Posted by Mark Koenig on Thursday, April 29, 2010
From The Delaware County Daily Times:
State Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-153, of Montgomery County, is encouraging residents to participate in National No Phone Zone Day on Friday, promoted by television personality Oprah Winfrey.
Oprah is asking viewers to pledge to make their cars a “No Phone Zone” on Friday in an effort to end distracted driving. Shapiro has long advocated a ban on the use of hand-held cell phones and texting while driving and first introduced legislation to do so in 2006.
“Oprah’s efforts to encourage responsible driving through her ‘No Phone Zone’ pledge will help our work in the legislature to end this dangerous practice,” said Shapiro. “We will stop accidents from occurring and save lives by simply disconnecting distracted drivers.”
This past January, the House passed H.B. 2070 to ban the use of hand-held cell phones and texting while driving. This bill is awaiting a vote in the Senate.
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Posted by Mark Koenig on Thursday, April 29, 2010
Robert Swift from The Scranton Times Tribune writes:
State health care programs need a new umbrella agency to ensure that the federal health care overhaul works well in Pennsylvania, a group of House lawmakers said Wednesday.
Legislation introduced by Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-153, Montgomery County, would put oversight for such key programs as Medical Assistance, Cover All Kids and adultBasic under a new Health Insurance Reform Implementation Authority.
(…)
Mr. Shapiro described the proposal as reshuffling state bureaucracy, not adding new layers. He said having one authority would prove more efficient than dividing responsibility among several agencies.
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Posted by Mark Koenig on Thursday, April 29, 2010
Dennis Owens from ABC 27 News writes:
The Pennsylvania Legislature each year allocates money to itself and for years has allocated too much, leading to a surplus in legislative accounts. As a result, legislative leaders currently are sitting on $200 million.
Critics say it’s too much money with too little oversight. One of the biggest critics is Gov. Ed Rendell.
“Before we lay off any state workers, before we cut programs, I think the caucus accounts should be stripped down to bare necessities,” Rendell said. “They have need for some dollars in those accounts, but not nearly as much as they have in them now.”
The legislative accounts have been audited by Ernst and Young. Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-Montgomery, is the chairman of the bipartisan commission that oversees those audits. He says there are no secret slush funds, but admits there is too much money squirreled away.
“I’ve been very clear: I think that money doesn’t belong to the leaders, it belongs to the people of Pennsylvania and I’ve been an advocate for reinvesting it and meeting the needs of the people of Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said.
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Posted by Mark Koenig on Thursday, April 29, 2010
From the PA Dept. of Education:
Students Saved $35.4 Million by Not Having to Retake Courses
Thousands of college transfer students from across Pennsylvania have benefited from a new, statewide system designed to maximize the number of credits they can transfer and count towards a college degree, according to a new report announced today by Education Secretary Gerald L. Zahorchak.
The report on the Pennsylvania College Credit Transfer System revealed that in 2009 alone, students saved nearly $35.4 million by having their transferred credits count towards a degree.
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“The new law has clearly worked to make college more affordable and accessible for Pennsylvania students,” said Rep. Josh Shapiro, the author of the transfer language in Act 114. ” Prior to Act 114, college credits were not fully tranferable and students were often forced to pay to retake and pay for classes when they changed schools.”
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Posted by Mark Koenig on Tuesday, April 27, 2010
From the Philadelphia Inquirer:
It may be years, if ever, before Pennsylvania reforms its no-holds-barred campaign-finance rules for legislative and statewide elected offices. For one brief shining moment, though, both Democratic and Republican lawmakers in Harrisburg stood up to be counted in favor of limits on political spending.That’s when the House State Government Committee unanimously approved a measure (…) that would for the first time ever set campaign contribution limits in the state. Common Cause/PA executive director Barry Kauffman called the vote last week “a very promising sign.”
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Statewide campaigns for governor and state Supreme Court justice have become wildly expensive, to the point where the eventual winners can be hobbled by conflicts arising from campaign backers’ donations. If nothing else, that makes citizens cynical about government policies and court rulings.
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Fortunately, there are enough reform-minded leaders in the House to drive campaign-finance limits beyond the talking point. In addition to [the] measure, there are similar proposals pending from Rep. Josh Shapiro (D., Montgomery) and Rep. David K. Levdansky (D., Allegheny). In addition, the speaker’s reform panel headed by Shapiro already has made the compelling case for campaign and other reforms – even if many of them have yet to be enacted.
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