Friday, February 15, 2013
State Sen. Matt Smith was one of many local politicians to applaud the decision. However, Republicans are calling the decision "blatantly political" and vowed to challenge the decision.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane has rejected the Corbett Administration’s plan to privatize the management of the Pennsylvania Lottery to a U.K.-based company Camelot Global Services—and Senate Democrats lauded the plan. "It has been clear from the beginning that the Corbett administration’s plan to privatize the management of the lottery was flawed and could potentially jeopardize vital senior programs, " State Sen. Matt Smith, D-Mt. Lebanon said today in a statement. Smith said the plan lacked transparency, noting that the public has not been able to glean specific details about the plan and what it would mean for the many senior programs funded through lottery proceeds. “I was particularly troubled by the drastic expansion …
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Gov. Tom Corbett's 2013-14 budget ties sale of state liquor system to a $1 billion grant for school safety, early education programs, individualized learning and science/math programs.
Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed 2013-14 budget, which he presented Feb. 5, contains an interesting cocktail that mixes the sale of the state's liquor system with funding of a public schools grant. Under his proposal, $1 billion obtained by the proposed privatization of the state's liquor sales would be used to create the Passport for Learning Block Grant that would focus on school safety; enhanced early education programs; individualized learning; and science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses and programs. The $1 billion in revenue to fund that grant will come from the three- to four-year process of selling the Liquor Control Board: $575 million from the wholesale license process, $224 million from the Wine and Spirits retail …
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Democrats voice concerns while Republicans lend support for Gov. Tom Corbett's 2013-14 budget.
Western Pennsylvania Democrats had some harsh words for Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed 2013-14 state budget, which he presented Tuesday, while state Republican Party Chairman Rob Gleason called the governor's plan a "balanced and responsible budget that reinvests in Pennsylvania." “The plan presented by the governor is disappointing,” said Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills. “It was long on politics but short on solutions.” State Rep. Erin Molchany, a newly elected Democrat serving South Hills communities said the governor’s "Band-Aid budget does little to make up for the hurt this state has felt from his deep cuts." State Rep. Robert Matzie, a Democrat representing the Sewickley area, said: “New Jersey has Chris Christie as …
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
The governor has raised funding in some areas but at least some opponents don't feel the budget addresses important issues.
Gov. Tom Corbett delivered highlights of his proposed 2013-14 budget in a speech before the state Legislature on Tuesday morning. The $28.4 billion state budget plan, a 2.4 percent increase over this year, includes no general tax increases. In one of the most controversial areas, Corbett recommended against expanding Medicaid, as provided for under the Affordable Health Care Act. Corbett plans to ask the federal government for flexibililty to let Pennsylvania customize the health insurance program for its needs or have the state reject the Medicaid expansion. Under the act, also known as Obamacare, Medicaid could expand to cover people earning up to 133 percent of the poverty level and provide coverage for upwards of 600,000 uninsured …
Friday, February 1, 2013
Gov. Tom Corbett announced his plan to privatize the liquor system in Pennsylvania and committed $1 billion in proceeds from the process to education funding. How do you feel about the plan to privatize the state stores?
Gov. Tom Corbett, joined by state Rep. Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny County, on Wednesday announced his plan to privatize the liquor system in Pennsylvania and committed $1 billion in proceeds from the process to education funding. Corbett said the $1 billion will be used to create the Passport for Learning Block Grant, which will provide flexibility to schools, allowing our public schools, instead of Harrisburg, to decide what their students need. The grant will focus on four priority areas: school safety, enhanced early education programs, individualized learning and science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses and programs. “Our proposal is part of my commitment to changing Harrisburg, streamlining government and moving …
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
The first-term Democratic state senator called the decision to hire a British-based company to run the Pennsylvania Lottery a “risky scheme” and questioned the motivation of Gov. Tom Corbett.
State Sen. Matt Smith is questioning how Gov. Tom Corbett’s administration made the decision to hire a British company to run the Pennsylvania Lottery. The first-term Democratic senator from Mt. Lebanon said a hearing with the Finance Committee helped to shed light on the decision-making process by the administration, but it “does not forgive the actions taken that effectively cut the public and specifically seniors out of the process” to select the private operator. The Corbett administration last week issued a notice of award to Camelot Global Services, a British-based company, to manage the Pennsylvania Lottery. The governor’s office has said privatizing the lottery will add billions to the state coffers to help its aging population. …
Saturday, December 29, 2012
The Pennsylvania governor speaks at the Moon Township-based air wing, urging military officials to scrap plans to shutter the base.
Standing beneath the wings of a C-130 aircraft at the 911th Airlift Wing, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett said he would work with Pennsylvania's federal lawmakers to fight renewed plans to close the Moon Township air base. Corbett, appearing alongside Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, and state Sen. Matt Smith, D-Mt. Lebanon, implored military officials and federal lawmakers to end efforts to close the 911th as a cost-saving measure. "I'm going to ask our (Pennsylvania) congressional delegation to do whatever they need to do to save this base," Corbett said. The U.S. Air Force has again taken initial steps toward closing the airlift wing after March 2013— after the expiration of a law put…
Friday, December 28, 2012
Corbett, while visiting St. Barnabas' Crystal Conservatories for a Presents for Patients event, also speaks about the fiscal cliff and Pennsylvania's budget.
Gov. Tom Corbett—who called for more attention to mental illness in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary shootings—would not commit Thursday to increased funding for mental health treatment. The governor said it is too early in the budget process to commit to increasing or decreasing funding for anything. His remarks came during a press conference at St. Barnabas' Crystal Conservatories in Valencia after a Presents for Patients presentation. Last week, the governor stressed the need to look at mental illness as reporters at a press conference pressed him on whether he would support an assault weapons ban. "It doesn’t matter whether it is an assault weapon or a handgun, it’s the mental illness issue that we have to work as much as we …
Friday, November 9, 2012
State officials release terms for the potential agreement—which calls for a $150 million upfront payment to the state—in an announcement today.
The state Department of Revenue on Friday announced key terms of a potential private management agreement for the Pennsylvania Lottery. Such an agreement would turn over some unspecified duties of managing the lottery to a private company, which would pay the state up front but then would be compensated for its work. State officials earlier this year began looking at privatizing the lottery as a way of maximizing its revenue. According to a release, key terms of the agreement would include: Now that the scope and terms of a management contract have been determined, a multi-agency team is exploring private management and is reviewing the business plans of qualified bidders. Those business plans will include each qualified bidder’s proposal …
Sunday, July 1, 2012
The budget was enacted with just minutes to spare from the Saturday midnight deadline.
For the second year in a row, Gov. Tom Corbett beat a midnight deadline and signed a state budget that includes no new taxes. "Hopefully we're developing a habit, and I think the Pennsylvania citizens will appreciate that habit of on time," Corbett said after the signing ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda. The final $27.66 billion budget package includes several significant victories for the Corbett administration, including a tax incentive aimed at luring a Shell Oil Co. plant to Beaver County, a measure to alter how teachers are evaluated, and a proposal to tame rising prison costs through targeted sentencing, the Post-Gazette reported. The spending plan, approved by the House on Thursday and the Senate late Friday, maintains funding at …
sieben13
10:07 am on Friday, February 15, 2013
Another joke recommendation by our governor,Wake up Pennsylvanians, our state is being sold from underneath us . more ›