Recently in State government Category

Sorry for the lack of posts. I'm recovering from a bout of the flu. For a few days there, I didn't have much energy for anything besides reading and napping.

Once I started feeling better, one of the first things I did was go online to make sure that the latest round of Bonusgate allegations wasn't some bizarre fever dream I had while I was laid up.

Those allegations against former House majority leader John Perzel are pretty huge. When I first read them, I found myself thinking of that Dennis Miller joke about Bill Gates -- that he's "a monocle and a Persian cat away from being the villain in a James Bond movie."

Here's an Associated Press story about a bill that would ban texting while driving. The state House's Transportation Committee unanimously approved it, and it's now going to the floor for approval.

Just to make sure, I checked in with state Rep. Eugene DePasquale, D-West Manchester. He confirmed that, yes, it's the same legislation he tried to get passed earlier this year.

In April, DePasquale tried to introduce the ban as an amendment to a bill designed to improve teen safety on the road. The House narrowly defeated it, then passed a bill that would impose an additional $50 fine on those caught driving carelessly if they were also using a hand-held device.

So why the initial rejection? Is there really anybody out there who thinks texting while driving is a GOOD thing? As I mentioned to DePasquale during a phone conversation earlier today, it seems like the kind of thing that would be about as controversial as, say, a ban on smacking toddlers with socks full of steel ball bearings.

DePasquale has a theory about that, which he first voiced back in April.

Yeah, that was lame. Whatever.

When I talked to local state representatives yesterday, Republicans were waiting to see if an amendment by state Rep. Ron Miller, R-Jacobus, was going to pass before deciding if they could support a bill that would legalize table games.

Miller's amendment would have required any revenue from the games to go toward property tax relief. And no, it didn't pass in the Democrat-dominated House.

I've attached the press release. Miller's got a point. The legalization of slots five years ago didn't exactly make the state's property tax problem disappear overnight.

Here's a news release from some local Republicans regarding the state budget.

Last week, it was really looking like Rendell and the legislative leaders had reached a compromise. Then it pretty much fell apart over the weekend.

This morning, I stopped by the county commissioners' work session and talked to President Commissioner Steve Chronister about the situation. He and the other commissioners still have a tough choice on their hands -- borrow money and pay the resulting financing costs, only to risk having the state pass a budget the next day and make the whole thing unnecessary? Or refrain from borrowing money, and risk running out of funds if the state lawmakers don't approve a budget soon?

Chronister hopes that if this impasse continues, the governor will arrange for some kind of interim funding measure for human care agencies, like he did for state worker paychecks. If he's going to do something like that, it better be within the next week or so.

Anyway, here's the press release:

The state budget that appears to be close to passing includes a tax on tickets for theater, performing arts events and concerts.

Here's the text of a press release from the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance arguing against it.

Personally, my concern is that cultural institutions such as the Strand Capitol will be so hard up that they'll have to start booking acts like this:

So last week, the state House of Representatives was going to pass a resolution designating October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. No big deal, right? It's not like anybody's going to argue that domestic violence is a good thing.

But apparently state Rep. Darryl Metcalfe, R-Butler, had a problem with it because it promoted a "homosexual agenda." He found this purported agenda in the phrase: "One in six women and one in 33 men have experienced an attempted or completed rape."

Of course, I don't advocate domestic violence in any form. Yet somehow, I can't help hoping that some variation of this scene plays out when Metcalfe goes home to his wife.

Word out of Harrisburg is that Gov. Rendell and the legislative leaders may have finally ... FINALLY ... reached a compromise that will end Pennsylvania's status as the only state not yet to have ratified its budget for the current fiscal year (which began July 1, by the way).

Man, this has just been ... You know what? Rather than trying to describe how torturous this whole process has been, maybe I can find something roughly equivalent to illustrate it.