keepingSCORE January 2012 - BIPAC

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Budget Energy Environment Health Care Infrastructure Labor Legal Tax Workforce DEFINING SUCCESS We must increase infrastructure replacement, development, and funding. Among the goals: Maintenance of current roads and bridges. Maintenance of mass transit systems. Maintenance and expansion of water and sewer systems. Expansion of energy transmission systems. Expanded rail systems and intermodal operations. In April 2011, Governor Tom Corbett created the Transportation Funding Advisory Commission (TFAC) charged with identifying and debating new and innovative ways to meet the transportation needs of the Commonwealth. In August, this commission, chaired by Secretary of Transportation Barry J. Schoch, issued its report detailing the challenges facing the Commonwealth’s transportation. The TFAC report presents a comprehensive overview of the challenges facing the Commonwealth and provides a recommended funding package to help meet these challenges. Unfortunately, little or nothing has been done to implement the recommendation of the TFAC report. As of the end of December, the Governor had yet to make present a plan for taking action on the TFAC report. Notwithstanding the Governor’s reticence, Senator Jake Corman (R-Centre) has introduced legislation to implement the recommendations in the TFAC report. Senate Bills 1326, and 1327 introduced in early November contain language implementing the recommendations of the TFAC report. These three bills are currently in the Senate Transportation Committee awaiting the Governor’s announcement as to his plans for implementing the TFAC’s recommendations GETTING IN THE GAME Help to advance HB 3 which would provide a framework for public private partnerships (P3s) in Pennsylvania. Click here to send a letter to your state Representative. House Transportation Committee Chairman Rick Geist (R-Blair) has been working this year to win passage of prime sponsored legislation providing for Public/Private Partnerships (P3s) to fund certain long term infrastructure projects. House Bill 3 authorizes the Commonwealth to enter into partnership agreements with private firms to provide the capital for a highway construction or maintenance project while the Commonwealth would maintain ownership of the asset being constructed. The private firm gets a return on its investment over time, often from tolling. House Bill 3 is currently awaiting final action by the House. PBC and many in the business community support the legislation and have urged the House to take action ASAP. The delay in passage is sending a negative signal to those who might invest in Pennsylvania infrastructure. SAFTEA-LU, which is an acronym for Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Transportation-Legacy for Users, is the Federal Highway Administration’s main program for distributing Federal money to the states for highway, bridge, and road construction and maintenance. Federal highway fund authorization usually has a term of six year. The current authorization expired in 2009 and has been operating under a series of continuing resolutions since that time. The most recent appropriation for this program is $1.4 billion which US House Republicans would like to cut by 30 percent. There is a difference of opinion between House Republicans and House and Senate Democrats. The House Republicans are calling for a five-year $260 billion plan while Democrats are calling for a two-year, $109 billion plan. Current highway and transportation programs will expire on March 1. House Transportation Committee Majority Chairman John Mica (R-Florida) is expected to bring up legislation in early February. Pennsylvania Business Council 116 Pine Street, Suite 201 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17101 717-232-8700 www.pabusinesscouncil.org
Budget Energy Environment Health Care Infrastructure Labor Legal Tax Workforce DEFINING SUCCESS Limit UC to temporary, partial benefits based on actual earnings with eligibility restricted to persons unemployed through no fault of their own. Fairly compute employer UC contributions through an experience rating calculation. Compel those applying for UC benefits to register for employment search services, counseling and re-training through Pa CareerLink; and to accept work if it is offered. Adjust and limit Pennsylvania UC benefits to account for other benefits such as employer-paid severance benefits. Create a fair Workers’ Compensation Law that aims to return employees to productive, gainful employment, while providing adequate but not excessive benefits for work-related occupational injuries and illnesses. Eliminate Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) for Public Projects Reform prevailing wage law to reflect market realities and with modern thresholds. End compulsory unionism. GETTING IN THE GAME Help advance a meaningful unemployment compensation bill by writing to your state representative asking them to communicate with House Labor & Industry Chairman Ron Miller their desire for reforms that will reduce costs. Click here to sign an electronic letter. Legislation ranging from reform to repeal of Pennsylvania’s 50 year old prevailing wage law took center stage with the House Labor & Industry Committee. House Bill 1277, introduced by Rep. Scott Perry (R- Cumberland) provides for an outright repeal of the Prevailing Wage Act. This bill is currently in the House Labor & Industry Committee and is not expected to gain sufficient votes for passage. Among the other prevailing wage bills introduced in the House of Representatives are a number of bills that either specifically exclude political subdivisions from the prevailing wage law or allow municipalities to opt out of the statute. Among the former are HB 1190 which excludes projects in a Keystone Opportunity Zone from the statute or HB 1543 which excludes projects on lands owned or held by a historical organization or a nature conservancy from prevailing wage requirements. Bills allowing political subdivisions to opt out of the Prevailing Wage Statute include HB 1409 which applies to school districts and SB 796 and SB 820. Other bills in the state legislature dealing with prevailing wage provide for a temporary suspension of the Prevailing Wage Statute. Both HB 1135 and SB 792 from June 30, 2011 to July 1 , 2015. Other prevailing wage bills that have been introduced include HB 1271 and SB 822 which expand the definition of ―maintenance work‖ to exclude certain projects from the Prevailing Wage Law. Rep. Sheryl Delozier (R-Cumberland ) introduced HB 927 which is a comprehensive rewrite of Pennsylvania’s child labor laws that have not been examined since 2002. The House Labor & Industry Committee held public hearings on Delozier’s bill in August of 2011 but has not brought the bill up for a vote. Another piece of legislation addressing child labor introduced in 2011 is HB 1548 introduced by Rep. Thomas Murt (R-Montgomery). This legislation, which passed the House 197-0 in June of 2011, updates and modernizes Pennsylvania’s child labor laws pertaining to the employment of minors by the entertainment industry in places where alcohol is served. This bill would require film production companies to obtain a special permit when employing children in filming in establishments where alcohol is served. This bill is currently in the Senate Labor and Industry Committee. Senate Bill 1375 authored by Senate Labor & Industry Committee Chair John Gordner (R-Columbia) passed the Senate in mid-<strong>January</strong>. The bill would extend unemployment compensation benefits to some 17,000 out-of-work Pennsylvanians. Lacking in the bill are much needed controls to reduce the long-term costs of unemployment compensation and the related taxes paid by the business. The business community will ask the House to improve it with cost-saving measures. Pennsylvania owes the Federal UC Fund billions of dollars. A bill passed in June made improved the situation somewhat, but not sufficiently to reduce the debt. Senate Bill 1310, also authored by Gordner, would essentially refinance the debt by allowing Pennsylvania to float bonds to repay the Federal government to avoid penalties. UC taxes would then repay the bond. Senate Bill 1310 passed the Senate, was sent to and passed by the House, but with amendments. The Senate must now concur in the House amendments or send the bill to Conference Committee. Pennsylvania Business Council 116 Pine Street, Suite 201 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17101 717-232-8700 www.pabusinesscouncil.org
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keepingSCORE January 2012 - BIPAC

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