THE TRIADVOCATE

The Triadvocate is a publication of Triad Strategies, LLC, a bipartisan lobbying, public affairs, strategic communications, grassroots advocacy, issue management consulting firm located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with offices in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. new TWTR.Widget({ version: 2, type: 'profile', rpp: 4, interval: 30000, width: 250, height: 300, theme: { shell: { background: '#5a64d6', color: '#ffffff' }, tweets: { background: '#f5f0f5', color: '#0a0a0a', links: '#4daff0' } }, features: { scrollbar: false, loop: false, live: false, behavior: 'all' } }).render().setUser('TriadStrategies').start();

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 “One thing Pennsylvanians can be really proud of is the food safety system,” lauds Dean Joan Hendricks of the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. That is an important accomplishment as agriculture is Pennsylvania’s number one industry.

Penn Vet leads the nation in their monitoring and intervention abilities.  A collaboration between Penn’s School of Veterinary Medicine and Life Technologies, led to the launch of a DNA-based detection kit that tests for salmonella in poultry eggs. The kit provides accurate results in about 27 hours, compared to the 10 days it took for a traditional laboratory test to provide results.  This enabled Pennsylvania’s major egg producers to meet the US Food and Drug Administration’s stringent testing standards.  

Pennsylvania's voluntary avian-flu surveillance program is one of the nation’s largest. In this video, Dean Hendricks describes an incident in 2004 when an avian flu outbreak threatened many of the Mid-Atlantic States.  Pennsylvania was able to stop the outbreak in less time and at a much lower cost compared to neighboring states.

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Veterinarian medicine and research is not just confined to large animals and pets.  The research being undertaken at The School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has major implications for human beings as well.

Ralph Brinster, a graduate and current faculty member of The School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, recently became the only veterinarian to ever receive the National Medal of Science.

Dr. Brinster’s research, which began with the isolation of mammalian cells, has had implications in cancer treatment and spawned the entire field of stem cell research.  Penn President Amy Gutmannsaid:

Ralph Brinster is a trailblazer in the field of reproductive biology and genetics whose work has had inestimable influence in science and medicine. His early findings helped usher in the era of transgenic research and represent foundational aspects of techniques used in genetic engineering, in vitro fertilization and cloning.

Many fundamental studies that started in animals have ended up affecting humans as well. Due to the deep understanding of biology that veterinarians utilize across species, they are able to elevate the quality of life and care for everyone.

Animals, as well as humans, suffer from common conditions such as kidney disease, arthritis, cancer, West Nile virus and Lyme disease. Watch and listen as Dean Joan Hendricks discusses the role of Penn Vet as a global leader in linking animal science to human welfare.

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The School Of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has developed a strong reputation not only for their treatment and care of pets, but also for work and research that has had lasting impacts in both human and animal science. The dean of Penn Vet, Joan Hendricks, talked more about the institution Tuesday morning of WITF’s “Smart Talk.”

Continue reading "The Role of a Veterinarian" »

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By Joseph Capita

United Way of the Capital Region unveiled a public opinion poll this week that may contain surprises for some regarding voters’ attitudes toward human service cuts in the proposed 2012-13 Pennsylvania state budget. 

The poll, conducted last month by Terry Madonna Opinion Research,http://www.uwcr.org/images/pdf/budget%20cut%20survey%20full%20report.pdf surveyed 406 registered voters in Dauphin, Cumberland and Perry counties. The sampling error is 4.9 percent.

Continue reading "Public concerned about human service cuts" »

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“Drilling activity being down is actually a good thing, in my opinion,” Representative Mike Hannaassured us last week.

Because of decreasing commodity prices for natural gas, the number of wells being drilled in the region has decreased substantially.  Consequently, this lull in drilling is providing the time necessary to understand the impact that drilling his having, and time to develop the infrastructure and support services needed for the future of the Marcellus region. Hanna noted the number of water pipelines under construction that take water up to drilling sites, will have the benefit of greatly reducing truck traffic on local roads.  In addition, constructing new pipelines necessary to move the gas into the market are not only adding jobs, but have created new habitats in state game lands (where the representative recently enjoyed some turkey hunting!).

  Hanna also applauded the positive economic impact that the Marcellus Shale has had already in the creation of jobs. The Marcellus Shale Education and Training Center produced an early report on the impact of the region which showed that 30 percent of businesses in Bradford County alone attributed increased sales to the development of natural gas. Businesses across the region have reported higher rates of activity in hotels, construction, transportation, eating and drinking places, wholesale trade and financial services. In 2009, it is estimated that the Marcellus Shale added 23,385 jobs and $1.9 billion to the economy of Pennsylvania. 

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Today, the House Finance Committee held a lengthy public hearing on Representative Cox’s HB 1776 or the Property Tax Independence Act to eliminate the school property tax code in favor of raising sales and income taxes.

The committee hosted six outside speakers to discuss the impact of this legislation but first in the hot seat was Representative Cox himself. He began by summarizing the legislation, which boasts 70 cosponsors. Were the bill to be adopted, schools and school boards would no longer be permitted to raise or levy school property taxes, except to cover the cost of their preexisting debt. Cox provided information that there are approximately 19 school districts in the Commonwealth who are debt-free, and the average school’s debt takes up 10 percent of their budget. In these districts, property owners would see a 90 percent decrease in their school property taxes, and when the debt was paid off, the tax would disappear.

To make up for the school’s lost revenue, Cox proposed an increase in the sales and earned income taxes. Both right around a 1 percent, the increases also have several caveats. Clothing purchases under $50 would not be taxed and food items on the WIC list, essentially a list of foods considered nutritious and necessary, would also not be taxed. Cox believes that this will increase will still provide enough revenue to schools, as well as lessen the burden on property owners who are forced out of their home due to high and ever-increasing school property taxes.

Speaking in support of the legislation were the Pennsylvania State Grange and the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau. The State Grange agreed wholeheartedly with Cox’s belief that property taxes are unfair, especially to farm owners; the Grange went as far as to call them “cumbersome, burdensome and costly.” The Farm Bureau went on to explain that farmers are particularly hurt by property taxes because often, they are “land rich and cash poor” which makes their property taxes high despite their lower revenues.

In opposition to the bill were the Pennsylvania Retailers Association, a representative from theNational Federation of Independent Businesses, the Pennsylvania Bar Association and thePennsylvania Budget and Policy Center. Retailers and NFIB opposed the legislation on the grounds that the taxation would slow consumers and that compliance to this complicated bill would cost businesses time and money. The bill also would place a tax on legal services, which the PA Bar Association opposed, saying that legal services are more often than not an essential service.

However, the harshest critic of the legislation was the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center. Michael Wood, research director of the Center, questioned nearly all of the merits of the bill. He pointed out that while property taxes are unpopular; eliminating them at the state level was meddling into local issues and applying a one-size-fits-all approach to the many different and diverse municipalities of Pennsylvania. He called it bad policy that depends wholly on risky and unknown factors, especially since there is no funding formula in place for how schools will be allocated money without their property taxes.

Despite these criticisms, Cox remained confident through the hearing that with amendments and continued education on his bill that he would garner the support of the majority of the House.

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If you thought the passage of the Marcellus Shale Law, Act 13 of 2012, would end the debate on Marcellus Shale for this session, think again. When Representative Hanna paid us a visit last week, he spent a considerable amount of time talking about a package of bills the House Democrats recently introduced to address what they perceive as deficiencies in the new law.

The Marcellus Compact comprises six bills which are intended to strengthen the recently enacted law. The House D’s number one priority is HB 2412 which would restore zoning control to local municipalities and Hanna reports that this is an issue of concern on both sides of the political aisle. “Act 13 strips [from municipalities] their ability to regulate Marcellus drilling and other activities,” Hanna said. 

  Representative Hanna’s bill, HB 2413, proposes to impose a higher impact fee that would begin when the well starts producing gas and would remain in effect for the well’s entire producing life. The remainder of the bills in the compact would address environmental safeguards; add new protections for water supplies; addresses concerns over the rights of doctors and patients over medical disclosures; and the establishment of Marcellus Shale Job Creation Tax Credit.

Given the current Republican majorities in both chambers, it is not likely that these amendments will see a vote any time soon.  House Republican Spokesman, Steve Miskin was quoted as saying “There’s def­i­nitely no rea­son right now to take up any of this legisla­tion. [Act 13] just became law and hasn’t even worked its full way through.” 

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Budget debates will really kick into high gear next week when the General Assembly reconvenes and takes up the Senate budget bill.  Fortunately we were able to talk to Representative Mike Hanna and get a feel for his and the House Democrat’s priorities headed into that debate.

  While he applauds the Senate for minimizing cuts to higher education and county human services, Hanna warns us not to become complacent with the levels that were passed by his Senate colleagues. Those appropriated amounts are still cuts from prior year spending and Hanna wants to see that the $300 million still left on the table is allocated to restore as much funding as possible.  One area he cited was higher education, in the light of the drastic cuts made in last year’s budget.

As the House begins to work on budget legislation, Hanna wants to really focus on basic education and county human services. “We will work vigorously with our friends on the other side of the aisle to try and see if we can direct additional funds […]. We need to add additional dollars, the $300 million still on the table, to minimize the impact of these cuts.”  With the House and Senate Republicans looking to cap spending at $27.6 billion and Governor Corbett describing Pennsylvania’s $27.1 billion budget as a shrinking pizza, next week should make for some interesting floor debate.  You may want to reserve your ticket now.

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What’s the number one way to get Pennsylvanians back to work? Senator Vincent Hughes says infrastructure.

Citing bipartisan support for a comprehensive funding solution for transportation, Hughes said that, “the General Assembly is ready to go, we’ve been ready for months now.”  He argues that no community can survive without an adequate transportation system. A comprehensive solution would include funding, repairs and construction for roads, bridges, highways, railways and bus lines. Without these investments, Hughes questions how Pennsylvanians will get to their jobs.

  He pointed to Allegheny County, where one in three bus lines may have to shut down because they no longer have the funds to operate. Yet, there are many people who rely on those lines to get to work in Pittsburgh.

Infrastructure investments wouldn’t just help those who are already employed get to work, the manufacturing and construction sectors of our economy would see the return on this investment. In addition, other sectors of the economy would immediately benefit, according to Hughes.  “When those workers are paid, they have money to spend in their local communities in taxes, restaurants and stores.”

Another area where infrastructure investments would spur economic activity would be through rehabbing our aging public schools, according to Hughes.  Many school buildings in the state are over 70 years old and require repairs and renovations.  Those investments will create additional jobs in the manufacturing industry as HVAC and other building materials would be in demand.

The Triadvocate is a publication of Triad Strategies, LLC, a bipartisan lobbying, public affairs, strategic communications, grassroots advocacy, issue management consulting firm located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with offices in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh

[triadvocate]

In the budget passed by the Senate, there was an extra $50 million added to aid financially distressed school districts and Senator Vincent Hughes shared his reasoning with us.

  He explained that school districts have become financially distressed as a result of the current economic climate. These districts are located in areas where the local community is economically distressed, consequently they do not have the additional resources to adequately fund basic education, significantly impacting their academic success. “They’re not in this situation because of anything that they’ve done,” he said. Senator Hughes insists that it is the obligation and responsibility of the state to rescue these schools that both deserve and need help.

The state’s most financially distressed school districts include the City of Harrisburg, in Dauphin County; Chester Upland in Delaware County; Duquesne City in Allegheny County, and York City in York County.

The Triadvocate is a publication of Triad Strategies, LLC, a bipartisan lobbying, public affairs, strategic communications, grassroots advocacy, issue management consulting firm located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with offices in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh

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We are pleased to present you with another installment of “Triad on the Threes;” three minutes of our interview with a legislator, public official, or influencer of state politics.  Today we haveRepresentative Michael Hanna, the Democratic Whip, representing the 76th legislative district, serving Clinton and Centre counties.

Representative Hanna joined us to discuss a number of issues confronting the General Assembly.  Just like Senator Hughes and Representative DiGirolamo, Hanna was deeply concerned with the proposed cuts to county human services. Though he does not believe that reducing a cut should be viewed as a “restoration” of funding, he was encouraged by the Senate reducing the cut from 20% to 10%.  “There is a lot more that can be done, but in the interest of fairness, let’s say hooray to Senate Republicans for taking a step in the right direction,” he said.

   In working toward finalizing a budget, Hanna believes that there is $300 million still available to address funding shortfalls, and plans to work vigorously to appropriate those funds to programs that were cut in the governor’s budget.

 Budget aside, Hanna’s other priority is the Marcellus Compact, an effort to restore municipal zoning authority, increase the impact fee to a level that can be reached with bipartisan support, providing incentives for the industry to hire pa workers, and improvements to environmental standards. By working with the industry and his Republican colleagues, he believes that a positive consensus can be reached.

 Come back later this week for more on the budget, the Marcellus Compact and the rest of our interview with Representative Hanna.

The Triadvocate is a publication of Triad Strategies, LLC, a bipartisan lobbying, public affairs, strategic communications, grassroots advocacy, issue management consulting firm located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with offices in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh

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The holiday weekend is over and it’s time to focus our attention from picnics to the Pennsylvania budget. Before we left on Friday, we gave you a preview of our interview with Senator Vincent Hughesand now we’re back with the full discussion.

As you know, the Senate passed a budget bill that made several changes to the original proposal that they received from Governor Corbett. These changes include restoring cuts to county human services and restoring cuts to secondary and basic education. Senator Hughes points out the double-edged sword of cuts to higher education by explaining that not only will tuition for state school students increase for the second year in a row, but that those students may see fewer courses being offered if tuition increases cannot replace the lost funding.

  Like Rep. Gene DiGirolamo (who we interviewed last week), Hughes was adamant about the importance of restoring funds to county human services programs. The Senate was able to restore 50 percent of the cuts from the Governor’s budget and the Senator hopes that this progress will continue in the House.

“We’ve been working, Democrats and Republicans – and that’s key in this process- we’ve reached across the aisle to [advocate] for these issues,” Hughes said. He went on to tell us that just because the Senate bill has passed, their work is not over. They’re still focusing on the budget legislation and talking to the House about ways to improve the areas that the Senate worked on and to refine areas that they wish to enhance. Hughes remains confident that continuing these bipartisan efforts will produce a budget this summer that addresses the needs of Pennsylvania.

The Triadvocate is a publication of Triad Strategies, LLC, a bipartisan lobbying, public affairs, strategic communications, grassroots advocacy, issue management consulting firm located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with offices in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh

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It has been a week of rising remonstration among those who worry that proposed state budget cuts would go too far, dumping the problems of the needy onto the doorsteps of others. Moreover, rather than saving tax money, some worry that the proposed budget might actually increase the overall cost to taxpayers, or at the very least shift the burden to local governments. 

Notably, events of the week have positioned Republicans as fighting among themselves like, well, cats and dogs. To wit:

Republican Dauphin County Commissioner Jeff Haste suggested that if the commonwealth refuses to provide funding for mandated human services, then perhaps counties should simply refuse to provide those services instead of sticking local taxpayers with the bill, in order to force Republican Governor Corbett’s hand. 

Along those same lines, commissioners in Republican-dominated Cumberland and Perry counties passed resolutions opposing Corbett’s proposed cuts, which would total 20 percent on top of severe cuts last year.

Here at Triad World HQ, we posted a series of video clips featuring Bucks County Republican Rep. Gene DiGirolamo, majority chair of the House Human Services Committee, who says the proposed human service cuts will pit mental health patients against Pennsylvanians with intellectual disabilities and against other county residents seeking services.

Human service programs aren’t the only things people are worried about. In Pittsburgh, 200 or so protestors marched on Governor Corbett’s Dahntahn office to complain about cuts to public education. When they weren’t allowed into the building, some plunked themselves down in the street, prompting 11 arrests for obstructing traffic. The upside was that it temporarily reduced the wear and tear on Pittsburgh’s streets, but we’ll get to the funding of our crumbling transpo infrastructure in just a minute.

This cat-versus-dog business wasn’t confined to denizens of the Grand Ol’ Party. On the national scene, Newark Mayor and Obama surrogate Cory Booker found himself in an inadvertent kerfuffle with his administration pals when he whiffed on blasting Mitt Romney and his association with Bain Capital in a Meet the Press appearance. C’mon, mayor, you gotta get your talking points nailed down.

Back here at home, Public Policy Polling (PPP) this week reported that U.S. Sen. Bobby Casey is leading his GOP challenger, Tom Smith, by some 14 points. What’s even more interesting, though, is these same folks have Obama up over Romney in the race for the Big Cheese hat and also have Democrats leading for Attorney General, Auditor General and State Treasurer. 

Couple this with news that the Obama folks have passed over Pennsylvania again for another mega TV ad buy and you gotta begin to believe reports that Pennsylvania – while still Keystone to any Presidential candidate’s win – is no longer a battleground state.  We’ve made this point on several occasions earlier this year for the fine folks at Support Popular Vote.  Maybe it really is time for the government to allow the candidate who gets the most popular votes be assured that he or she will be seated as President.

State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe became the latest policymaker to demonstrate his level of sensitivity toward women’s health issues by introducing legislation that would cut off state funding for health care providers whose primary function is to perform abortions. Like Planned Parenthood, for instance. What, you say? Only 3 percent of PP’s health services involve abortion? And state law already prohibits the use of state funds for abortions? Hey, don’t muddle this debate with facts; we’re trying to peddle some dogma here! Move along, nothing to see!

From peddling to pedaling, the U.S. House wants to birth a transportation bill that not only falls drastically short of adequately funding the highway system, but also repeals programs for bicyclers and pedestrians. OK, let’s see – roads and bridges are out, no bike paths, no place to walk – that leaves… levitation! No wear and tear on anything, ever! Brilliant!

The Oopsie of the Week goes to Facebook, whose stock dropped like (we’re foreshadowing here) a proverbial lead zeppelin following FB’s initial public offering a week ago. As Gordon Gekko would say (foreshadowing again), “It’s a dog with fleas, kid.” Triad stock tip of the week: buy low, sell high. By the way, the sobbing you hear is Mark Zuckerberg crying all the way to the bank.

Back to the Triadvocate – and cats and dogs – for a moment – Penn Vet Dean Joan Hendricks stopped by to chat about the importance of veterinary medicine to people who care about safe food, productive farming and life-enhancing advances in medical science, as well as warm and cuddly puppies and kittens l. Anyone? Anyone?

Well, kids, that’s a wrap from your BFFs at TSHQ as we wish you ant-free picnicking this Memorial Day weekend. Be sure to follow us on Facebook (at least for as long as it is able to stay in business) and Twitter, and we’ll see you in this space again next week!

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We had the pleasure of having Senator Vincent Hughes over at Triad this week to chat about a variety of issues facing Pennsylvania.

Senator Hughes, of Philadelphia and Montgomery counties, serves as the Democratic Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee; this position gives him an important voice in developing Pennsylvania’s annual budget and setting spending priorities.

When it’s budget season you can be sure that the Senator wanted to discuss the major funding issues affecting the Commonwealth.  In this clip he discusses the Senate’s priorities including restoring some funding cuts proposed in the Governor’s budget in the areas of higher and basic education, and human services at the county.   Hughes also characterized the Senate’s passage as the first step in a four-week, bipartisan effort to create a budget that best reflects the needs of Pennsylvania.  In addition, he talks about the importance of reaching a comprehensive solution for funding transportation and infrastructure.

In addition to his leadership position, Hughes also serves on the Finance, Judiciary, Public Health & Welfare, Rules & Executive Nominations committees and is the dean of the Senate Democratic Caucus having served 16 years in the Senate and seven in the House.

Check back next week for his full thoughts on the budget that is currently in the House; the efforts of the four caucuses to deliver the budget on a timely basis, the importance of our transportation infrastructure and the need to adequately fund it; how investments in rehabilitating our educational infrastructure can put Pennsylvanian’s back to work; and how he uses social media to communicate his message (you knew Roy was going to have that question tossed in there).

Please remember our fallen veteran’s on this Memorial Day weekend who have sacrificed so much for each of us.

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  In addition to the cuts to county human services programs, Rep. Gene DiGirolamo has anotherDepartment of Public Welfare issue on his committees radar – Act 22 of 2011.

Passed along with the budget last year, Act 22 gives the secretary of DPW the power to make regulatory changes in the department without the oversight of the General Assembly or the Independent Regulatory Review Commission. “When we passed it, the idea was that we wanted to cut down on waste, fraud and abuse in welfare programs,” DiGirolamo explained.

At the time, the General Assembly was of the belief that the secretary would be more able to target and cut waste efficiently without the IRCC process that many regarded as cumbersome and too lengthy. Some representatives are now finding that programs that they and their constituents find valuable are being negatively impacted by programmatic changes proposed by the department under its Act 22 authority.

[triadvocate]

As the weather heats up, so does budget debate in Pennsylvania. In our second segment from our interview with Rep. Gene DiGirolamo, he discussed the Governor’s proposed cuts to county human services programs.

Governor Corbett’s budget proposed moving seven funded line items including mental health, intellectual disabilities, behavioral health services, drug and alcohol treatment and homeless assistance under one block grant.  In exchange for the added flexibility that the block grant would provide, the total funding would be cut by 20 percent, or $168 million. He stated that these cuts would put anywhere from 4,000 to 10,000 state residents out of drug and alcohol treatment programs.