Great article by my colleague @RepSaylor on House Republican priorities: Saylor: House GOP priorities focus on fiscal responsibility (column) By Rep. Stan Saylor UPDATED: 01/23/2014 10:45:14 AM EST The state House of Representatives will have an important legislative agenda for the new year, with proposals dedicated to improving the budgetary and economic climates in the commonwealth. Primarily, I expect us to pass a fourth, on-time, no-tax-increase budget in as many years. So far, the Republican House Majority has ended the typical borrow-and-spend cycle that typified Pennsylvania budgets for decades. We rejected the easy route that required us to borrow against the futures of our children and instead rolled up our sleeves and did the hard work of constructing and passing three budgets that kept spending at the same level, or less, than the state receives in taxes. Even as we did that, House Republicans invested a record high of $10 billion total state dollars in K-12 education in the 2013-14 budget. This included significant increases for all York County schools, thanks in part to a change in the funding formula which now takes into account student populations. No one disputes that our children should have the best education we can provide them with, but we need accountability to go along with all that money. People need to know their tax dollars are being spent wisely. So, in January the House passed two key pieces of legislation to expand school district fiscal transparency. The first measure, House Bill 1411, also known as SchoolWATCH, would direct the Pennsylvania Department of Education to create a searchable online database detailing the revenues and expenditures of traditional, charter and cyber school districts across the commonwealth. SchoolWATCH follows the successful model of PennWatch, which was created to allow the citizens of Pennsylvania to see exactly how state agencies use tax dollars. This same method can be very successful for our school districts, encouraging responsible spending, more checks and balances and greater efficiency. The second measure, House Bill 1741, would amend the Public School Code to require school boards to provide no less than 48 hours public notice prior to voting upon any proposed collective bargaining agreement or employment contract. Spending decisions made by school boards directly impact the lives of every district taxpayer, giving proper public notice will allow taxpayers to hold districts more accountable for the money districts spend. Both bills have been sent to the Senate for further debate. Another important piece of legislation awaiting Senate action is House Bill 1189, property tax reform legislation, which I co-sponsored. Pennsylvanians are one step closer to true property tax relief with the House passage of House Bill 1189, also known as the Optional Property Tax Elimination Act. Under this piece of legislation, local school districts would be granted the power to cut or reduce up to 100 percent of their residents property taxes. For the first time ever, school boards will be empowered to completely eliminate school property taxes. The legislation puts the power to eliminate property taxes in the hands of individual school districts (and the voters who elect the school boards) by using an elimination tax. This elimination tax would consist of an Earned Income Tax, Business Privilege Tax, and Mercantile Tax, or any combination of those to eliminate or reduce property taxes. This allows local districts to find the tax package that best fits the needs of their residents and schools. Getting House Bill 1189 signed into law and ensuring seniors homes can no longer be taken from them by the taxman is a top priority of mine. Please help us get property tax reform to Gov. Tom Corbetts desk by calling your state senator and urging him or her to pass this important piece of legislation for York County. In addition, we will continue our work to reform the Pennsylvanias two public pension systems and address the unfunded liability within those two systems. If action is not taken to bring costs under control, school districts may force higher taxes or make deeper cuts to programs and staff. I am in favor of moving to a defined contribution system similar to what is offered in private industry. The solutions currently being discussed are designed to reduce taxpayer risk, eliminate make-believe expectations, and result in a major shift to a defined contribution pension plan. We will also revisit modernizing Pennsylvanias antiquated system of liquor and wine sales that is really a state monopoly of the booze business run by unions at the expense of the taxpayers and consumers. Last year, the House passed an excellent piece of legislation that would have accomplished just that. Unfortunately, the proposal is stalled in the Senate. Hopefully, a renewed round of negotiations can breathe life back into an effort that has the overwhelming support of Pennsylvanians. Rep. Stan Saylor, R-Windsor Township, is majority whip of the state House. ydr/letters/ci_24968672/saylor-house-gop-priorities-focus-fiscal-responsibility-column?IADID=Search-ydr-ydr
Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 14:45:49 +0000
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