State government: May 2009 Archives

State Sen. Jake Corman, R-Centre County, who is chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, was in York County last week to talk about what a great plan Republicans have for the state budget, as opposed to the lousy one Gov. Ed Rendell is backing.

Rendell and the Senate Republicans have to find a compromise they can both live with before July 1, the deadline for a new state budget.

Basically, Rendell is talking about a $29 billion spending plan, while the Republicans are backing a $27.3 billion budget. The difference may seem proportionately small, but keep in mind that the vast majority of spending under the state budget is mandatory.

I started covering state politics the year Rendell, a Democrat, took office. And every year since then, he's feuded with Republicans over the state budget.

This year, however, the feud seems to be happening earlier and more publicly than it did in the past. Corman said that's because the economy will make this a particularly difficult budget year.

While I'm sure that's true, I suspect there's another reason as well.

I always end up doing a double-take at this time of year. OK, in tomorrow's primary, I'm going to vote for ... Wait a second! I'm not voting for anybody. Because I can't.

I'm registered as an independent. That's for professional reasons. When I moved to York, I knew that I'd be covering politics, and I didn't want anybody to be able to accuse me of bias on the basis of my voter registration.

People still accuse me of bias all the time, of course. But since liberals and conservatives tend to level that accusation in more-or-less equal amounts, I figure I'm doing a pretty good job of keeping partisanship out of my writing.

Pennsylvania has a closed primary system, meaning you have to be registered in a certain party to vote in its primary. And even though it would benefit me personally if the state government changed that, I don't think they should.

Here's a news release from the office of state Rep. Eugene DePasquale, D-West Manchester.

HARRISBURG, May 18 - State Rep. Eugene DePasquale, D-York, joined Gov. Ed Rendell in Philadelphia today to announce the state's new solar rebate program, the Pennsylvania Sunshine Program.

DePasquale said the program, which was the centerpiece of legislation he authored last year, Special Session H.B. 1, now the Alternative Energy Investment Act of 2008, will provide $100 million in rebates to help fund solar electric (solar photovoltaic, or PV) and solar hot water (solar thermal) projects for homeowners and small businesses in Pennsylvania.

"This program will continue Pennsylvania's commitment toward clean, renewable energy and will not only save money for consumers but also help to grow our economy," DePasquale said.

DePasquale said under the program, homeowners and small-business owners are now eligible for rebates of up to 35 percent on the cost of solar systems installed at their home or business.

Rebates will be awarded on a first-come basis to approved applicants. Households may receive one solar photovoltaic rebate for up to 10 kilowatts of installed PV generating capacity plus one solar thermal rebate not to exceed $2,000. A small business may only submit one PV and one solar thermal application at a time and must complete the project and rebate process prior to submitting another application.

For more information and to apply, residents and small-business owners can visit www.dep.state.pa.us/sunshine.

As promised, here's the sound clip of state Rep. Seth Grove talking about his property tax reform proposal.

Let's face it -- property tax reform isn't the sexiest issue out there. But I probably hear more about it than any other issue in state government. It's a huge problem around here.

State Rep. Seth Grove, R-Hanover Township, recently announced that he's going to introduce some property tax reform legislation. I hope to get him on the phone to talk about it, and post the sound clip here. In the meantime, here's a news release from the House Republican caucus, outlining Grove's plan.

OK, let's see if this works.

For a long time, I've wanted to post brief interviews with area lawmakers on here. This is one with state Rep. Eugene DePasquale from earlier today. It concerns some health insurance legislation that looks like it's about to be become law, and could have a big impact on younger people without insurance.

Here's a news release from the office of state Rep. Ron Miller, R-Jacobus, regarding some bicycle safety legislation he's proposing: