Posted by Mark Koenig on Monday, January 25, 2010
Tom Barnes from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes:
The state House voted 156 to 40 today to prohibit Pennsylvania motorists from talking on hand-held cell phones while they are behind the wheel.
The House action was preliminary approval for a measure by Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-Montgomery, to criminalize the use of hand-held cell phones by drivers. The offense would be a primary offense, meaning police could stop drivers they see using hand-held phones. Hands-free phone devices would still be permitted.
Mr. Shapiro said the Legislature must do more to ban “distracted driving” and keep Pennsylvania roadways safer. His measure is an amendment to House Bill 2070, by Rep. Joe Markosek, D-Monroeville, which bans all drivers from sending text messages while operating their vehicle.
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Posted by Mark Koenig on Monday, January 25, 2010
Marc Levy from the Associated Press writes:
A bill that would impose a fine on motorists in Pennsylvania who use a cell phone without a hands-free device easily cleared a hurdle Monday in the state House of Representatives.
The House gave preliminary approval to the bill, 156-40. A final vote on the bill could happen as early as Tuesday.
(…)
An amendment approved Monday substantially expanded the scope of the bill from the previous version that was limited to banning text messages on cell phones.
Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-Montgomery, who authored the tougher language, said Pennsylvania would join New York, New Jersey and four other states with similar laws.
“We will save lives and stop accidents from happening by disconnecting distracted drivers from their hand-held devices on Pennsylvania’s roadways,” he said in a statement.
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Posted by Josh Shapiro on Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Politics and governing is about building community through action and achieving compromise through the productive exchange of ideas. So much of what we witness in our politics today, however, seems to have less to do with building people and ideas up and instead focuses on tearing things down. This is largely due to the filters through which the general community experiences politics.
On this site, I want to avoid those filters and instead, I want to create a respectful dialogue around ideas, principles of leadership and vision that can help grow our community and better our Commonwealth.
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Posted by Website Admin on Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Timothy McNulty from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes:
Architects of a state House bill to divest billions of dollars in pension funds from companies doing business with Iran and Sudan have been looking for support from the Senate and yesterday they got it in a big way — from U.S. Sen. Bob Casey.
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Posted by Josh Shapiro on Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Tonight I voted against S.B. 711 which would have expanded gaming in Pennsylvania to include table games at casinos across our Commonwealth. The bill now goes to the Governor who is expected to sign it into law.
My decision to vote against the final bill was based on a simple two-part test:
First, does it get the best value for Pennsylvania’s taxpayers? And, second, does the bill adequately reform gambling in our Commonwealth?
This bill comes up short on both accounts.
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