House Journals for January 2006

The House Journals for January 2006 are now online. Not much in the Jan. 3rd, 23rd or 25th, but there is some lively conversation in the 24th, pages 23-25 of the journal page numbering, pages 11-13 of the pdf version.

The topic is a bill on the allocation of funds to county mental health and mental retardation programs. Rep. Kenney is questioned about the bill by Mr. Vitali and Mr. Cappelli. They are asking good questions about the validity and expense of the programs, and Kenney is supplying the answers. It is a wonderful example of how things should work. It was hard to pick out just a few lines to present, so please take a few moments to read through those few pages yourself.

Now, see, was that hard? The Journals get put on the Internet, people read them and note the good parts. Do you think we could get them before they are 6 months old?

Another Blogger Returns

Another lost lamb is back in the blogging fold. LVDem is also blogging again. Welcome, back!!!

Off on the Wrong Foot

Josh Shapiro, freshman representative for the 153rd district faces a Republic challenger, Lou Guerra, Jr. I have written positively about Shapiro in the past and had looked into his opponent. Guerra has an impressive background and I had hopes of a good race, cleanly fought. Alas, it is not to be.

Guerra's first press real press release (besides the one announcing his candidacy), criticizes Shapiro for voting against the "marriage amendment." The release says, in part:

The bill does not take away rights from anyone. All United States citizens are accorded basic rights under the U.S. Constitution. I firmly believe that everyone should be treated with respect, including those with whom we disagree. An amendment defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman does nothing to hinder rights or diminish the ability of citizens to honor private commitments. This bill simply recognizes the importance of the traditional family and protects it from activists who would radically re-define what marriage is, Guerra said.

Unfortunately, the incumbent state representative voted against the traditional family. It is sad that Josh Shapiro does not recognize the value of marriage and refused to vote for this basic protection.

The amendment itself reads:

Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this Commonwealth, and neither the commonwealth nor any of its political subdivisions shall create or recognize a legal status identical or substantially equivalent to that of mariage for unmarried individuals.

That means no civil unions for either homosexual or heterosexual couples. The 153rd district is in Montgomery County, which currently offers benefits to domestic partners of employees, which it might not be able to do if the amendment becomes law. I'm not sure how this "does nothing to hinder rights or diminish the ability of citizens to honor private commitments," as Guerra states.

Pennsylvania already has a "Defense of Marriage Act," which, according to the Inky, "upholds the traditional definition of marriage, but does not expressly prohibit civil unions." ("Same-sex partners fear losing rights -- Ripples from Pa. vote on gay marriage," by Amy Worden)

I have been married to Mr. J for over 20 years and not once have I felt our marriage was threatened by recognizing the unions of gay couples who could not legally be married.

What I find so odd about Guerra's choice of this issue as his opening salvo is that he is qualified to speak on so many other issues pertinent to the state. He is an expert in watershed protection, an important topic in a floodprone area like the 153rd. He has 20 years experience in the public sector. Surely there is something else he can hang his hat on.

I am very disappointed that Guerra decided to pick on this issue above all others. It colors his campaign and what seems to be perhaps a shaky grasp of the issue's ramifications for the county he lives in. It surely isn't something that important to the 153rd. A promising race has suddenly become another mudfest, at least on Guerra's part.

Tattered Coat Returns

Hey, kids, Matt's back!!!

A BBQ in Croydon (near Bristol)

This evening I went to a bbq sponsored by the Patrick Murphy campaign. Former Georgia Sen. Max Cleland was in attendance. He seems to be spending more time in Pennsylvania these days than Rick Santorum. There was a press conference just before the event and a number of reporters were still around when I arrived, including Gwen Ifill, now on the McNeil Lehrer News Hour and host of Washington Week in Review (the only political commentary show I watch, Fridays at 9:00 p.m.). Gwen and her producer were very personable, walking through the crowd, talking with people. Gwen signed autographs and posed for photos. I was really impressed at her ease with people. (Even the press at Murphy events are nice).

Several other candidates were there, Paul Lang (6th state senate), Chris Serpico (10th state senate), Jeff Albert (12th state senate), and the always pleasant and discerning Joe Hoeffel, former congressman for PA-13. There may have been others there that I didn’t recognize. Oh, and Patrick was there, too. To be honest, I was having such a good time talking with other guests that I didn’t get around to greeting all the candidates. If there were speeches I missed them.

I continue to be pleasantly surprised by Murphy events. Not only are other candidates welcome, and come to talk with the audience (something you don’t always see at political events), but those who attend are generally very nice people. This is such a welcome change from a lot of these things. It’s one of the main reasons I keep showing up. Murphy just seems to bring out a good crowd, not only in numbers (I stopped counting at 62 because it was time to eat) but in personality as well.

News Round Up

A few interesting news links.

Ben over at Keystone Politics has some interesting remarks on the race for the 48th senate district (currently held by Chip Brightbill).

The Intelligencer has an article on lobbyists, charitable donations, and the timing thereof. ("Lobbyists, legislators and being in the limelight," by Alison Hawkes). worth reading

Murphyness, or How Many Roses By the Same Name?

Pennsylvania has a Rep. Murphy (Tim Murphy R-18). Two Democrats named Murphy are running for House seats from Pennsylvania (Lois Murphy PA-06, and Patrick Murphy PA-08). A third, John Murphy is running as a independent candidate for the 16th congressional district. So, what happens if some of these Murphys win? How many states have more than one representative with the same surname? I checked. Here's the list:

Florida has Rep. Corrine Brown (D) and Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R).

Virginia has two Republican Rep. Davis, JoAnn Davis and Thomas M. Davis III.

Florida has Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, both Republicans.

Texas has Rep. Al Green and Rep. Gene Green, both Democrats.

Texas also has Rep. Eddie Johnson (D) and Rep. Sam Johnson (R).

California has Rep. Gary Miller (R) and Rep. George Miller (D).

California also has Rep. Linda Sanchez (D) and Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D).

So, Florida, Texas, and California both have two pair of same-named representatives. Michigan has a representative and a senator nameed Levin. Colorado has a representative and a senator named Salazar.

In other useless trivia, Davis is the most common surname in the Congress, with 8 representatives named Davis. Miller and Johnson are tied for second place with 5 each. All the Millers are representatives. One of the Johnsons is a senator.

You, too, can while away the hours looking up this kind of trivia. Check www.house.gov and www.senate.gov, or look in CQ's Politics in America or the Almanac of American Politics. For historical data, check the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress.

Another Baker Knoll Press Secretary Leaves

According to today's Morning Call ("Knoll loses press secretary — her sixth since 2003," by John L. Micek):

Johnna Pro, a former Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter who joined Knoll's staff in October, resigned Monday. Neither Pro nor Rendell administration spokeswoman Kate Philips would comment Friday on the reason for the departure.

Pro, 42, said she will remain on the state payroll until June 30 but will leave her job Friday. Pro also said she's ''exploring other opportunities.''

''It's a challenging job,'' a senior Rendell administration source said. ''The way the media portrays [Knoll] can be difficult. And when you're a government press secretary in the middle of a campaign, there's not much for you to do.''

Describing a job that doesn't require you to do much as a challenge seems kind fo odd. Many would find it a dream come true.

weekly legislative update

As I mentioned in the previous posting, the governor called a special legislative session to look into property tax reform. Information from that session is included here as well. Standard caveats apply (resolutions not generally included, list of sponsors deleted if it was too long - three lines in the originally formatting).

If you check the resolutions -- a week this past May has been designated National Postcard Week. You can use your postcard to write your state representative to either praise or complain about how he or she voted on the bill to ban civil unions or gay marriage.

Our accountants friends at PICPA have updated their legislative page, and have a lot to say about property tax reform.


Other weekly updates are available for this week:

PA House Democrats
PA House GOP daily updates
PA Senate Democrats
PA Senate Republicans

Special Session

Monday In the House, HB59 laid on the table and removed
Tuesday no action
Wednesday no action
Thursday no action
Friday no action

Regular Session

Resolutions

These are selected resolutions that passed either the house or senate this week.

HR0774 A Resolution recognizing the communities of Hershey, Dauphin County, and Intercourse and Lititz, Lancaster County, as "Foodie Towns."

HR0776 A Resolution recognizing the week of May 7 through 13, 2006, as "National Postcard Week" in Pennsylvania.

Bills

These bills passed either the house or senate this week.

House

HB 28 By Representatives LEDERER and McILHINNEY. Prior Printer's Nos. 31, 3529. Printer's No. 4142. An Act authorizing the Department of Transportation, with the approval of the Governor, to grant and convey to the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority a tract of land situate in the City of Philadelphia, Philadelphia County.

HB 901 Prior Printer's No. 1024. Printer's No. 3978. An Act amending Title 75 (Vehicles) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, providing for lighting on motorcycles.

HB 1195 By Representatives YUDICHAK, GEORGE, THOMAS, SURRA, CALTAGIRONE, DeWEESE, BELARDI, BELFANTI, BOYD, CAPPELLI, FRANKEL, GRUCELA, MUNDY, PRESTON, REICHLEY, SAINATO, SOLOBAY, WALKO, YOUNGBLOOD and DENLINGER. Printer's No. 1401. 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 Pollution Prevention Program.

HB1447 Printer's No. 1745. An Act amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, providing for probable cause arrests in misdemeanor sexual offenses.

HB 1526 By Representatives GEIST, CAPPELLI, GINGRICH, GODSHALL, MARKOSEK, R. MILLER, SCAVELLO, E. Z. TAYLOR and WILT. Printer's No. 1859. An Act amending the act of April 8, 1937 (P.L.262, No.66), known as the Consumer Discount Company Act, further providing for powers conferred on licensees.

HB 2248 By Representatives DALLY, ADOLPH, CALTAGIRONE, GINGRICH, HARPER, HARRIS, MUSTIO, REICHLEY, WILT and YUDICHAK. Printer's No. 3136. An Act amending the act of March 28, 2000 (P.L.23, No.7), known as the Fair Credit Extension Uniformity Act, further providing for the definition of "debt."

HB 2318 Prior Printer's Nos. 3285, 3979. Printer's No. 4143. An Act amending Title 75 (Vehicles) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, further providing for securing loads in vehicles by permitting an exception for forage transportation from the field to storage facilities.

HB2381 Prior Printer's Nos. 3397, 3754. Printer's No. 4145. A Joint Resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, providing for marriage between one man and one woman.

HB2399 Prior Printer's No. 3447. Printer's No. 3961. An Act amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, further providing for grading the offense of impersonating a public servant.

HB2401 Printer's No. 3435. An Act amending the act of March 7, 1901 (P.L.20, No.14), referred to as the Second Class City Law, further providing for penalty for false personification.

HB 2402 Printer's No. 3436. An Act amending the act of June 25, 1919 (P.L.581, No.274), referred to as the First Class City Government Law, further providing for penalty for false personification.

HB2403 Printer's No. 3437. An Act repealing the act of June 1, 1915 (P.L.708, No.326), entitled "An act to prevent the wearing of the badge of the Bureau of Police, in cities of the first class, by unauthorized persons, and providing a penalty therefor."

SB 303 By Senators PILEGGI, PUNT, GREENLEAF, ERICKSON, THOMPSON, RHOADES, WOZNIAK, TOMLINSON, KITCHEN, WONDERLING, TARTAGLIONE, LOGAN, KASUNIC, MUSTO, WAUGH, LEMMOND, RAFFERTY and STOUT. Prior Printer's Nos. 315, 1356, 1748. Printer's No. 1780. An Act amending Title 42 Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, further providing for fees for constables.

SB 775 By Senators GREENLEAF, COSTA, LEMMOND, O'PAKE, RAFFERTY, STACK, ERICKSON and FERLO. Prior Printer's No. 954. Printer's No. 1795. An Act amending the act of June 19, 2002 (P.L.377, No.56), known as the Interstate Compact for the Supervision of Adult Offenders Act, imposing an application fee; providing for the collection and the use of the application fee; and providing for definitions.

SB 986 By Senators LEMMOND, THOMPSON, PUNT, RAFFERTY, ERICKSON, MUSTO, ARMSTRONG, COSTA, VANCE, WAUGH, WENGER, PILEGGI, O'PAKE, FONTANA, CORMAN, M. WHITE, ORIE, EARLL and C. WILLIAMS. Printer's No. 1317. An Act amending the act of May 1, 1933 (P.L.103, No.69), known as The Second Class Township Code, further providing for personal property.

SB 1056 By Senators PIPPY, BRIGHTBILL, MADIGAN, ORIE, M. WHITE, WONDERLING, RAFFERTY, WAUGH, COSTA, KITCHEN and WOZNIAK. Prior Printer's No. 1445. Printer's No. 1809. An Act amending Title 75 (Vehicles) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, further providing for commercial driver's license requirements and for operation of all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles by persons under sixteen years of age.

Senate

HB1834 Prior Printer's No. 2448. Printer's No. 3169. An Act amending Title 20 (Decedents, Estates and Fiduciaries) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, further providing for electronic access to driver records to confirm organ donor status.

SB 1200 By Senators STACK, BOSCOLA, KITCHEN, FONTANA, MUSTO, PILEGGI, MELLOW, ORIE, TARTAGLIONE, EARLL, STOUT, RAFFERTY, COSTA, O'PAKE, LOGAN, RHOADES, PUNT, PIPPY, GREENLEAF, ROBBINS and WASHINGTON. Printer's No. 1713. An Act amending the act of October 10, 1974 (P.L.705, No.235), known as the Lethal Weapons Training Act, further providing for certification.

HB 2304 By Representatives SOLOBAY, McCALL and GEIST. Printer's No. 3228. An Act designating the bridge carrying State Route 1025 over Interstate 79 in North Strabane Township, Washington County, as the Canon-McMillan Alumni Bridge.

SB 1139 By Senators BROWNE, BOSCOLA, CORMAN, ORIE, GORDNER, PILEGGI, RAFFERTY, WONDERLING and C. WILLIAMS. Prior Printer's No. 1598. Printer's No. 1657. An Act amending the act of March 4, 1971 (P.L.6, No.2), known as the Tax Reform Code of 1971, further providing, in personal income tax, for definitions and for tax status election by small corporations.

SB 1153 By Senators GREENLEAF, COSTA, LEMMOND, PICCOLA, O'PAKE, RAFFERTY, GORDNER, EARLL, PILEGGI, BROWNE and WASHINGTON. Prior Printer's No. 1633. Printer's No. 1680. An Act amending the act of April 24, 1931 (P.L.48, No.40), entitled "An act requiring the recording of certain written agreements pertaining to real property, and prescribing the effect thereof as to subsequent purchasers, mortgagees, and judgment creditors of the parties thereto," providing for the requirements for valid recording of documents.

SB 1179 By Senators RHOADES, D. WHITE, O'PAKE, MUSTO, WONDERLING, LEMMOND, REGOLA and WOZNIAK. Printer's No. 1672. An Act amending the act of November 10, 1999 (P.L.491, No.45), known as the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, further providing for applicability.

For Those Who Like Straw Polls

DFA is having an election for Grassroots All-Star. Of the 34 candidates, four are from PA: Joe Sestak (PA-07), Patrick Murphy (PA-08), Chris Carney (PA-10) and Lois Herr (PA-16). Be aware that to vote you have to enter first and last name, zipcode and email and you will be added to mailing lists.

Virginia Gov. Mark Warner is heading up a "Change the Map" vote for Forward Together PAC, with 3 rounds. June 1-13 nominate; June 14-25 top 10, June 25-July 4 grand prize (a fundraiser with Mark Warner). Nominations are divided into East and West. The East section has options for Ed Rendell, Bob Casey, the four congressional candidates listed above plus four others. Note that in order to vote you have to create an account on Forward Together PAC, with name, email and zipcode. Given the rumored presidential ambitions of Gov. Warner, I assume this is a not so subtle way of putting together a national database of potential supporters.

Me, personally, I say just send your favorite congressional candidate a donation instead, but if you like these things, knock yourself out.

PA in the WSJ

I've been catching up on the Wall Street Journal. A few Pennsylvania-related items this week:

"Republicans Reingnite Hot-button Issues" by Sarah Kueck and Brody Mullins (6/06/06) has this paragraph:

In Pennsylvania, where Republican Sen. Rick Santorum is in a close contest to keep his seat, Republicans have highlighted his support of the gay-marraige amendment to help separate him from Democrat Bob Casey Jr. Mr. Casey has blurred his differences with the incumbent on social issues, since he is one of the few prominent Democrats who, like Mr. Santorum, opposes abortion. Mr. Casey said in an April debate that he opposes gay marriage but wouldn't support a constitutional ban, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

This is not politically related but caught my eye anyway. "Plan to Build Chidren's DNA Database Raises Concerns," by Atonio Regalado. First two paragraphs:

Why do some children become obese when they eat junk food, while others don't? Which kids are most susceptible to asthma?

Attempting to answer such questions, the Children's Hopsital of Philadelphia, the nation's oldest pediatric medical center, is launching a major effort to collect and analyze detailed DNA profiles on as many as 100,000 of its child patients, the first effort to collect DNA on so many children.

Oooh, I don't know about this. According to the article:

Once the DNA is collected, patients won't be informed every time the data are studied. Philip R. Johnson, Jr., CHOP's chief scientific officer, says parents will sign forms that say "You can study my DNA and access my medical information." He says the wording is "very broad" to allow difference kinds of research.

This makes me very nervous....

One More "Our Part"

One more addition to the "our part of the bargain" discussion, from Phillyville. tomorrow I'll try to put a link to all of them on the sidebar.

Press Release Round-up

A few items from the inbox:

John Norvaisas, Democratic candidate running against Paul Clymer for the 145th state house district has a nice list of events on his website. the 145th district is in Bucks County and includes East Rockhill, Haycock, Milford, Perkasie, Quakertown, Richland Richlandtown, Sellersville, Springfield, Trumbauersville & West Rockhill.

Joe Sestak has released his plan for ending military engagement in Iraq. (via politicspa) Sestak has also been getting some good press lately. See this article in USA Today ("GOP lawmaker in Pa. fighting to keep his job," by Andrea Stone) and this article from Newsweek ("Politics: High-Level Interest in a Low-Level Race" by Mark Hosenball, 5/29/06 issue).

A Quick Look at the 10th Congressional District

Don Sherwood, incumbent Republican congressman for the 10th congressional district will face Democratic challenger Chris Carney in November.

Sherwood barely survived a tough primary battle against Kathy Scott, who spent less than $5,000 on the race. At the end of March Sherwood had over $600,000 on hand. His rather messy extramarital affair was a factor in the primary. The Hill had a nice article in early May discussing Sherwood, Scott, and Carney, a political science professor and in the Navy Reserves.

Carney's campaign has put together a nice introductory video for those wishing to learn more about him. (It is also on his website.)

The 10th District contains the Central Susquehanna Valley region of Snyder, Union, Northumberland and Montour counties; the Back Mountain area of Luzerne County; Bradford, Sullivan, Wyoming, Susquehanna, Wayne and Pike counties; parts of Lycoming County, parts of Lackawanna County and Ward Township in Tioga County.

PA-08 Update

Joe Wilson (husband of Valerie Plame) attended a fundraiser for Patrick Murphy yesterday. Article from the Inky here. (Dana Reddington, "Ex-envoy helps Murphy fund-raiser")

Murphy has been endorsed by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund of Bucks County. (press release via politicspa, article from phillyburbs, "Planned Parenthood endorses Murphy," by Brian Scheid)

Telephone Tax Debate in the State Senate

As promised, I have some information from the April 03, 2006, State Senate Journal. On pages 14-19 of the pdf version you will find some lively, informed, and civil debate on telephone and cell phone tax. The primary speakers are Sen. Fumo and Sen. Wonderling. I don't understand the subject well enough to figure out exactly what they are talking about but they both have some facts and figures to back up their opinions. Fumo is dogged in trying to pass Senate Bill 691, offering a variety of amendments. Wonderling kept up his opposition. It is really fascinating to read, even if you don't grasp all the complexities of the subject. Interesting bits, on p. 16 Fumo takes a swipe at the House and their inability to pass lobbying reform. On p. 19 he says the bill is a tax break for Verizon and he hopes they choke on it. I encourage you to read through the entire debate yourself.

As an additional tidbit, in the April 4th State Senate Journal, on pages 12 and 13 of the pdf version, Sen. Tartaglione and Sen. Hughes again bring up the minimum wage.

Two Notes from the Senate Journals

A few more days' worth of PA Senate Journals have been released. I'll have more on this tomorrow, but here are two quick notes.

1) On March 27, p. 12 of the pdf version, a Senate Democratic leader made (another) long speech on Pres. George Bush and his policies. In this he refers to Bush as King George and King George the Terrorist. I think this is out of place. I don't like Bush, didn't vote him, and plan to do a dance on the joyful, happy day that he leaves office. But until then he is Pres. Bush. In my view, it is unseemly for someone in a leadership position to use inflammatory and belittling language in official state senate chambers to describe another elected official, no matter how much we might all dislike him. It lowers the overall level of civility. Just my opinion. (If you want to know who it was you have to read the Journal online.)

2) I couldn't help but notice Senator Washington was on personal or legislative leave for all 9 days the Senate met in March. Not that there's anything wrong with that..... I just noticed, that's all.

A Miscellany of Links

Russ Shade has finally gotten confirmation that he won the Democratic primary for house district 183 and will face incumbent Republican Julie Harhart in November. Harhart and Shade both ran write-in campaigns for the Democratic spot on the ballot. Had she won, Harhart would have been unopposed in the general election.

PoliticsPA has put together a list of the 7 deadly sins and pols to match.

Lois Murphy, Democratic candidate for the 6th congressional district, is featured in a New York Times article.

Russ Diamond, independent candidate for governor, wants to abolish all property taxes.

A Quick Look at the 151st State House District

This is a quick look at a race I hope to watch. Longer posts will follow later in the election season.

Republican incumbent state representative Eugene McGill faces Democratic challenger Rick Taylor. I heard Taylor speak briefly at one of those multi-candidate forums I like so much earlier this spring and was really impressed. He did not appear packaged at all, but very genuine. You would want to live next door to this guy. I think you would want to be represented by him, too.

The district itself is one of those mutants created in the last redistricting mess. It includes large parts of Montgomery and Horsham Townships and parts of Lower Gwynedd, Upper Dublin and a smidge of Abington Townships. At least it is all in one county (Montgomery).

Good Post by Ferrick

Capitol Ideas (see sidebar) has been away so I haven't been getting my usual full daily dose of political commentary. In the meantime, Tom Ferrick had a great post today on the state legislature reconvening and it's post-election mood. I hear he is supplying the popcorn if you want to watch the show.