Although the saying goes that “the road to H- - - is paved with good intentions”, Pennsylvania travelers might respond that “at least it’s paved. No potholes. No deteriorating bridges.” The challenge of providing a safe and reliable transportation system continues to drive lawmakers, transportation officials and public interest detractors into overdrive. Accountants have jogged the numbers with and without I-80 revenues, with the possibility of a turnpike lease, with public/public partnerships and with public/private partnerships and several combinations thereof.

However, the recent signing of a 50-year lease agreement between PennDOT and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) puts in gear the implementation process for Act 44, despite efforts on the federal and state level to stop the I-80 tolling mandate and continued outcries by various organizations of concerned citizens about the affect on local businesses, commuter traffic and public safety issues. PennDOT and the PTC formally filed a joint application to the Federal Highway Administration for the tolling and improvement of I-80 acknowledging the stipulation that all tolls collected on this road are restricted solely to maintenance and improvements on I-80 roadway and bridges.

The PTC will transfer to PennDOT $83 billion now for transportation projects, I-80 improvements and transit costs and another $33 billion over the 50-year lease totaling a $116 billion investment. Turnpike resources including the forthcoming 25% toll increase, incremental annual increases and bond issues will supply the revenue required for funding the 73 public transit agencies as well as the turnpike itself.

According to a recent poll conducted by the Quinnipiac University, Pennsylvanians oppose the tolling of I-80 by a 62% to 28% count with the greatest opposition, naturally, registering in the northern tier of the state. Initial hearings in the affected areas are also invoking strong opposition from citizens and businesses alike. Folks can still have their say at upcoming public meetings across the I-80 corridor and can get more information on these events at www.paturnpike.com/i80  There is still major concern that Act 44 revenue solutions will not solve Pennsylvania’s transportation problems on a long term basis.

“Bonusgate” Fallout
Mention the phrase “four-letter word” and most folks would agree that it is a reference to words that are inappropriate or even crude. Stop in the hallowed halls of Pennsylvania’s capitol and even five-letter words can provoke similar shrinking looks, i.e. “bonus” or “raise” being the offending utterances.

Yes, the never-ending story of bonuses and raises continues to attract media attention and cause heartburn for those legislators forced to swallow unpalatable mea culpas and defend questionable awards. The Attorney General’s office is digging in its heels to pursue the bonus 2005/06 payments to House staffers while the Auditor General’s office is delving into PHEAA bonuses and salaries. Legislation to establish procedures for awarding bonuses was introduced and passed recently in the Senate to ban all bonus payments to state employees except as provided for in employee contract agreements and further requires the reimbursement for bonuses paid and misdemeanor charges filed against the state officials responsible for authorizing them after this act goes into effect. It is now up to the House to move forward with this legislation.

Driving Distracted—huh?
You may be one of those persons who can’t “walk and chew gum” but if you are someone who uses a cell phone, sends text messages, or eats and drinks while driving, you may be charged with a misdemeanor offense and fined if legislation introduced and subjected to a public hearing passes into law.

Several legislative bills are in the hopper that address distracted driving including all of the above activities as well as other driving distractions such as applying that deadly shade of lipstick, reading the Wall Street Journal, etc. These bills define a variety of conviction charges ranging from $50 fines for distracted driving to $300 fines for causing vehicular accidents in the process and are considered either primary or secondary offenses, depending on whose bill is followed. Hands-free devices are permitted.

One of the bills stipulates that the charge of distracted driving cannot be considered in a civil suit but a conviction for distracted driving can. With the climbing rate of accidents related to distracted driving – a PennDOT report cited 5,715 accidents of such nature from 2002 to 2006 — the safety of the entire motoring public merits protection from inattentive motorists.

Energy Update
The Special Session on Energy convened by Governor Rendell continues to chip away at energy issues. Last month the Senate’s Special Session committee on energy policies approved legislation to invest $530 million in consumer energy programs, conservation, and the development of alternative and renewable energy sources over the course of the next seven years. Consumer and home energy efficiency programs would receive $20 million annually in funding, $20 million would be available for tax credits fro investments in alternative energy projects and $20 million would be earmarked for financing a $250 million bond for overall development of alternative, renewable energy and clean energy projects, energy conservation and pollution control technology.

While still promoting passage of his $850 million Energy Independence Strategy, Governor Rendell announced an $11 million investment in 24 more alternative and renewable energy projects throughout the Commonwealth from the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority. These projects are expected to create 730 new jobs and 1,200 temporary positions and attract $122 million in new private economic growth. They employ a variety of innovative energy processes including poultry litter gasification, hydroelectric turbines and generators, landfill-to-gas electricity generators, solar electric and solar thermal systems, soybean biodiesel manufacturing, solar photovoltaic systems, wind energy, wet waste coal power generation and more – a myriad of ways to support the Governor’s “new energy economy” and to invest in home grown energy solutions. The Alternative Portfolio Standards Act passed in 2004 requires that 18% of all energy generated and sold in the state by 2021 come from alternative and renewable sources.

Got “real” milk?
With the issue of raw milk temporarily pushed to the back of the refrigerator, the milk issue du jour now focuses on false or misleading labels with special attention being garnered by some Pennsylvania dairies that claim their milk is “antibiotic-free” or “pesticide-free”.

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has notified several dairies whose product labels, according to the department, cannot be verified for the claims they imply, to change their labels. Ag Secretary Dennis Wolff noted that claims that milk is hormone-free are inaccurate since all milk contains hormones and milk touted as synthetic-free cannot be scientifically proven.

Consumers who desire healthy, safe choices may be fooled into purchasing more expensive products whose claims cannot be verified and should therefore not be included on their labeling or advertising. PDA, who has the final authority over food labeling standards through the Pennsylvania Food Act and the milk sanitation law, has convened a Food Labeling Advisory Committee to discuss misleading labels – not only milk labels but also other food labels.

Disaster Relief Payments
Ag Secretary Dennis Wolff announced that Pennsylvania farmers who suffered crop losses greater than 35% in any one crop year between 2005-2007 from natural disasters – drought, hail, flood damage — can receive loss benefits from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Crop Disaster Program. Only farmers already covered by crop insurance or covered under the noninsured crop disaster assistance program are eligible for this program which provides 42 percent of the established crop price for losses for any one year within the 2005/07 timeframe. Farmers can apply for multiple crop losses but can only apply for one of eligible crop years. This relief includes crops that were prevented from being planted before February 28, 2007 and is in addition to the loss payments already paid to farmers for crop insurance for 2005 and 2006. Contact your local farm service agency for more information on applying for these benefits or access www.rma.usda.gov to find a crop insurance agent in your area.

Another Shot at Tax Breaks?
For many communities, the end of October is associated with that well know phrase “trick or treat”. For Pennsylvania taxpayers who have been promised property tax reform, it’s always fallen under the “trick” category since many promises have been made but no real breaks have shown up in the treat bag.

At this writing, legislators are planning to address several property tax reform bills during the last week of October. Various bills have been introduced to expand the current sales tax to include previously untaxed services, and to increase the sales tax percentage as well as slightly increasing the personal income tax percentage. Another proposal would eliminate all school property taxes and would pay for them by increasing the base for the state sales tax as well as adding a 3% tax on clothing and some processed food items. Add to that another plan being touted by Representative John Perzel (R-Philadelphia) which would exempt homeowners age 65 and older with annual incomes of less than $40,000 from paying property taxes altogether. Perzel estimates that 600,000 senior citizens across the Commonwealth would benefit from this Older Pennsylvanian Property Tax Elimination Act, soon to be introduced in legislative form. The $1 billion needed to fund this proposal would be generated by slot machine revenues. With the lack of consensus for any one plan, the likelihood of getting your windows soaped or receiving a chocolate bar is more realistic than anticipating any real property tax reform anytime soon.

Hunters Sharing the Harvest
As food banks and local food kitchens tend to see a rise in need over the winter months, particularly since rising gas and fuel prices have strained budgets even further, the Hunters Sharing the Harvest program coordinated by the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) extends a helping hand by channeling donations of venison to local food banks, soup kitchens and needy families. Hunters interested in supporting this program can participate by taking deer to a participating meat processor and identifying how much of the meat they wish to donate. They are asked to make a $15 co-pay to help defray the costs and the HSH program will pay the balance of the processing fees. For more details and information on participating (including a list of participating meat processors), contact the PGC toll-free at 1-800-474-2141. You can also access their website at www.pgc.state.pa.us, click on “hunting” and select “Hunters Sharing the Harvest” or use the HSH website www.sharedeer.org.  In the season of giving, this idea is not only food for thought but also for sustenance!

Over-Order Premium - Class I Milk
The Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board recently adopted the Over-Order premium for Class I milk produced, processed and sold in Pennsylvania at $1.35 per hundredweight effective December 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008, down from the current premium of $1.60 per hundredweight.

Odds & Ends
The subject of illegal immigration continues to remain in the forefront of legislative review. A recent Senate hearing debated the pros and cons of legislation that would require proof of citizenship for receiving public benefits. Similar legislation introduced in the House is up for review as are bills to penalize employers for hiring illegal aliens. The recent Quinnipiac Poll also registered significant opposition to granting driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. However, sixty percent favored granting illegal immigrants who have worked in the U.S. for two years the opportunity to apply for legal status.

The Governor continues to promote his healthcare package and spent several days on the road in October touting his “tour to insure” bill to provide coverage for more Pennsylvanians. In contrast to the Governor’s plan, Senator Mike Folmer (R-Berks, Chester) introduced the “Healthy Pennsylvania” plan, a consumer driven alternative aimed at reducing health costs while enhancing quality and accessibility. Its fundamentals include promoting health saving accounts, sunsetting the state health insurance mandates, weeding out bad healthcare professionals, increasing competition among insurers, establishing a high-risk pool similar to auto insurance policies, promoting emergency room diversion programs and other cost containment measures, phasing out MCARE, giving healthcare consumers more price information, and establishing tax deductions and credits for those who pay their own healthcare.

Attempts to pass legislation to expand the open records law have stalled but have not lost momentum. Legislators continue to argue over the extent to which records should be available to the public, trying to find some balance between the public’s right to know and privacy protection for personal information. Both the House and Senate are working their own versions but neither is anywhere near resolution at this time.