State Sen. Wayne D. Fontana

General Assembly Must Pass Child Abuse Reform Bill Quickly, Fontana Says

The bill, introduced by Sen. Fontana, aims to streamline the process of reporting child abuse.

As a response to the Jerry Sandusky and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia child abuse scandals, the Pennsylvania General Assembly created a Task Force on Child Protection in January 2012. The mission of the task force was to review the state’s child protection laws and procedures. After months of testimony throughout the state by various advocacy groups and professionals who deal with child abuse on a daily basis, the task force released their recommendations in November 2012. At a press conference on Tuesday, a bipartisan package of bills was introduced that provide for sweeping reform by updating Pennsylvania’s child protection laws based on recommendations by the taskforce. My longtime proposal, now Senate Bill 31 (SB 31), was part of the…

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State Sen. Wayne D. Fontana

Small Games of Chance Reporting Requirement Delay

This week's column from State Sen. Wayne Fontana.

During the 2011-12 legislative session, the General Assembly passed legislation, Act 2 of 2012, which increased prize limits for small games of chance for the first time in 23 years. Under this legislation, prize limits for daily games increase from $500 to $1,000, weekly games from $5,000 to $25,000, and monthly raffles from $5,000 to $10,000. These changes to the Local Option Small Games of Chance Act will help many of our non-profit organizations raise additional and much-needed revenue. Whether it be veterans’ or fraternal organizations, religious groups, or civic or service associations, the increased prize limits will help keep them afloat as most of the money will be returned to the community which in turn will benefit us all. In …

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MSgt. John DeLallo

11:29 am on Wednesday, January 9, 2013

I looked at my post, and didn't make myself clear enough. This is a great example of what good things happen in Harrisburg when everybody works together. If a Republican had published this article, I would have chastised him/her as well. Keep up the good work for the "Common-Wealth", Senator. Give yourself a Bravo Zulu.   more ›

State Sen. Wayne D. Fontana

Pluses, Negatives of General Assembly Decisions

State Sen. Wayne Fontana discusses the positives and negatives of the General Assembly's votes for the 2011-12 legislative session.

The General Assembly last week concluded voting session for the 2011-2012 legislative session.  While there were many important measures enacted during this session, I cannot help but also reflect upon the number of crucial issues that have gone unfinished or been ignored by the Corbett Administration and majority party in the House and Senate. From the crippling funding cuts to our education system and the dismantling of safety net programs that benefit our most vulnerable citizens to the lack of action on our state’s transportation infrastructure and mass transit funding crisis, the past two years will be defined as that of misguided priorities and missed opportunities. No comprehensive jobs plan to lower our increased unemployment rate…

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Legislators React to New State Budget

What does your state legislator think of Gov. Tom Corbett's 2012-13 budget proposal? Find out here.

Gov. Tom Corbett released his 2012-13 state budget that immediately drew either applause or gnashing of teeth depending on which side of the aisle legislators reside. The governor released his $27.14 billion budget proposal Tuesday that would keep spending in line with last year’s budget that slashed a billion dollars from public education and welfare programs. However, public universities such as Pitt and Penn State face even larger reductions in funding from the state this year. The budget does not include any tax or fee increases, but also does not address transportation issues that include crumbling infrastructure and mass transit funding problems. Corbett, a Republican who was elected in 2010, is unlikely to have much trouble pushing …

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