Sunday, February 17, 2013
An eastern Pennsylvania state senator has introduced legislation to legalize marijuana and sell it alongside alcohol.
State Sen. Daylin Leach (D-Montgomery County) introduced legislation last week to legalize marijuana use in Pennsylvania for adults age 21 and older. Gov. Tom Corbett has already stated opposition to the proposal. Leach has also introduced a few medical marijuana bills in the Pennsylvania Senate, the latest of which in 2011 was co-sponsored by two state senators from Allegheny County, Jim Ferlo and Wayne Fontana. Leach’s latest proposal would provide for legal possession of up to an ounce of marijuana. He envisions that it could be sold alongside alcohol in state liquor stores and at beer distributors. Production, distribution and sale would be regulated in the same way as alcohol. He said the state should tax the sale, which at $1 per …
Thursday, February 14, 2013
State Rep. Erin Molchany and Sen. Wayne Fontana lauded the decision Thursday.
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. Local political leaders reacted to the decision Thursday on social media and on their official websites. State Rep. Erin Molchany (D-Brookline) posted the following on her official Facebook page: Attorney General Kane's decision to reject Gov. Corbett's back room lottery privatization deal is a victory for open government and for our seniors who depend on lottery-funded programs. This plan must be vetted by the legislature and the general public to determine what impact it would have on these programs and on …
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
The Administration has less than a week to execute an agreement that will turn the management of the Pennsylvania Lottery over to a private British company, Fontana says.
- GOVERNMENT
-
Wednesday, January 16
Last Friday, the Corbett Administration issued a “notice of award” of a 20-year management contract for the Pennsylvania Lottery's $3.5-billion operation to the British-based firm Camelot Global Services, PA, LLC. The notice of award is not yet a binding contract commitment, but a first step in the privatizing process. The Administration now has less than a week to execute an agreement that will turn the management of the Pennsylvania Lottery over to the private company. The Administration is currently under a lot of scrutiny by many members of the General Assembly, as well as the labor union representing lottery workers. Prior to a Senate Finance Committee hearing yesterday, there were lots of questions that remained unanswered including …
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
State Sen. Wayne Fontana encourages constituents to contact Port Authority Board and speak out against cuts.
- GOVERNMENT
-
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
As many of you have probably already heard, the Port Authority of Allegheny County has once again not only threatened to reduce service hours and routes by 35 percent but also increase fare rates come Sept. 2. Although ridership is up, this would make it the largest cut in the agency’s 48-year history, affecting every user of the system in some way. The Port Authority is governed by a nine-member Board of Directors, who are appointed by the Allegheny County government. The tax payers are responsible for much of the authority’s income since it comes from county, state and federal sources. Although the Port Authority is publically funded, the authority makes its own decisions and the state has no control on the spending or the ability to …
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Last week, Sen. Fontana proposed three alternatives to the reassessment system. Here, he discusses the responses he received.
- GOVERNMENT
-
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Last week, I asked for your thoughts on three alternatives I proposed to the current property assessment system. Thank you to everyone that weighed in with their opinions. The majority of respondents believe the best choice is to eliminate property taxes and allow local governments and school districts to shift to a sales and/or income tax. While I believe this alternative is better than the current system, of the three options I presented, this would be the most difficult to achieve. First, elected officials in counties where reassessments are not an issue would be hesitant to support a tax shift. Even if support existed for this tax shift among a majority of the General Assembly, creating a statewide system where we shift property taxes…
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
'The only way to describe the hand dealt to my constituents by the Legislative Reapportionment Commission is a raw deal.' - Chelsa Wagner
Dormont and Brookline Chelsa Wagner (D-Brookline) was sworn-in as Allegheny County Controller Jan. 2, but she won't be paid for it. At least not yet. Instead, Wagner will remain on the state government's payroll and forgo her county salary in an effort to serve her constituents as a state House representative for Pennsylvania's 22nd Legislative District. Wagner's district—which includes Baldwin Township, Castle Shannon Borough, parts of Whitehall Borough and parts of the City of Pittsburgh (including Brookline and Beechview) is moving to the Allentown area—approximately 300 miles east, according to the state's final reapportionment plan. "If I resign (as a state representative) before the reapportionment is finalized," Wagner said, "the …
Fontana says current system is unworkable, burdensome, expensive and inaccurate.
- GOVERNMENT
-
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
It has often been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. That statement perfectly explains the ongoing, court-ordered, reassessment fiasco taking place in Allegheny County. The current process is unworkable, burdensome, expensive and inaccurate. Earlier this week, I wrote Judge R. Stanton Wettick, Jr. and asked him to delay the implementation of the 2012 reassessed property values until the General Assembly can craft a statewide solution. On Tuesday afternoon, Judge Wettick announced he would rule on Thursday, Jan. 12, whether or not to delay using the new property values by one year. I am hopeful the delay is granted, but regardless of which property values are …
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Fontana plans legislation to make reassessment system more uniform.
State Sen. Wayne Fontana has asked county Judge R. Stanton Wettick to delay the implementation of the reassessment process, according to an article posted today on Fontana's website. According to the article, Fontana is in the process of writing legislation—Senate Bill 1280—that would change Pennsylvania’s current reassessment system to one that is uniform. The full article and letter to Judge Wettick is available on Fontana's website by clicking here. Fontana plans to further discuss the reassessment situation in his Wednesday morning column on Dormont-Brookline Patch, said Keith Wehner of Fontana's office.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
State Sen. Fontana summarizes several bills the Senate will consider in it's last scheduled session of 2011.
- GOVERNMENT
-
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
As I write this, the Senate is currently in its last scheduled session week of 2011. There are many bills on a wide variety of issues that are still being deliberated, but very few of them will be voted on before the end of the calendar year. Following is a quick summary of several bills that the Senate is considering this week – they are also bills that constituents have expressed an interest in: Senate Resolution 250 (SR 250) establishes a bi-cameral, bi-partisan Task Force on Child Protection. The group will review current laws and procedures relating to the reporting of child abuse and the protection of the health and safety of children throughout the Commonwealth, and will make recommendations as to how that system can be improved…
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
A change to the Liquor Code would allow distillers to sell their distilled spirits.
- GOVERNMENT
-
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
I, and my colleagues in the General Assembly, continue to work on liquor issues in an effort to help consumers by providing for greater access while encouraging the creation of businesses. This week, the Senate continued to move forward on changes to the Liquor Code that would create a Limited Distillery License. House Bill 242 (HB 242), which was voted out of the Senate Appropriations Committee, would allow distilleries producing under 100,000 gallons of spirits to sell distilled spirits to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (LCB), other licensees and the general public. Additionally, HB 242 allows beer distributors to expand their Sunday hours from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. (currently distributors are only allowed to operate on Sundays from…
Ed M
7:47 am on Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Yup the Bible is fact and abortion is murder. I stand corrected. I presented my opinion about marriage if same sex marriage is legalized. Call names??? What name did I call you Outraged? I don't lie, sir. As stated above, I was incorrect in my last post. I also don't partake in weed. more ›