Category: Pennsylvania Legislation

Laws proposed or passed in the Pennsylvania Legislature

The Anti-Education Prevailing Wage

The Delaware County Daily Times (Pa.) published this letter by Lisa Esler in response to an article regarding the rejection of a resolution by the Penn Delco School Board to ask the state legislature to end the mandate requiring school districts to pay a “prevailing wage” for public works of greater than $25,000. This means that to bid on these jobs contractors must pay a wage that “prevails” in each reason. This “prevailing wage” is determined by the state’s Department of Labor and Industry.

One should also note that contractors are also required by federal law to pay “prevailing wage” on all projects which receive in excess of $2,000 of federal funding.

It is well understood that this significantly inflates the cost of public works and the burden on the taxpayer.

And we wonder why our lives are getting harder while the lives of the politically connected are getting easier.

Lisa is a member of the Penn Delco School Board and the Delaware County Patriots.

Here is her letter:

This is in response to the article concerning the prevailing wage resolution which was voted down 6-2 by the Penn Delco School Board.

Prevailing wage inflates the cost of school construction projects costing the taxpayers from 10 to 30 percent for these projects. This money would be better used to help in the education of our children. The school board’s responsibility is to represent the children and the taxpayer, not to pay inflated prices for construction or represent any group of constituents directly.

Many of these same construction companies would do the work for less but are bound by this law (unfunded mandate) which was created by bureaucrats in Harrisburg who continue to feed off of union contributions for their elections. Other school boards in the state have passed the same or similar resolutions, including two in Chester County with a 9-0 vote.

The Pennsylvania School Board Association, which most school boards are members of, including Penn Delco, has said that prevailing wage is the number one unfunded mandate from Harrisburg and provided a similar resolution encouraging school districts to pass.

Legislation from Harrisburg ties the hands of school boards from making financial decisions that would benefit those they represent and legislators continue to put their own personal gain above their constituents. This is seen not only with the prevailing wage law but their unwillingness to end teacher strikes in Pennsylvania as well as deal with the pension crisis which they were well aware of years ago and were not willing to deal with until it hit “crisis status.”

The question remains, who does Harrisburg really represent if common-sense legislation is ignored? And what responsibly does the school board have in shedding light on important legislation that benefits both children and taxpayers?

Lisa Esler

Aston

Anti-Education Prevailing Wage

Anti-Education Prevailing Wage

New Law Helps Those Facing Foreclosure

Legislation was recently signed into law to direct funding for the Homeowners’ Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (HEMAP) to aid Pennsylvanians facing home foreclosure, said State Rep. Jim Cox (R-129). 

Act 70 of 2012 directs the Pennsylvania Treasury to use most of the funds acquired through the Homeowner Assistance Settlement Agreement to fund HEMAP. The Homeowner Assistance Settlement Agreement was established in February between the state attorney general and leading U.S. mortgage companies. In addition to providing funding for HEMAP, the new law also provides homeowners with additional time to challenge certain foreclosures and clarifies other aspects of the process. 

Nearly all of the funding from the payments made pursuant to the agreement is directed to consumers, with 90 percent of funding going to HEMAP, 5 percent to the Office of Attorney General for housing consumer protection programs, and 5 percent for legal assistance involving housing programs. 

Fatal Hit And Runs Now A 2nd Degree Felony

Legislation designed to strengthen penalties for individuals involved in fatal hit-and-run accidents was recently signed into law, reports State Rep. Jim Cox (R-129) 

Act 93 of 2012 closes a loophole in existing law that unintentionally encourages a hit-and-run driver to flee the scene of an incident, especially if the driver is intoxicated. 

Under previous law, a fatal hit-and-run accident is a third-degree felony that carries a mandatory prison term of at least one year, with a maximum sentence of seven years. By comparison, a fatal accident that involves a drunk driver is a second-degree felony with a much stiffer penalty range of three to 10 years in prison. The new law increases the penalty for a fatal hit-and-run accident from a third-degree to a second-degree felony, allowing judges to issue a longer prison sentence to ensure fair penalties are enforced. The law also aims to make sure in these cases drivers stop to render help rather than flee. 

Bill Would Make Construction Firms Use E-Verify

Members of the House Labor and Industry Committee, June 20, unanimously voted to send to the House a bill requiring construction industry employers to participate in the federal E-Verify Program (EVP) and federal Social Security Number Verification Service (NVS), reports State Rep. Jim Cox (R-129)

House Bill 380 would require employers to verify through NVS the Social Security numbers of current employees, and within three days of the first day of employment, use EVP to determine the eligibility of new hires. The bill states that if an employer is found to knowingly hire an individual not verified through the programs, the Secretary of Labor and Industry can forfeit all licenses or certifications for up to 90 days for a second violation and for up to three years for a subsequent violation. A first violation is considered a warning. 

GOP Stalls Property Tax Reform Bill

The State House Finance Committee, yesterday, June 11, voted 13-11 to table House Bill 1776 i.e.  Property Tax Independence Act (House Bill 1776), sponsored by Rep. Jim Cox (R-129)
The bill would prohibit property taxes from being used to fund public schools, replacing them dollar for dollar with increases in the sales and income taxes.
School funding makes for about 80 percent of the property tax burden in the state and about 10,000 Pennsylvanian lose their homes annually due to an inability to pay property tax.
Basically, under the current system we are renting our homes from the state.
The motion to table was made by Rep. Eli Evankovich (R-54) and nine of the 13 supporting it were Republicans. Six of the 10 Democrats on the 25-member committee voted to send the bill on to the House for a full vote.
“This proves that property tax independence is not a partisan issue,” Cox said.  “A majority of Democrats on the committee voted with us to move the bill forward.  Unfortunately, we had some Republicans who voted to stall our efforts.  Perhaps those lawmakers need to hear from their property taxpayers.”
The motion does not kill the bill, Cox says.
Cox said that  opponents argued the bill should be amended before being approved.  However, none of these members offered an amendment at today’s House Finance Committee meeting.
“I wonder about the sincerity of members who said they’d vote for the bill if it was changed, but chose not to offer any amendments,” Cox said.  “In my experience in Harrisburg, that is often a tactic used to avoid an important issue.”
Other members argued that the vote should be delayed until the bill was in pristine condition for the committee’s consideration.  However, Cox rightly pointed out that the committee did not hold other major pieces of legislation to the same standard.  House Bill 1950, which placed a fee on Marcellus Shale, was significantly amended after being approved by the House Finance Committee but before being signed into law.  Likewise, House Bill 2150, which would close a tax loophole and provide millions of dollars in tax breaks for corporations, was also amended after the House Finance Committee considered it.
“The committee seems to hold a bill that would benefit homeowners to a higher standard than it did bills that would benefit environmentalists or corporations,” Cox said.  “I think constituents are left to draw the conclusion that there appears to be two different yardsticks used to measure bills before the House Finance Committee.
“Pennsylvania homeowners now have a list of lawmakers who need to be persuaded to support the Property Tax Independence Act,” Cox said about those who voted to table the bill.  “I would hope the constituents of these representatives would reach out to the members and encourage them to support the bill in the future.”
House Finance Committee members who joined Cox in voting against the motion to table the bill include:  Rep. Ryan Aument (R-41), Rep. John Bear (R-97), Rep. Scott Boyd (R-43), Rep. Matt Bradford (D-70),  Rep. Flo Fabrizio (D-2), Rep. Adam Harris (R-82), Rep. Sid Kavulich (D-144), Rep. Rick Mirabito (D-83), Rep. Matt Smith (D-42) and Democratic Chairwoman Phyllis Mundy (D-120)
 GOP Stalls Property Tax Reform Bill
GOP Stalls Property Tax Reform Bill

Bill Would Grant Survivors Deceased Property Tax Rebates

The State House, yesterday, June 5, passed HB 468, that would allow survivors of a person   eligible for the state’s Property Tax and Rent Rebate program  to collect benefits the deceased would have been eligible to receive.

The vote was 197-0. The bill had been introduced by Jim Cox (R-129). It now goes to the Senate.

“When a person who is eligible for the Property Tax and Rent Rebate program passes away, a family member should be able to collect the money,” Cox said.

The Property Tax and Rent Rebate program provides benefits based on the previous year’s taxes or rent. For example, the program in 2012 will provide rebates for taxes and rent paid by eligible applicants in 2011. Therefore, an applicant who paid property taxes in 2011 but passed away before the end of that year would not have an opportunity to apply for a rebate.

Currently, the benefit owed to the deceased person would be lost and family members would be unable to claim it.

“These families are dealing with the loss of a loved one,” Cox said. “Denying them the rebate that their loved one was eligible for is like throwing salt in an open wound.”

Under Cox’s legislation, a family member – including a surviving spouse, child, mother or father, or sister or brother – would be eligible to collect the benefit owed to the deceased person.

‘Only’ 10,000 Annually Lose Homes Due To Property Tax In Pa.

The House Finance Committee will vote June 11 on whether to send   the Property Tax Independence Act (House Bill 1776) on down the line according to the bill’s sponsor Rep. Jim Cox (R-129). 
A hearing on the bill was held yesterday, June 4.
The bill  is the only legislation before the House that would completely replace school district property taxes. 
Cox noted that farmers are now supporting the bill.
The Property Tax Independence Act would replace school property tax funding for schools across the Commonwealth with new state revenues. The bill would provide the same level of funding for schools across Pennsylvania as they currently receive through school property taxes. 
The legislation would use an increased state Personal Income Tax and an enhanced and expanded state sales tax to replace school district property tax revenues. The income tax would rise from approximately 3 percent to 4 percent. The sales tax would be enhanced from 6 percent to 7 percent. Several special interest loopholes in the sales tax also would be closed, Cox said. 
“Switching to income and sales taxes for school funding provides the obvious benefits of spreading the burden of public education to all who benefit from the investment, not just landowners,” said Joel Rotz, director of state governmental relations with the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, in his prepared testimony before the committee. “It also better reflects [the] ability to pay based upon income and the sale of items consumers choose to purchase.” 
“The Pennsylvania State Grange has supported elimination of the property tax for many years,” said Betsy Huber, who serves as legislative liaison for the organization, in prepared testimony delivered to the committee. “The Grange supports taxation for our public schools based on an income tax and/or sales tax that are based on ability to pay.” 
Not all testifiers supported the proposal. The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, a liberal think tank based in Harrisburg, came out in opposition to the Property Tax Independence Act. Michael Wood, the center’s research director, testified before the committee that, because the school district property tax only forces approximately 10,000 Pennsylvanians out of their homes each year, replacing it was unjustifiable.  
For additional information about the Property Tax Independence Act, including a complete list of items that would be subject to the expanded state sales tax, constituents should visit www.RepJimCox.com.

Felons With Guns Would Get Automatic 5 Years

The State House, May 23, passed House Bill 2331 by a vote of 190-7. The bill imposes a five-year minimum sentence without parole for felons caught illegally possessing firearms, says State Rep. Jim Cox (R-129)
The bill would impose additional penalties for a subsequent offense.
It is now before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

2nd HB 1776 Hearing

State Rep. Jim Cox (R-129) has announced that the second hearing before  the House Finance Committee hearing regarding Property Tax Independence Act (House Bill 1776) will be 9:30 a.m., June 4 in Room G50 in the Irvis Office Building in Harrisburg.

The hearing will be streamed live at www.RepJimCox.com.

HB 1776 would prohibit school districts from using the property tax requiring them to replace it with either a sales tax or a personal income tax.

2nd HB 1776 Hearing

Bill Would Cut Tax $ To Abortionists In Pa.

State Representative Daryl Metcalfe (R-12), yesterday, May 23, introduced a bill that would prohibit Planned Parenthood and all other abortion-on-demand providers from receiving taxpayer funding.

Also supporting the Whole Woman’s Health Funding Priority Act are Representatives Kathy Rapp (R-65); Ryan Aument (R-41), Bryan Cutler (R-100) and Gordon Denlinger (R-88). 

Hopefully, some of the more go-along-to-get-along types who claim to be pro life join them. The Republicans hold the majority in the state Senate and the House, along with the governor’s office so this should be a no-brainer. Given Harrisburg and money and favors, no-brainer does not mean done deal.

And for those out there who feel uncomfortable about “social issues” don’t think of cutting government spending as a “social issue”.
 
If we can’t defund the dubious services provided by Planned Parenthood — the benefits of which cannot be socially substantiated — what can we defund? 
Bill Would Cut Tax $ To Abortionists In Pa.