By Eric Boehm | PA Independent HARRISBURG – Nonprofit groups exploiting a loophole in Pennsylvania’s campaign finance laws will be subject to legislative scrutiny. State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Butler, chairman of the House State Government Committee, said Thursday he would hold a hearing to determine whether some politically active nonprofit organizations are overstepping state law and whether the state’s enforcement of campaign finance laws is lacking. One such group last fall targeted three members of the committee with advertisements, but it did not disclose financial information to the …

By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent HARRISBURG — Inside Pennsylvania’s liquor privatization debate, everyone wants a taste. A new special interest is asking for a seat at the table after the state legislature’s actions threaten the finances of its members. The Liquor Store Real Estate Owners Association is the latest opponent to liquor privatization. The group is comprised of property owners who have lease agreements with the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. Among their ranks is David Neal, a Philadelphia real estate owner who owns the property for the state-owned wine and spirits shop on …

By Eric Boehm | PA Independent HARRISBURG — The administration of Gov. Tom Corbett says a report on Medicaid expansion by the state’s Independent Fiscal Office improperly claims as much as $515 million as savings, revenue or underestimated costs to the state. The IFO report, published in April and updated last week to reflect new information, showed expanding Medicaid in Pennsylvania would produce $180 million in savings for the next during the next budget year – mostly due to shifting state-level costs to the federally funded Medicaid program. The expansion of Medicaid is a part of the …

By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent HARRISBURG — Both of Pennsylvanians U.S. senators said they want to see the IRS investigated for its targeted treatment of conservative political groups. Their sentiments were released on Monday, several days after the IRS publicly stated it had targeted treatment of groups that had “tea party” or “patriot” in their names in applications for tax-exempt status.   Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., said the issue should concern members of any political party, and that he’d like to see the matter as part of a congressional investigation. “The IRS’s actions are akin to an…

By Eric Boehm | PA Independent HARRISBURG – An audit of the state liquor control board reveals that the state agency responsible for selling and regulating the consumption of wine and liquor overstated its assets by more than $1 million during the past fiscal year. The audit, quietly released in March and uncovered by Keri Andren of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review for a story published over the weekend, was conducted by the state auditor general and looked at the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2012. It shows that the PLCB does not regularly take a physical inventory, leading to the …

By PA Independent HARRISBURG — In a capital city teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, and the first city in the nation to be charged by the federal Securities and Exchange Commission with misleading investors, the Pennsylvania state government is beginning the process of putting together a budget. Pension costs and transportation spending will loom large in the new budget, which will get its first legislative vetting next week. Corbett: Get ready to write checks to pay for pension debt Gov. Tom Corbett has talked about the looming danger that Pennsylvania’s $47 billion public pension debt …

By Eric Boehm | PA Independent HARRISBURG – Finally, Pennsylvania will have new legislative districts. In a unanimous decision announced Wednesday, the state Supreme Court upheld a redistricting plan drawn by a commission of legislative leaders and ordered it to be used for the next round of legislative elections in 2014. The plan had been challenged by residents for containing too many legislative districts that unnecessarily divided counties and municipalities, but the court dismissed those appeals. A previous plan prepared by the Legislative Reapportionment Commission, or LRC, had been …

By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent HARRISBURG — In 1997 a postage stamp cost 32 cents, a dozen eggs about $1.17, and a gallon of gas about $1.32. It was also the most recent time Pennsylvania lawmakers touched the state gas tax to raise more money for roads and bridges, said Senate Transportation Minority Chair John Wozniak, D-Cambria. As consumer costs have risen, so have the costs for roads. “I challenge anybody to say they’ve stopped at a convenience store and a cup of coffee is the same today as it was 15 years ago,” Wozniak said. “Government isn’t immune to market forces.” As a result, …

By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent HARRISBURG — Call it nepotism, or call it the status quo. A first-of-its-kind report gives voters an in-depth look into just how far political patronage permeates the U.S. House of Representatives. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, an accountability watchdog group, released the “Family Affair” report” examining what favors sitting House members have gifted on family members, or themselves. The report examines all sitting House members, compiled using information from research databases and campaign disclosure forms. Nine members of …

By PA Independent HARRISBURG — It was not a great week for Gov. Tom Corbett. The state’s unemployment rate is stubbornly high (and Corbett did a poor job explaining why on a radio program), while tax revenue is well below where Corbett needs it to be to make his budget proposal balance.  One of Corbett’s top priorities for the spring — the privatization of the state liquor stores — took several hits this week.  And to top it all off, a new poll confirmed previous ones showing the governor falling behind several potential Democratic nominees in 2014. Liquor privatization gets slowed, …

By Eric Boehm | PA Independent HARRISBURG — Beneath an optimistic top line, several bothersome facts lurk inside Pennsylvania’s jobs report for March. The unemployment rate in the Keystone State fell to 7.9 percent, from 8.1 percent in February. While that reduction leaves the state three ticks above the federal mark of 7.6 percent last month, the more worrying aspects of the report are the decline in people working and those looking for work. According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of people working in Pennsylvania tumbled by about 14,000 in March, following a drop of…

By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania is on its way to cracking down on unemployment fraud. The House of Representatives unanimously passed a proposal to increase penalties for unemployment fraud. Right now, the state temporarily bans collection for two weeks for those who willfully receive improper payments. House Bill 403 will increase the penalty from two to 10 weeks, and increase monetary penalties from a $100 to $1,000 range, to a $500 to $1,500 range. The bill will also erase the statue of limitations for imposing the penalty. Rep. Seth Grove, R-York, sponsored …

By Eric Boehm | PA Independent HARRISBURG — A plan to overhaul municipal pension plans for police and firefighters could help some struggling cities in Pennsylvania deal with millions of dollars of pension debt. It also could bring an end to a guarantee in state law that gives police and firefighters’ unions the right to arbitration in any contract dispute. State Rep. Seth Grove, R-York, will join with business and municipal groups from around the state on Monday to introduce a plan to overhaul some of Pennsylvania’s municipal pension systems. His proposal would create a new type of pension …

By PA Independent Staff HARRISBURG – It was a bit of an ugly week for taxpayer funds. Despite some action from the state House, a loophole allowing retired state workers to collect a paycheck and unemployment benefits remains open for now.  Meanwhile, a solar energy firm in Pittsburgh that got $10 million from taxpayers is going bankrupt and a new no-bid contract means residents and business in Pennsylvania will be paying fees of $2 or more for some online government services. Big dippers: Three scoops into state coffers for re-hired state workers on unemployment The House of Representatives …

By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania teamed up with a private company to revamp and manage its official websites, promising the latest and greatest advances over its own old technology — and it won’t cost the state a dime. Instead, residents and businesses using online government services will cover the bill. Last fall, Pennsylvania entered a sole source contract with NIC USA, an “eGovernment” services firm. It will operate Pennsylvania’s entire online system, from page design to online transactions, and from customer support to hardware upgrades. NIC, which calls …

By Melissa Daniels PA Independent HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Ron Castille called Monday “a sad day” for the judicial system. One of his former colleagues on the bench, former Justice Joan Orie Melvin, resigned from her seat after a conviction for corruption. “It reflects poorly on the entire judiciary,” Castille said. Orie Melvin resigned Monday, a few weeks after she was found guilty of using taxpayer-funded resources for her campaign. Charges include theft, conspiracy and misappropriation of state services. But the ramifications of Orie Melvin’s conviction go …

By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania state government is a pretty sweet place to be an elected official for a few reasons. The state has the largest full-time legislature , they have the second-highest lawmaker salaries, and there’s no ban on how much money a candidate can raise to campaign for elected office. Add this to the list of superlatives: Pennsylvania has the highest-paid governor. Gov. Tom Corbett is the highest paid governor in the nation, according to a survey from a California state government commission examined governor salaries in all 50 states. …

By Eric Boehm | PA Independent Last June, the state House came within a handful (or two) of the necessary votes to pass a liquor privatization bill. The difference between then and now, according to the House Republican leaders who engineered Thursday’s passage, [which passed 105-90 in the House and is now on its way to the Senate] primarily came down to two men – Gov. Tom Corbett and state Rep. John Taylor, R-Philadelphia, chairman of the House Liquor Control Committee. Taylor had been lukewarm about House Majority Leader Mike Turzai’s, R-Allegheny, liquor bill last session, and there were …

By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent HARRISBURG — A belief in free markets pushed Roger Howard out his southern Chester County home early Monday. He wanted to be make it to Harrisburg, 70 miles away, by 7 a.m. He was there to see if Pennsylvania is getting out of the liquor businesses. “I don’t believe in central control,” said Howard, a member of the Coalition for Advancing Freedom citizen group.   Howard was one of more than 100 Pennsylvanians who filled the hallway in the Irvis Office Building on Monday morning. Whether for or against liquor privatization, they wanted to see what was about …

By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent HARRISBURG – The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority used three taxpayer-funded buses to take off-duty employees from Philadelphia to Harrisburg for a midday rally at the Capitol to support increased transportation funding.   SEPTA, which gets state and federal money, signed off on the use of the buses for the Feb. 11 trip. Barely a week before the transportation rally, Gov. Tom Corbett announced a nearly $2 billion transportation funding initiative. The plan includes funding for mass transit as well as road and bridge repairs. The rally in …