Archive of all posts tagged ‘Legislative Reform’:

2009
Nov
13

Lawmaker says charges could breathe life into reform efforts

Posted by Website Admin on Friday, November 13, 2009

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Mike Wereschagin writes:

Attorney General Tom Corbett’s charges against top House Republicans likely will spur the Legislature to move more quickly on matters involving good government, a Democratic House member said.

Corbett on Thursday charged nine people, including a lawmaker, former legislator and eight of their aides, with theft, conspiracy and conflict of interest in a long-running corruption probe that last year ensnared 12 House Democrats.

The latest grand jury presentment reached into the inner sanctum of state leadership with charges against former House Speaker John Perzel of Philadelphia.

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2009
Oct
29

Gradual downsizing of Legislature proposed

Posted by Website Admin on Thursday, October 29, 2009

From Brad Bumsted, state capital reporter for Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

HARRISBURG — Knowing state lawmakers are loathe to eliminate their own seats, a Republican senator Wednesday proposed a slow-motion plan to reduce the size of the Legislature each decade.

Pennsylvania has the largest full-time Legislature in the nation — a 203-member House and 50-member Senate. Scores of proposals to reduce the size of the General Assembly have died in committee over the years.

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2009
Oct
13

Reflections on the state budget: late but fair

Posted by Josh Shapiro on Tuesday, October 13, 2009

101 days late, but the state finally has a budget. In the end the budget we passed is balanced, makes important investments and reasonable cuts without unduly burdening Pennsylvania taxpayers. However, there is no excuse for the delay and reforms are needed to ensure that future budgets are passed on time.

As we considered the FY2009-10 budget, the Commonwealth faced an unprecedented $3.5 billion deficit due to the recession and falling revenues. Our choice was to cut billions in spending from our $28 billion budget, raise taxes to cover the shortfall, or do some of each.

We opted to do some of each.

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2009
Jul
02

Shapiro Discusses Healthcare Reform With Mental Health Professionals

Posted by Website Admin on Thursday, July 2, 2009

Via Capitol Recap Newsletter’s Mike Howells (www.mypls.com):

Continuing in his duties as a member of the White House Team of State Legislators for Health Reform, Rep. Josh Shapiro (D-Montgomery) met today with various mental health stakeholders in Pennsylvania. Among them was DPW Secretary Estelle Richman, who took time to join the discussion.

Rep. Shapiro said that in his initial talks with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathy Sebelius and other members of the administration, it became clear there is a desire to take states’ best practices regarding mental health and mental retardation (MH/MR) and apply it to the federal level.

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2009
Feb
01

State Rep. Josh Shapiro mulls his next move after rocket start to political career the past four years

Posted by Website Admin on Sunday, February 1, 2009

Al Neri posted this extensive interview with Josh Shapiro for The Insider:

Things got off to a fast start for Montgomery County native Josh Shapiro in 2004 when he started his career in elective politics.

A former congressional chief of staff, he decided to go his own independent way when his boss, then U.S. Rep. Joe Hoeffel, ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate as a Democrat against veteran Republican Arlen Specter.

Shapiro had the opposite result. He too took on a veteran Republican, Jon Fox, who his boss had defeated for the congressional seat. Fox, the former congressman, county commissioner and state representative, was trying to restart his political career by returning to the state House as a Republican.

But Shapiro out-raised, out hustled and outdistanced Fox to grab that first rung of his own political ladder.

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