PSATS Wolf Takes Office, Makes Appointments
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JANUARY 2015 PSATS News Bulletin A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER CONTAINING THE LATEST Wolf Takes Office, Makes Appointments INFORMATION th ON LEGISLATION On January 20, Gov. Tom Wolf was sworn in as Pennsylvania’s 47 governor and AND NEWS OF outlined several priorities, including jobs, education, and a functioning government that INTEREST TO restores trust. He emphasized the need to work together on the many issues confronting TOWNSHIPS Pennsylvania. One of the first challenges Wolf will face is a $2.3 billion deficit for the current fiscal year identified by his Budget Deficit and Fiscal Stabilization Task Force. In addition, the governor will be crafting his 2015-2016 budget proposal, which is expected to be unveiled in early March. Gov. Tom Wolf will Gov. Tom Wolf has also announced numerous appointments for his administration. soon be crafting his Denise Smyler, partner with Ahmad, Zaffarese, & Smyler, will lead his Office of General Counsel. Barry Schoch, current secretary of the state Department of Transportation, will 2015-2016 budget move into the Office of the Governor as temporary senior advisor on transportation and infrastructure. proposal, which is In addition, here are Wolf’s nominations for the secretaries and directors of the departments and agencies that interact with townships. Nominees are subject to Senate expected to be confirmation. unveiled in Department of Agriculture: Russell Redding, former Secretary of Agriculture from 2009 to 2011. early March. Department of Community and Economic Development: Dennis M. Davin, director of Allegheny County Economic Development. Department of Conservation and Natural Resources: Cindy Dunn, former deputy secretary of Conservation and Technical Service, DCNR. Department of Environmental Protection: John Quigley, former Secretary of Conservation and Natural Resources. Department of General Services: Curt Topper, current Georgetown University head of purchasing and contract functions. Department of Labor and Industry: Kathy Manderino, former state representative. Department of Transportation: Leslie Richards, current Montgomery County commissioner. Office of the Budget: Randy Albright, current Democratic executive director of the Pennsylvania Senate Appropriations Committee. Office of the State Fire Commissioner: Timothy Solobay, former state senator. PENNSYLVANIA STATE ASSOCIATION OF TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency: Richard D. Flinn Jr., current 4855 WOODLAND DRIVE deputy director of operations at the Federal Emergency Management Agency and ENOLA, PA 17025 former deputy director for operations at PEMA. TELEPHONE: (717) 763-0930 FAX: (717) 763-9732 Pennsylvania State Police: Colonel Marcus L. Brown, current superintendent of www.psats.org the Maryland State Police. For more information about the nominees, visit www.pa.gov. PSATS NewsBulletin rd Be Sure to Attend PSATS 93 Annual Conference If you haven’t registered yet for PSATS’ 93rd Annual Educational Conference and Trade Show, there’s still time. There’s still time And if you don’t register, here’s what you’ll be missing: to register for Close to 100 workshops on topics of interest to a wide range of townships; Three and a half days of networking with your peers from across the PSATS’ 93rd Annual commonwealth; Access to the largest municipal exhibit show in the state; Educational Conference An opportunity to meet with state legislators; & Trade Show and A voice in shaping your Association’s policies; and Engaging, informative speakers. take advantage of The registration process this year consists of two parts: nearly 100 workshops, Part 1: Go to conference.psats.org, register your township attendees and guests, and note if they need lodging. Also, sign up for various events during the conference. networking, and Part 2: Make your room reservations when you receive the booking links from PSATS in February. the municipal PSATS is encouraging every township to register online. It’s easy, fast, and saves you money! exhibit show. Want to learn more about the conference? Go to www.psats.org and choose “Annual Conference” and then “PSATS’ 2015 Annual Educational Conference.” If you have questions about or issues with registration, please call PSATS at (717) 763- 0930, Ext. 189. We hope to see you this year at the Annual Conference! State Capitol Roundup General Assembly begins 2015-2016 legislative session — The Pennsylvania General Assembly convened January 6 for the official start of the 2015-2016 legislative session. Both chambers elected leaders and named committee chairs. Rep. Mike Turzai (R- Allegheny) was elected to his first term as Speaker of the House. On the Senate side, Sen. Joe Scarnati (R-Jefferson) was unanimously elected President Pro Tempore for a fifth term. Legislative priorities are expected to focus on the budget proposal for 2015-2016, which Gov. Tom Wolf will present in early March, and pension reform. Whether the state should enact a severance tax on natural tax extraction, and if so, where these revenues will go, is another major issue expected to be debated in the coming months. PSATS will continue to fight for the preservation of impact revenues that are benefiting townships across the state. In addition, PSATS will continue to urge legislators to make commonsense reforms by authorizing electronic advertising as an alternative to published legal advertisements, enacting meaningful changes to the Right-to-Know Law to decrease the financial burden on townships, furthering progress on prevailing wage reforms, and considering much-needed changes to the binding arbitration process. Pileggi designated Senate Local Government Committee chair — Sen. Dominic Pileggi (R-Chester and Delaware) has been appointed chair of the Senate Local Government Committee. Thomas McGarrigle (R-Chester and Delaware) will serve as vice chair, and Rob Teplitz (D-Dauphin and Perry) will serve as minority chair. 2/ JANUARY 2015 Following are the committee members: Michele Brooks (R-Crawford, Erie, Mercer, and PSATS NewsBulletin Warren); John H. Eichelberger Jr. (R-Blair, Cumberland, Franklin, Fulton, and Huntingdon); Lloyd Smucker (R-Lancaster); Elder Vogel Jr. (R-Beaver, Butler, and Lawrence); John Blake (D- Lackawanna, Luzerne, and Monroe); Jay Costa (D-Allegheny); and John Yudichak (D-Carbon and Luzerne). Rep. Kate Harper, Harper to chair House Local Government Committee — Rep. Kate Harper (R- a former Lower Montgomery), a former Lower Gwynedd Township supervisor for more than a decade, has been named chair of the House Local Government Committee for the second straight Gwynedd Township session. Rep. Robert Freeman (D- Northampton) will serve another session as minority chair. Following are the committee members: Matthew D. Bradford (D-Montgomery); supervisor, Madeleine Dean (D-Montgomery); Frank Farina (D-Lackawanna); Frank Farry (R-Bucks); Mindy Fee (R-Lancaster); Ed Gainey (D-Allegheny); Keith J. Greiner (R-Lancaster); Rich Irvin will chair the House (R-Centre, Huntingdon, Mifflin); R. Lee James (R-Butler and Venango); Sid Michaels Kavulich Local Government (D-Lackawanna); Patty Kim (D-Dauphin); Tim Mahoney (D-Fayette and Somerset); David M. Maloney Sr. (R-Berks); John D. McGinnis (R-Blair); Daniel T. McNeill (D-Lehigh); Brett R. Committee. Miller (R-Lancaster); Jack Rader Jr. (R-Monroe); Tommy Sankey (R-Cambria and Clearfield); James R. Santora (R-Delaware); Tarah Toohil (R-Luzerne); Ryan Warner (R-Fayette and Westmoreland); Jeff C. Wheeland (R-Lycoming); and David H. Zimmerman (R-Lancaster). Note: To find your legislators’ committee assignments, go to www.legis.state.pa.us, select either the House or Senate tab, and then click on “Committees” and “Listed by Committee Assignments.” Battle brewing over Office of Open Records appointment, removal — In January, Gov. Tom Corbett appointed Erik Arneson to be the new executive director for the state Office of Open Records. He replaces Terry Mutchler, who is now working in the private sector. Arneson worked for Sen. Dominic Pileggi as communications and policy director and was deeply involved in the creation of Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law. However, on his second day in office, Gov. Tom Wolf removed Arneson from the position and appointed Nathan Byerly as acting executive director until a nationwide search can be conducted to fill the position. Arneson is arguing that the executive director cannot be removed by the governor because of the independent nature of the office. He has filed suit in Commonwealth Court. PSATS executive director responds to pension report — In January, PSATS Executive Director David Sanko released a statewide op-ed in response to comments by Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, who claimed recently that there is a widespread municipal pension crisis. Instead, the data shows that the majority of municipal pensions are adequately funded, and the issues are limited to a handful of local governments whose retirement programs have been under water for some time, primarily due to the cost of state-mandated benefits for municipal police and firefighters. Meanwhile, the commonwealth is facing a snowballing pension bill, expected to mushroom from $52 billion today to more than $65 billion by 2021 to cover retirement benefits promised to more than 800,000 state and public school employees. The state’s pension crisis did not happen overnight nor will it be solved overnight. To view the op-ed, log onto www.psats.org and look under “Newsroom” and then “Op-eds.” 3/ JANUARY 2015 PSATS NewsBulletin Purely Public Charities Legislation