Cutting Through the Red Tape
This week, state lawmakers and business leaders from across the Commonwealth announced a multi-bill package specifically designed to rein in state government overregulation.
The bills include giving the Legislature the ability to initiate the repeal of any state regulation in effect; establishing the Independent Office of the Repealer to undertake an ongoing review of existing regulations; requiring legislative approval of an economically significant regulation; making the permitting process more transparent; requiring each agency to better educate the regulated community regarding implementation of any new regulation and its requirements; and improving the regulatory culture so the application of existing laws is collaborative and not punitive.
Also announced was a Regulatory Overreach Report, which showed that Pennsylvania’s restrictive regulatory environment kills family-sustaining jobs, strangles opportunity and cripples economic growth.
Pennsylvania currently has more than 153,000 regulatory restrictions that stretch across every industry in the Commonwealth.
Working to Assist Penn Forest Residents
To address the issues surrounding Bethlehem Water Authority’s proposed windmill project in Penn Forest Township, I have introduced two amendments to legislation (Senate Bill 656) addressing municipal authority projects.
Residents and businesses within Penn Forest and Towamensing townships, who would be impacted first-hand by the proposed construction of 40 windmills, should have a say in this process. These amendments are designed to give them a voice in the process while also ensuring fairness for those who own property in the township.
One amendment would require the Bethlehem Water Authority to ask for approval on potential projects by way of a voter referendum in Penn Forest and Towamensing townships. If the referendum passes, the authority can go ahead with the project. If the referendum fails, the authority cannot continue and cannot request a ballot initiative on the program again for five years.
The second amendment would address property tax fairness by requiring municipal authorities, if they choose to commercially develop the land, to pay all applicable taxes on all parcels of land they own in the county. The taxes would be assessed at the most recent fair market value. Currently, the authority can make payments in lieu of taxes.
Bethlehem Water Authority pays taxes on only a fraction of the true value of the 22,000 acres it owns in Carbon and Monroe counties. Last year, it paid $20,375 in lieu of property taxes to Carbon County. This is far beneath fair market value. If the water authority chooses to develop this land, it should be required to pay the appropriate taxes.
Thousands of hard-working families struggle to pay their property taxes each year, while the Bethlehem Water Authority, by dramatically underpaying what it should owe, deprives Carbon County school districts of much-needed funds.
The bill is currently in the House Consumer Affairs Committee.
Opioid Emergency Shouldn’t Impact Second Amendment
To help ensure that residents’ Second Amendment rights are not inadvertently impacted by the governor’s declaration of a state of emergency in the fight against opioid addiction, new legislation has been unveiled to protect that right.
With the emergency declaration, the governor activated an automatic trigger in the Crimes Code dealing with the Second Amendment. While this may make sense in the context of a natural disaster, it could cause problems for law-abiding citizens now. Never before has a disaster emergency been declared for a public health reason.
Under state law, an emergency declaration criminalizes the open carrying in public or on public property of any firearm – whether a handgun, rifle or shotgun. The intent of this prohibition is to protect communities from looting and criminal behavior in the time of a natural disaster, and would last for the full duration of the declared disaster.
While the declaration of disaster for the opioid crisis gives the state tools to use to help Pennsylvania citizens in this public health crisis, the issue regarding the Second Amendment is not necessary and should not be in effect.
The legislation would simply clarify that the prohibition against open carrying of an otherwise lawful firearm only applies if the disaster declaration expressly declares that such a prohibition is required to maintain public safety. Because the governor’s recent disaster declaration made no such declaration, upon enactment of this bill, Second Amendment rights would once again be secure in Pennsylvania.
Visiting with Cub Scouts
I recently had the opportunity to speak to Cub Scout Pack 138 in Penn Forest Township. What a great group!
January is Cervical Health Awareness Month
January is Cervical Health Awareness Month, a good time to raise awareness of cervical cancer and learn more about Pennsylvania’s HealthyWoman Program, which is a free breast and cervical cancer early detection program for those who are not insured or whose insurance doesn’t cover the screenings.
Nearly 13,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year, but the disease is virtually always preventable with vaccination and appropriate screening.
Among the services offered are pelvic exams, Pap smears and follow-up diagnostic tests for an abnormal screening result. Cervical cancer screenings are recommended for women beginning at age 21.
For more information, call the HealthyWoman hotline at 1-800-215-7494 or click here.
Sign Up to Continue Receiving My Weekly Email Updates
If you would like to continue receiving my legislative updates throughout the 60-day blackout period that limits what I can send you before an election, click here and simply enter your email. This will guarantee that you keep receiving my weekly updates. (http://www.repheffley.com/emailoptin.aspx)
Looking Forward to Our 2018 Senior Expo
Our 2018 Senior Expo will be held in a new location – the Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Hall. We were unable to book Jim Thorpe Memorial Hall due to issues outside of our control, but we look forward hosting a great Senior Expo, along with Sen. John Yudichak, on Thursday, Sept. 6.
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