Rep. Bryan Cutler says while there are some positives with the spending plan passed by the House, there are bigger areas of concern.

YouTube Link

No related posts.

According to PLS News a new Democrat bill would reward municipalities who install video poker machines. Talk about “Pay to Play”.

Democrats on Monday introduced a new version of video-lottery legislation, a signal they are intent, despite concerns from the Senate, to push the proposal as part of a package of options to help the state bridge its gaping budget gap.

The new measure, House Bill 1921, would earmark 50 percent of its revenue for municipalities who host the newly legalized machines. A previous video-lottery proposal directed the money toward helping students pay for higher-education.

[...]

“Video poker is probably the worst public policy idea that’s been advanced in Pennsylvania in a generation,” Senator Pileggi told reporters.

The moral pitfalls and possible legal repercussions from casinos, which were awarded slots licenses with the stipulation they wouldn’t have competition within a 10-mile radius, make the legislation untenable, the senator said.

h/t GrassrootsPA

No related posts.

According to The Times-Tribune Gov. Rendell has handed out 255 layoff notices this week with empoyees receiving their final pay on Friday.

The layoffs are fallout from a multibillion-dollar deficit that has prevented passage of a complete budget more than six weeks into the new fiscal year. In the meantime, the state government is running on a bare-bones budget approved last week that excludes funds for many social services, public schools and other vital programs.

[...]

The $12.8 billion budget Rendell signed last week, five weeks late, includes $1.8 billion in federal stimulus money.

It ensures that paychecks will flow to tens of thousands of state employees and sustains programs that include state prisons and health care for the poor, disabled and elderly. But Rendell vetoed nearly $13 billion endorsed by Republicans for social services, school subsidies and more in an attempt to press GOP lawmakers into accepting a tax increase that would allow more than $28 billion in overall spending.

While it appears Rendell still wants to play politics everyday people who work for the state are the ones that suffer. Hopefully he can soon see the alternative the Republicans in the Senate are proposing instead of the huge tax increase that he says is our only option.

h/t Grassroots PA

No related posts.

After being in the middle of 16 budgets in the majority and the minority I think he knows what he’s talking about.

Rep. Sam Rohrer provides an update on the effects of the current budget stalemate.

No related posts.