewart International. (Petty)

Among the findings:

The study's results, according to consultants who were involved, show secondary airports such as LVIA have enough excess capacity to take on a combined 10 percent to 15 percent of the traffic at the three New York City airports run by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The Philadelphia airport was not part of the study, which was commissioned in 2005.(Bonner)

While a regional authority cannot force airlines to move flights from one airport to another, Lentz thinks it could use powers of persuasion:

Under the current system, LVIA competes with Philadelphia for airline service. A regional authority would allow LVIA and Philadelphia to market their services, plan infrastructure improvements, and negotiate gate fees and landing charges as a single, unified entity -- possibly providing subsidies to LVIA to make it more attractive to new airlines. (Lentz 6/02)

As noted by one newspaper article, the bill has some powerful supporters:

Among the co-sponsors of Lentz's bill are several Delaware County Republicans - including Mario Civera, minority chairman of the House Appropriations Committee - and Democratic state Reps. Josh Shapiro, the deputy House speaker, and John Siptroth, chairman of the House's aviation subcommittee.
State Reps. Babette Josephs, Tony Payton Jr. and Cherelle Parker, all Philadelphia Democrats, have also signed onto the bill. (Bender 4/26)

Sources:
HB 1182

Belder, Tom, “Bill seeks regional airport authority,” Philadelphia Inquirer 4/26

Bender, William, “Authority proposed to run Phila airport,” Daily News 4/26

Bonner, Jeanne, “Bill would create airport authority for Philly, Valley,“ Morning Call 5/23

Lentz, Bryan, letter to the editor, Express-Times (6/02)

Lentz, Bryan, “Too many planes, too little sky,” Citizen Hunter 6/04


“Lentz to introduce bill aimed at spreading out mounting air traffic,” [press release] 4/18

LVIA position against the regional authority

Petty, Precious “Airport authority proposed,” Express Times 5/18

“Regional airport authority proposed,” Philadelphia Business Journal 4/27

“Soaring airport traffic deserves closer examination,” [press release] 4/23

Willow Grove Naval Air Station Update

As you may have read, Gov. Rendell is suggesting that the Willow Grove Naval Air Station become a homeland security hub. According to the Inquirer (“Willow Grove base to become a security hub,“ by Amy Worden, 6/01):

Gov. Rendell said he envisions the base - with its 8,000-foot runway, large storage and training facilities, and independent power-generating station - as a model homeland security center for the mid-Atlantic region. Under the plan, military units would be based there, along with civilian emergency response and preparedness operations.

Worden’s article goes into a lot of the details regarding the base’s proposed usage, runway length, and so on. There has been some fear in the area surrounding the base that it would be used for a commercial package service hub or other commercial purpose that would include large numbers of flights landing and taking off at all hours.

State Rep. Rick Taylor (D-151) has proposed legislation that would keep commercial and cargo planes from using the base. (“Ban on civilian flights sought,” by Melissa Busch, Bucks County Courier Times, 6/05)

According to Taylor's press release:

Gov. Ed Rendell declared Thursday that Willow Grove will continue to serve the region as a national security and emergency preparedness hub, and not for civilian passenger or cargo use.

But without putting the policy into law, a future governor could eliminate the restriction.

“My neighbors don’t want to see a loaded 747 landing in their backyard,” said Taylor. ”I have spoken with the governor. He is sincere in his commitment to not allow Willow Grove to become a hub for commercial air passenger and cargo operations, but he can’t speak for future administrations.”

A Note About Aprons, or, Why I Sent John Edwards $19.53

I'm on a few presidential campaign email lists. The past few days the Edwards campaign has been doing a fundraising effort for John's birthday on June 10th. The carrot they are extending is those donating by his birthday will receive his mother's recipe for pecan pie. Today they threw in an extra incentive, a video of Joe Trippi and Jonathan Prince baking the pie (see www.johnedwards.com/recipe). Of course, hilarity ensues. I found the video hokey but ended up sending them $19.53 (the year Edwards was born, other suggestions are $6.10 or $54.00) because:

1) I do not currently have a good recipe for pecan pie.
2) The apron Trippi is wearing is the same general color as mine except mine is stained from repeated use and faded from repeated washings; his looks pretty new and one suspects it was purchased solely for the video. Also, his apron is a half apron, tieing just around the waist and as you can tell from the stain on his white or pale shirt at the end of the video that really isn't good enough. Mine is a full apron, attaching around the neck as well as the waist. But they are both blue aprons.
3) Initially I thought this kitschy video was too kitschy with the stereotypic male floundering while trying to cook. In fact they let the pie burn because they aren't watching the clock and apparently are unaware that most ovens have timers. However, when I came home this evening I put dinner on (a 3 pan + microwave meal) and sat down to go through the mail. The new New Yorker came today and I got caught up in the review of two new books on Hillary Clinton. So engrossed, in fact, that my pesto sauce scorched. So, maybe it's not so kitschy.

This post is not an indication that I endorse Edwards for president. It does indicate that I want a pie recipe and now have this shared apron color thing going on with Trippi. However, it should be noted that I adore Elizabeth Edwards and have a hard time turning down requests that come in under her email, even though I know they were probably written by someone else.

Watershed Resources

Regular readers will know that flooding is a topic I follow with interest. Here are a few resources you might find useful in following watershed issues in your area:

Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds & Rivers (POWR). The website includes a list of watersheds and what is being done in specific locations, as well as a list of watershed groups and resources for them. You might also contact your township's environmental advisory committee for local details.

There are no alligators there but there's tons of history in the Philadelphia sewers. Check out Phillyh2o.org for a lot of information compiled by the Philadelphia Water Deptartment's watershed historian consultant.

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission makes a variety of information available. Under regional planning / environmental planning you can find some watershed info.

Update on Flooding

A few updates on flooding in Bucks County:

The Heritage Conservancy is working with Warminster Township to develop a watershed plan for the Little Neshaminy Creek. The conservancy is accepting public comments on the draft plan until June 29. ("Trying to reduce flooding along the Little Neshaminy," by Edward Levenson, Bucks County Courier Times 5/30)

The Delaware River Flood Task Force held it's first meeting in late May. This group of 17 represent municipalities and townships along the river is currently chaired by New Hope borough manager John Burke. They have recieved a $100,000 from the fine people at the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for June 26. ("17 members, 17 opinions," by Jenna Portnoy, Bucks County Courier Times 5/30)

Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-08) of Bucks County has announced a FEMA grant of over $600,000 to help pay for repairs to the Yardley sewer system, damaged in the June, 2006 flood.

Update on VA Cemetery

This Thursday evening the Council Rock School Board will again take up the matter of the Melsky tract, a section of land that is currently at the crux of a possible new veterans cemetery. If Council Rock will sell the Melsky tract to Toll Brothers, Toll will sell the Dolington tract to the VA and those 200 acres will become Southeastern Pennsylvania's new VA cemetery. It is a little more complication than that but its the basic gist. For more details see my previous post on the topic or this article from Sunday's Bucks County Courier Times ("Critical vote on cemetery this week," by Theresa Katalinas)

This past Saturday Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-08) whose district includes all of Bucks County, held an event for local veterans and Eagle Scouts to show their support for the new cemetery. ("Murphy, veterans rally for cemetery," by Danny Adler Bucks County Courier Times 6/03)

Congressional Campaign Quarterly Finance Reports

Congressional campaign committees had to turn in quarterly finance reports in mid-April for the first quarter (Jan-March 2007). I finally got the time to mosey over the www.fec.gov and see what is what; opensecrets doesn't have their usual nifty summation. Here’s a brief outline of what people brought in, what they spent, and what they have on hand. Some numbers didn’t add up, there was some funds that came in after the election and before January and it is folded in somehow. Sometimes there were refunds, etc., that I couldn’t figure out how to list. Some numbers are rounded up or down to whole numbers. You can look at the fec site yourself to double check anything.


Jim Gerlach (R-06)
Individual contributions: 112,714
PAC 100,000
Party 261
Total 212,975

Disbursements: 120,081
Cash on hand 106,981

Joe Sestak (D-07)
Individual: 291,912
PAC 147,600
Candidate 4,600
Party 123
Transfer 2,504
Total: 448,843

Disbursement: 72,364
Cash on hand: 587,264

Patrick Murphy (D-08)
Individual: 157,506
PAC 182,620
Total: 340,126

Disbursements: 54,657
Cash on hand: 300,608

Allyson Schwartz (D-13)
Individual: 290,813
PAC: 102,341
Total: 395,912

Disbursements: 74,713
Cash on hand: 885,875

Charlie Dent (R-15)
Individual contributions: 110,852
PAC, etc. 70,250
Total 181,102

Disbursements: 36,238
Cash on hand: 220,547

A Note on PhillyDem

PhillyDem, a fixture in the regional blogosphere and once (and future?) contributor at Keystone Politics, is now Philly in name and spirit only. PD has moved out of the Philadelphia area to be closer to family. PD’s comments have been an asset to this and many other blogs and I hope they will continue. Philly was PD’s home for a couple of decades so perhaps at some point the homing instinct will work in reverse and our friend and compatriot will return. In the meantime I wish PD all the best settling in to new housing and a new routine. The nice thing about email buddies is that they can move as far away as they want and we can still touch base just as often.

A Day at the Art of Political Campaigning

This past Thursday through Saturday Campaigns & Elections magazine held their annual Art of Political Campaigning seminar. A friend of mine had a badge that wasn’t going to be used on Friday and offered it to me. I had to get up at 4 a.m. to time all the trains, which was no fun, and it took a little effort to remember my nom du jour, but otherwise it was an interesting experience.

In case anyone is interested in what happens at these things I’ve provided a general description of the sessions I attended and some personal observations. As you might expect I took more note of blogosphere mentions than other topics.

Session Descriptions

Vic Fazio started the day off. Former congressman and head of the DCCC his primary theme was on the importance of candidates’ maintaining their ethical and intellectual integrity, even if that meant sometimes losing an election. He mentioned flying against the grain when it is intellectually honest to do so. He also discussed the importance of not staying in safe zones either within Congress or the district, that officials should stretch things. However, he also pointed out that in his last three elections he vastly overspent his competition and that sometimes the losing process took a while. Over time he says he has moved more in the direction of public financing of elections because there is little or no competition in many congressional and state offices. One interesting point he made is that swing districts create leaders because they require greater political perspective and that we often lack collaborative leadership due to increasing partisanship. He noted that the blogosphere was mostly a good thing, especially when it brought people together. He thinks the next congress will have a difficult time getting things done. Fazio is a competent if not invigorating speaker, though keep in mind that I hadn’t eaten until I got to the conference and the apple pastry I picked up at the registration desk hadn’t raised a sluggish blood sugar as yet.

Joe Trippi was up next. Having recently read his book I was expecting a firebrand but he was more conversational than evangelical. He said the net called for authenticity, and was a foil for the fakeness of television ad spots. With every American capable of committing photojournalism or blogging or putting something on YouTube, candidates have to be authentic because no one can fake it for 24 hours a day. He pointed out that three times as many people viewed JibJab’s “This Land is Your Land” spot as watch the evening news on any given night. Campaigns can’t take a command and control approach anymore. Especially on a national level you need a presence on every platform – Ipods, cell phone, mobile, etc. He suggested a candidate have Bruce Springsteen write a five tone ring tone and offer it as a download. End every campaign commercial with the tone so when people hear it at Starbucks or wherever they will instantly think of the candidate. He also mentioned John Edwards’ “We the People” YouTube ad. Hundreds of people took the time to film themselves saying “we the people” and pasting their video into the ad. In answering one question on the cost of campaigning Trippi said to decentralize. For example, have friendly bloggers act as “blog captains” to monitor the blogosphere and distribute information. “You gotta trust them,” he said. A quote that warmed my heart.

The afternoon sessions were broken out into tracks so the groups were smaller. I poked my head into a few but there were three that I sat through most or all of.

The first was a session on campaign fundraising. I know a little about this but not a lot and the session was really informative. The speakers, Nancy Bocskor and Kimberly Scott, referred to a copy of their slides in the conference book, which I had not gotten so I made sure to grab one next time I went past the registration desk. Some of their points were to make sure you have a budget before running, vet every dollar that comes in, make sure you have a finance committee and that it is occupationally, geographically and otherwise diverse. Salespeople make the best finance committee chairs. Big donors want access, mid-level donors like events for the social aspects, and low dollar donors are primarily motivated by issues. I’m not sure I agree with this – ability to donate might also come into play. The speakers were engaging and initiated interaction with those attending. I was very impressed and would highly recommend these two if you are looking for speakers on the topic. They are also very willing to share their thoughts and provided a lot of information in the conference book that was very informative.

The second breakout session was on online advertising with Larry Ward of Political Media presenting. He had a number of overheads. In his comments on the blogosphere he noted that one out of 100 readers comment, so even a low level of comments is indicative of a larger leadership. In regards to viral marketing he said humor, anger, and sentiment were the most likely to travel.

The third session was on blogging with Henry Copeland of Blogads and Mike Krempasky of Edelman. This was very informative and I found it very interesting. Copeland gave some demographics of Americablog, and suggested there were true of the blogosphere generally. Readers are older, richer, more active and influential than we might think. Many were in the 40-55 age range, with a household income in the 91-100K range. They spend a lot of item reading blogs. If you want to reach the fanatics tv and radio won’t do. Bloggers tend to be ideologues not partisans. Use of the blogosphere is better for challengers than incumbents as it can help craft narratives. Krempasky mentioned that campaigning without an internet strategy is like playing poker with 4 cards and also suggested investing resources to monitor what is being said about the candidate in the blogosphere.

Personal Observations

Like most business oriented conferences there were noticeably more men than women attending. If a speaker is particularly engaging the questions are often also very interesting. Two of the speakers or groups of speakers feel into this category and I noted that all of those asking questions were men. This always bothers me so in each case I rummaged around in the gray matter and asked a semi-lucid question (not brilliant but in the same league as the other questions). Ladies, remember, if we want to be counted we have to speak up.

The most disappointing thing was hearing a speaker say that anonymous bloggers should be ignored. Ouch!!! Ignored? Ignored! The sound you hear in the background is my ego going through a shredder. Ignored! Oh, dear….

Since I’m not really in the biz I didn’t spend much time talking with the exhibitors. The one thing I did stop and grab was a button from electionmall.com that said “I blog and my readers vote.” They suggested I take two and I was more than willing to do so.

If you should find yourself at this conference make sure you get a copy of the conference book. This year it is about an inch thick and chock full of good stuff. There are a number of presentations I wish I could have gotten to. The Womble Carlyle law firm, like the fundraisers discussed above, were especially generous in providing a lot of printed information. I read through it this weekend and will probably read through it again in the near future.

A Note on Missing Monday

This is the first Monday of the month and should, therefore, be Missing Monday, the day set aside for local bloggers to highlight missing persons cases. This is a wonderful effort. Unfortunately I'm suspending my efforts in it for a few months. There are a few tricky issues that have come up with the involvement of this blog in particular that I want to iron out. I hope some other bloggers step in to fill the gap.

PA in the WSJ

It was either another slow week for the Keystone state in the Wall Street Journal or I was too tired to be as thorough as usual. On the brighter side, I can trade in more frequent flyer miles to extend the subscription.

PA Politicians

If anything was there I missed it.

PA Businesses

This particular item lends itself to a lot of scatological humor possibilities, but I’ll let you figure them out for yourself. In “What’s really wrong with this house?” by Suzanne Barlyn, the author follows a home buyer in Bucks county to demonstration the home inspection process. The septic tank was problematic. Turns out the Pennsylvania Septage Management Association is in West Chester. George Allen Wastewater Management of Colmar and QC Laboratories of Southampton are also mentioned. (5/31)

Brief mention : Stradley Ronon Stevets & Young (5/29)

Other PA

An Algerine Spy in Pennsylvania by Peter Markoe (1787) is listed in the five best works on “the long history of America’s encounter with the Arab world” by Michael B Oren (6/02)

In “Florida hones plan to overhaul property taxes,” by Mark Whitehouse (5/29) there is a mention that Pennsylvania cut property taxes last year.

In “Why flights are getting longer,” by Scott McCartney (5/29) one of the flights given as an example is Philadelphia to San Francisco.

Other Interesting Tidbits

Nothing earthshattering

weekly legislative update

No bills passed the Pennsylvania House or Senate this week. Even our diligent accountant friends at PICPA took the week off. No update from them either.

Congressional Website Bling

Campaigns and issue groups will sometimes make available “blogger bling,” badges, buttons, clever little graphics for bloggers and webmasters to have on their sites to show allegiance.

I started wondering if our elected officials did the same. The state house and senate offer templates with little option for personalization. The parties do the same for elected officials, again with little personalization. Our congressional delegation seems to have more leeway. Some are jazzy, some (cough cough, John Murtha, cough) are as basic as basic can be.

Beyond buttons for Thomas, the website for tracking legislation, I wondered what allegiances our congressional representatives showed. So I looked. There are a great many options for comparing their site but for the purposes of this post allegiances to larger organizations, beyond simple party membership, was the focus. Also, I looked only at what was on the main page and did not delve deeper. Should you wish to replicate this research or simply look at the sites yourself, the easiest way is to use politicspa as a jumping off point – it has a list of Pennsylvania representatives with links to their sites.

Three of our Democratic representatives have badges or buttons on their site for Democratic groups. Tim Holden (D-14) and Patrick Murphy (D-08) are members of the Blue Dog Democrats, though they use different images. Allyson Schwartz (D-13) is part of the New Democratic Coalition. Looking at the membership of each group these are the only Pennsylvanians mentioned. There may be other organizations out there, though, that simply don’t have badges or don’t have any Pennsylvanians.

Should you be wondering, both the Blue Dogs and the New Democrats are moderate groups. Patrick Murphy was named Blue Dog of the week earlier this year. I tend to be a bit skeptical about these things. However, there are 43 members of the Blue Dogs so clearly not everyone can be picked every year, depending on how many weeks Congress is in session. It is also possible that a Blue Dog is not highlighted each week.

Republicans like to announce their membership in caucuses. John Peterson (R-05) displays his membership in the Congressional Rural Congress. Tim Murphy (R-18) is part of the Mental Health Caucus (no jokes please). The lone Dem in the group, Mike Doyle (D-14 ),is part of the Autism Caucus. Having previously looked at Pennsylvanian involvement in caucus leadership I know there are more caucus members out there; that membership just isn’t mentioned on the home page.

John Peterson’s (R-05) site has a blog, though someone else writes the posts. Tim Murphy (R-18) also has a blog but appears to write his own posts, or at least no other authors were implied in the posts I saw.

Employee Free Choice Act

The Employee Free Choice Act, HR 800 and S 1041, is moving through Congress. The three main points of it are:

1. It strengthens financial penalties for companies that illegally coerce or intimidate employees in an effort to prevent them from forming a union;

2. It brings in a neutral third party to settle a contract when a company and a newly certified union cannot agree on a contract after 90 days;

3. It establishes majority sign-up, meaning that if a majority of employees sign union authorization cards validated by the National Labor Relations Board, the company must recognize the union.

For more info see the AFL/CIO site regarding the legislation. It looks like all of PA's Democratic representatives (plus Republican Tim Murphy) supported it. Sen. Casey has signed on as a co-sponsor. Sen. Specter has not. (h/t Mike in Chicago)

Full disclosure: I am a union member and have in the past and will be again this year, holding office in our local chapter.

More Resources on the Foodstamp Challenge

A few weeks ago I posted a note on the Foodstamp Challenge, wherein people try to eat on the average amount provided by foodstamps. It has proven to be an extremely popular post. Those interested in reading more on the topic should took at Rebecca's Pocket. The author of that blog is posting daily notes on her effort to eat organically on a foodstamp budget. She, like me, believes that access to purchasing options, a good supply of kitchen utensils, and some knowledge of how to cook, are essential. In addition to her own posts she has a list of other blogs writing on the subject. Well worth the effort.

Nutter Consultant Does Good

Chris Cillizza (or more likely someone in a little tiny cubicle in the basement of the Washington Post) has been sending me his "The Fix" postings via email. Mostly they are way over my head but there was a tidbit in one that arrived today that had a local angle. Here is your gossipy nugget for the day:

What do Michael Nutter, the odds-on favorite to become Philadelphia's next mayor, and Steve Beshear, the front-runner to be elected Kentucky's next governor, have in common? A man named Fred Yang. Yang, a partner in the Democratic polling firm Garin Hart Yang Research Group, handled the survey research for both men's surprisingly strong victories in recent party primaries. Nutter, a former city councilman, won with a surprisingly strong double-digit margin in the May 15 vote, despite a seven-way field that included two sitting members of Congress. A week later, Beshear, who served stints as state attorney general and lieutenant governor, won 41 percent in the primary to avoid a runoff with free-spending businessman Bruce Lunsford. And, no, Yang and his firm aren't aligned with any of the current crop of presidential candidates. Let the courtship begin.

The full column is available here.

Media Matters Report on Faith

From the inbox:

Media Matters for America, along with Faith in Public Life and progressive religious leaders from throughout the country, held a press conference today to discuss “Left Behind: The Skewed Representation of Religion in the Major News Media,” a new report documenting the overrepresentation of conservative religious figures in the major news media. Media Matters, a progressive media watchdog organization; Faith in Public Life, an organization dedicated to increasing the strength and visibility of faith leaders working for justice and the common good; and the diverse group of progressive religious leaders called on major media outlets to provide a more balanced expression of religious values and views.

The full report is available at: www.mediamatters.org/LeftBehind

Big Bloggy Welcome to MalcolmXPark

Some has brought to my attention a relatively new local Philly blog, MalcolmXPark, at www.malcolmxpark.org. The writer provides restaurant reviews, local news, photos, real estate notes, and so on. Currently there is discussion on where to get good water ice. It looks like a great addition to the regional blogosphere.

Lentz on I on Pennsylvania

Rep. Bryan Lentz, Democratic representative of Pennsylvania's, 161st state house district, is featured on episode 42 of "I on Pennsylvania," to discuss veteran's issues. Lentz, first elected this past November, is a veteran himself.

More Delay for Proposed SEPA Veterans Cemetery

On this Memorial Day it seems fitting to write about the new veterans’ cemetery slated for southeastern Pennsylvania. The VA’s preferred location is in Bucks County and there is land available but, as always in political matters, something is jamming up the works. But, more on that later.

First some background. There are currently three national veterans’ cemeteries in Pennsylvania. The one in Philadelphia (13.3 acres) is not taking any new internments, though family members of veterans already buried there may be added to the same plot. The Indiantown Gap National Cemetery (677 acres, 25 miles northeast of Harrisburg) and the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies (292 acres, near Pittsburgh, opened in 2005) are still accepting internments but that is a long way for those in the southeastern part of the state to go to visit their deceased family members. There is a state veterans’ cemetery in Erie, The Pennsylvania Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home Cemetery, but that also is a long way away. (see http://www.cem.va.gov/CEM/cems/listcem.asp for more information)

Why are these cemeteries important? For one thing it pays a final honor to those who served in our country’s military. There are also other reasons. From the VA’s website (http://www.cem.va.gov/cem/bbene/bbenenat.asp) we find this:

Burial benefits available include a gravesite in any of our 125 national cemeteries with available space, opening and closing of the grave, perpetual care, a Government headstone or marker, a burial flag, and a Presidential Memorial Certificate, at no cost to the family. Some veterans may also be eligible for Burial Allowances. Cremated remains are buried or inurned in national cemeteries in the same manner and with the same honors as casketed remains.
Burial benefits available for spouses and dependents buried in a national cemetery include burial with the veteran, perpetual care, and the spouse or dependents name and date of birth and death will be inscribed on the veteran’s headstone, at no cost to the family.

The VA also spells out eligibility (http://www.cem.va.gov/cem/bbene/eligible.asp). Those who chose to be buried in a private cemetery can receive a headstone and burial flag. There are some conditions that would allow for a burial allowance.

We tend to think of veterans cemeteries as places for those in their later years, but Bucks County has lost four soldiers in Iraq in as many weeks this May. Those and other families in the same tragic situation might like to have a place to bury their sons and husbands and for children to visit their fathers’ graves close to home. There are other circumstances in which veterans might seek out a veterans’ cemetery.

A good friend of mine died some years ago. He had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and had a year or so to get his affairs in order, researching estates and related matters to ensure the most benefit for his minor children. As a veteran he was eligible to be, and elected to be, buried in a veterans’ cemetery; space was available in one near where they lived so they could visit his grave easily if they chose, and more of his estate could go to their college educations. My former stepbrother, who was making a career of the Air Force, died when he was 29. He had been partially or fully supporting his mother and there wasn’t much left over for burial. Fortunately there was a veterans’ cemetery near where she lived and where he grew up. He was buried there.

Veterans in southeastern Pennsylvania who wish to be buried in a veterans’ cemetery currently have to choose either the Harrisburg or Pittsburgh area, a long way for their families to visit. The VA has noted this and approved a cemetery for this area, as noted on their website:

The National Cemetery Act of 2003 authorizes VA to establish new national cemeteries to serve veterans in the areas of Bakersfield, Calif.; Birmingham, Ala.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Sarasota County, Fla.; southeastern Pennsylvania; and Columbia-Greenville, S.C. All six areas have veteran populations exceeding 170,000, which is the threshold VA has established for new national cemeteries.

You might think that in an area as developed as southeastern Pennsylvania there wouldn’t be enough unused space to find several hundred acres available but that’s not true. There are two sites competing for the cemetery.

The VA has said it would like 200 contiguous acres for the new cemetery. They have found such a plot in Upper Makefield Township, Bucks County; it is part of an area called the Dolington Tract. The VA announced in January, 2006, that it would buy 200 acres of Dolington from Toll Brothers, who had hoped to build on it.. The area is near I-95 for ease of travel in the region and according to Dan Fraley, director of Veterans Affairs for Bucks County, there are 60,000 veterans in Bucks (Katalinas, 5/18). Toll agreed to sell the land to the VA in return for a zoning ordinance (see discussion of this at the April, 2006 Upper Makefield Board of Supervisors meeting) that would allow them to build 80 houses on one nearby tract of land and 90 on another, known as the Melsky tract, currently owned by the Council Rock School District. Here is where it gets sticky. Council Rock isn’t sure it wants to sell the Melsky tract (Peterson, 5/18). Last week at a Council Rock School Board meeting the board voted to “subtmit revisions made to a previous counterproposal regarding the sale…” (Gentry, 5/25). Toll has made the sale of Dolington to the VA for the cemetery contingent on the purchase of Melsky (Hellyer 5/15). So, no Melsky, no Dolington, no cemetery for Bucks.

Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-08) has said he hopes the cemetery can be built on the Dolington tract. In an editorial in the Intelligencer on May 23 he writes in part:

As your congressman I am cognizant of my role as an advocate but remain respectful of the role of local government in settling this matter. I remain hopeful, as this is still the preferred site, not just for those in Bucks County but to the VA. Dolington was always the first choice.

He also points out the neighboring Wrightstown has agreed to set aside land for future use of Council Rock if needed.

However, the VA, while still preferring Dolington has begun to look at other options. A smaller tract, 173 (or 186 depending on the source) acres, is available in Chester County. That area was formerly the home of a hospital and buildings on it would need to be demolished first. Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-06) has been advocating for the VA to consider the Pennhurst site (Peterson, 5/18; Phucas, 5/13; Katalinas 5/18)

One hates to inject partisan politics into a situation like this but a quick check of www.opensecrets.org, shows that Bruce Toll has contributed to a number of Republican candidates and officials in Pennsylvania, including Jim Gerlach, and Mike Fitzpatrick, who proceeded Murphy as the 8th district congressman, as well as Jim Greenwood, whose retirement in the 8th district opened the door for Fitzpatrick.

I hope this matter can be settled quickly. If the VA prefers the Bucks County and it has the larger number of acres then it seems like the better choice to me. But, either way, it is a sad but true fact that people are dying daily and the least we can do is give them a place to be buried.

Sources:

Gentry, Kendra, “More changes delay Melsky tract,” Intelligencer 5/25/07

Hellyer, Joan, “Vets encourage board to sell Melsky tract,” Intelligencer 5/25/07

Katalinas, Theresa, “VA looking at alternatives,” Intelligencer 5/18/07

Murphy, Patrick, “Honor of national cemetery long overdue,” Intelligencer 5/23/07

Petersen, Nancy, “VA seeks a new tract for veterans cemetery,” Philadelphia Inquirer 5/18/07

Phucas, Keith, “Gerlach’s quest continues for veterans cemetery," Times Herlad 5/13/07

Off Topic: Notes from the Fridge

Found on the Casa Jane refrigerator this weekend, a note which said:

Dear Dad,

You cann't hide the bbq chipes from us.

And it was true, the empty bag was in the trash. Mr. J will have to find a more secure spot for his food stash.

PA in the WSJ

We at Casa Jane send out good thoughts and gratitude to the nation's veterans on this Memorial Day weekend.

PA Politicians

John Murtha is quoted in “War-funding bill nears final passage in Congress,” by David Rogers. The gist is there are limits on what a Democratic congress can do when a Republican is president. (5/25)

Now this is very intriguing, in “A political tool goes corporate,” by John D. McKinnon we find this paragraph. If anyone knows any details please feel free to share!

Some experts caution that the techniques of campaigning aren’t sure-fire. A Temple University professor, Kevin Arceneaux, says he found that one microtargeting campaign actually made targeted voters less likely to support the intended beneficiary, a Democratic candidate for the state House in Pennsylvania.

PA Businesses

Briefly noted: Morgan, Lewis, & Bockman (5/23)

Jennifer S. Forsyth writes on 5/23:

Muvico Entertainment LLC has signed up to put in a move and entertainment complex at Uptown Worthington, a 100-acre, mixed-used community being developed at the site of the former Worthington Steel factory in Malvern, Pa., a Philadelphia suburb.

Three Pennsylvania farmers are mentioned in “With corn prices rising, pigs switch to fatty snacks,” by Lauren Etter (5/21)

Hershey’s Chocolate World is discussed in “More pop for corporate museums,” by Betsy McKay on 5/21. Hershey’s Chocolate World is frequently brought up in my house, too, usually by children asking for another visit there.

Other PA

Joe Frazier’s legal troubles with his daughter are briefly outlined in “Round One (Best of the Law Blog),” by Peter Lattman (5/23)

The Sushi Economy by Philadelphia Magazine writer Sasha Issenberg is reviewed by Henny Sender on 5/23

Bob Nusbaum, a Pittsburgh area financial planner and two of his clients are profiled in “Financial planning for the not-yet-rich,” by Jeff D. Opdyke (5/23)

In a list of target amounts of electricity from renewable sources, Pennsylvania is looking for 18% by 2020, according to “Senate pushes utilities on ‘green’sources,” by John J. Fialka (5/25)

Penn professor Barry Ziober is mentioned in “Coaxing cancer researchers to take your money,” by Amy Dockser Marcus (5/22)

Wharton professor Peter Carrelli is quoted in “Corporate tuition aid appears to keep workers loyal,” by Erin White (5/21)

Other Interesting Tidbits

Social networking and politics outlined in “BO, U R So Gr8,” by Amy Schatz (5/26)

“Industry by industry: the stars and their stocks” (numerous authors 5/21) highlights 44 stock analysts. Of those 4 are women and 5 (all male) are easily identifiable as non-white (photos are included). Just noting this.

weekly legislative update

This is a list of bills that passed the Pennsylvania House or Senate this week, and mention of any noteworthy resolutions. Standard caveats apply (resolutions not generally included, list of sponsors deleted if it was too long - three lines in the originally formatting).

Our accountant friends at PICPA have provided their usual informative weekly update.
Other updates this week:

PA GOP Senate
PA Democratic Senate
PA GOP House
PA Democratic House

Resolutions

Nothing caught my eye.

Bills

HOUSE

HB13 Prior Printer's Nos. 38, 1439, 1447.Printer's No. 1536. An Act amending the act of February 2, 1965 (P.L.1860, No.586), entitled "An act encouraging landowners to make land and water areas available to the public for recreational purposes by limiting liability in connection therewith, and repealing certain acts," further providing for liability of landowners toward recreational users, persons or property for acts or acts of omission by recreational users.

HB 1286 By Representative D. EVANS. Printer's No. 1543. An Act to provide from the General Fund for the expenses of the Executive, Legislative and Judicial Departments of the Commonwealth, the public debt and for the public schools for the fiscal year July 1, 2007, to June 30, 2008, for certain institutions and organizations, and for the payment of bills incurred and remaining unpaid at the close of the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007; to provide appropriations from the State Lottery Fund, the Energy Conservation and Assistance Fund, the Hazardous Material Response Fund, The State Stores Fund, the Milk Marketing Fund, the Home Investment Trust Fund, the Emergency Medical Services Operating Fund, the Tuition Payment Fund, the Banking Department Fund, the Firearm Records Check Fund, the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority Fund, the Tobacco Settlement Fund and the Health Care Provider Retention Account to the Executive Department; to provide appropriations from the Judicial Computer System Augmentation Account to the Judicial Department for the fiscal year July 1, 2007, to June 30, 2008; to provide appropriations from the Motor License Fund for the fiscal year July 1, 2007, to June 30, 2008, for the proper operation of the several departments of the Commonwealth and the Pennsylvania State Police authorized to spend Motor License Fund moneys; to provide for the appropriation of Federal funds to the Executive Department of the Commonwealth and for the establishment of restricted receipt accounts for the fiscal year July 1, 2007, to June 30, 2008, and for the payment of bills remaining unpaid at the close of the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007; to provide for the additional appropriation of Federal and State funds from the General Fund, the State Lottery Fund and the Pharmaceutical Assistance Contract for the Elderly Fund for the Executive, Legislative and Judicial Departments of the Commonwealth for the fiscal year July 1, 2006, to June 30, 2007, and for the payment of bills incurred and remaining unpaid at the close of the fiscal year ending June 30, 2006.

SB 650 By Senators LOGAN, RAFFERTY and WASHINGTON. Printer's No. 680. An Act amending the act of April 12, 1951 (P.L.90, No.21), known as the Liquor Code, further providing for special occasion permits.

HB 33 By Representatives GEORGE and SURRA. Prior Printer's No. 58.Printer's No. 1418. An Act authorizing and directing the Department of General Services, with the approval of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Governor, to lease to Pine Township, Clearfield County, a certain tract of land situate in Pine Township, Clearfield County, for a consideration of $1.

HB 131 Prior Printer's No. 157.Printer's No. 1414. An Act amending Title 53 (Municipalities Generally) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, prohibiting fees for police services.

HB 588 By Representatives HALUSKA, BELFANTI, CAPPELLI, DALEY, GEIST, HERSHEY, KOTIK, MARSHALL, SEIP, SOLOBAY, STURLA, SIPTROTH and CALTAGIRONE. Printer's No. 654. An Act amending Title 53 (Municipalities Generally) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, further providing for purposes and powers of municipal authorities.

HB 747 Printer's No. 874. An Act amending Title 34 (Game) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, providing for a special license and license auction to hunt one elk.

HB 778 Printer's No. 845. An Act amending Title 30 (Fish) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, further providing for classification of offenses and penalties, for chemical testing to determine amount of alcohol or controlled substances and for operating watercraft under influence of alcohol or controlled substance.

HB 781 Printer's No. 900. An Act redesignating the Maple Avenue Bridge on State Route 271 in the City of Johnstown, Cambria County, as the Colonel John Joseph Tominac Memorial Bridge.

HB 834 Printer's No. 950. An Act relating to hours of employment of health-care employees; providing for penalties and remedies; and imposing powers and duties on the Department of Labor and Industry.

HB 876 Prior Printer's No. 1031.Printer's No. 1446. An Act amending Title 71 (State Government) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, further providing for the employer contribution rate.

HB 881 Printer's No. 1035. An Act amending Title 34 (Game) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, further providing for exceptions to unlawful use of lights while hunting.

HB 892 Printer's No. 1045. An Act designating a portion of State Route 74 in Perry County as the Marine Lance Corporal Jason L. Frye Memorial Highway.

SB 21 By Senators DINNIMAN, PILEGGI, RAFFERTY, ERICKSON and BRUBAKER. Printer's No. 29. An Act authorizing the Department of General Services, with the approval of the Governor, to enter into an agreement or other legal instrument with Chester County to alter use restrictions and reversionary covenants on real estate conveyed to Chester County, situate in Newlin and West Bradford Townships; and making inconsistent repeals.

SENATE

HB 112 By Representatives EACHUS, MUNDY and CALTAGIRONE. Prior Printer's Nos. 134, 413, 1354, 1471, 1633.Printer's No. 1639. An Act amending the act of May 17, 1921 (P.L.682, No.284), known as The Insurance Company Law of 1921, further providing for effect of act on existing laws and, in insurance holding companies, for definitions, for acquisition of control of or merger with domestic insurer and for acquisitions involving insurers not otherwise covered; establishing the Insurance Restructuring Board; providing for its powers and duties; establishing an account; providing for health care reporting; and making an inconsistent repeal.

SB 34 By Senators C. WILLIAMS, COSTA, MUSTO, BOSCOLA, FONTANA, FOLMER, WOZNIAK, WASHINGTON and MELLOW. Prior Printer's Nos. 67, 893.Printer's No. 1045. An Act permitting a mother the freedom to nurse her child in public; and providing that breastfeeding may not be considered a nuisance, indecent exposure, sexual conduct or obscenity.

SB 691 By Senators GREENLEAF, McILHINNEY, KASUNIC, WASHINGTON, TOMLINSON, STACK, CORMAN, COSTA, RAFFERTY, FUMO, LOGAN, FERLO, BROWNE, BOSCOLA, ERICKSON, TARTAGLIONE, KITCHEN, WOZNIAK and FONTANA. Printer's No. 736. An Act amending Title 75 (Vehicles) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, further providing for veteran plates and placard.

SB729 Prior Printer's Nos. 797, 988.Printer's No. 1047. An Act requiring the posting of certain governmental salary information on the Internet.

SB 779 By Senator ARMSTRONG. Printer's No. 875. An Act designating a portion of State Route 462 in Lancaster County as the Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Robert D. Lapp, Jr., Memorial Highway.

SB 782 By Senators M. WHITE, BAKER, MUSTO, PUNT, CORMAN, GORDNER, STOUT, FERLO, BRUBAKER, RAFFERTY, COSTA, FONTANA, PICCOLA, RHOADES, C. WILLIAMS, WOZNIAK, EARLL, BROWNE, FUMO and STACK. Prior Printer's No. 876.Printer's No. 1046. An Act amending the act of July 10, 1984 (P.L.688, No.147), known as the Radiation Protection Act, further providing for definitions, for powers of Environmental Quality Board, for licensing and registration fees, for nuclear facility and transport fees, for creation of special funds, for response program and for transportation of radioactive material; and making repeals.

SB 815 Printer's No. 909. An Act amending the act of July 6, 1989 (P.L.169, No.32), known as the Storage Tank and Spill Prevention Act, further providing for underground storage tank environmental cleanup program and for underground storage tank pollution prevention program.

SB 795 By Senator ARMSTRONG. Printer's No. 887. An Act making an appropriation from a restricted revenue account within the General Fund and from Federal augmentation funds to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.