Despite landmark bills, Pa. legislature has undone work
Published: October 12, 2008
Inquirer
By Amy Worden
There are now laws that deliver record levels of new funding for education and renewable energy, ban smoking, provide for open records, and require improvements in commercial dog kennels.
But what was left undone, some say, may cloud the accomplishments of the session.
The legislature failed to enact a long-term transportation funding plan, find health-care funding for the uninsured, deal with electric-rate caps, and face "an impending budget crisis," said G. Terry Madonna, a pollster at Franklin and Marshall College.
"I don't know how they can call this session successful," Madonna said.
Gov. Rendell, speaking in his end-of-session news conference on Wednesday, lamented the failure of Senate Republican leaders to act on his proposal to add more than 100,000 uninsured people to the state health-care plan.
Rendell had scaled back his proposal to expand the "adult basic" health-insurance program at least three times over the course of 18 months in an effort to win the support of Republicans, who control the Senate. The plan now covers 48,000 adults, and there is a waiting list of 118,000, officials said.
"The good news is the dogs of Pennsylvania have health care; I can't say the same for the people of Pennsylvania," said Rendell, referring to the newly revised law that requires regular veterinary care for dogs in commercial breeding kennels.
Rendell said he thought it "cruel and inexplicable" that Senate Republicans would reject a health plan that used existing funding from cigarette taxes and would not tap the state's operating budget.
But Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R., Delaware) said he could not, in good conscience, support an expensive new program in tough economic times.
"It would be irresponsible to spend $1 billion on a new entitlement program when we know we will face a $2 billion to $3 billion deficit," said Pileggi.
A counter proposal by Senate Republicans that would have dedicated $80 million to cover 15,000 people was rejected by the Rendell administration.
Without a health-care bill, there was no extension of the medical-malpractice insurance subsidy for doctors, known as MCARE, seen as vital to keeping doctors in high-risk specialties in the state.
Rendell had threatened to veto any MCARE bill without action on health insurance. As a result, the issue of the insurance subsidy is not yet resolved.
House Democratic leaders were sanguine in their assessment of the session.
"I'd give it an A-plus," said Rep. Dwight Evans of Philadelphia, chairman of the Appropriations Committee. "Look at energy and what's going on in the national and international debate. Most people thought we couldn't do it."
Under the new energy law, the state's utilities will be required to find ways to cut electricity usage by a small percentage by 2011.
The utilities also will have to show state regulators that they are trying to buy electricity at the cheapest possible price, instead of buying at wholesale market prices. If utilities are caught manipulating the price of electricity, the Public Utility Commission could levy penalties of up to $20 million.
"This puts Pennsylvania in the forefront of energy conservation in America," said Rendell, adding that the conservation measures would save consumers $500 million over the next five years.
A companion energy bill, signed by Rendell before the summer recess, pours $650 million into the development of alternative and renewable energy sources and offers rebates for consumers and businesses that install solar-energy devices. Evans ticked off other accomplishments in the last two years: large increases in education and mass-transit funding, $800 million in economic development and prison reform. "We were ahead of the curve," he said.
But Rendell failed to win consensus on his proposals to lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike or seek federal approval to charge tolls on Interstate 80 to fund much-needed improvements to roads, bridges and mass transit.
The governor said last week he would try to address the problem next year. That could include revisiting the turnpike lease, and with a new administration in the White House he might revive the highway toll proposal.
Pileggi counted improvements to the state dog law among the session's top accomplishments, especially given the enormous amount of public interest in the subject.
The bill, signed by Rendell on Thursday, requires sweeping improvements to the care and housing of thousands of dogs in commercial kennels.
Evans also praised the state's new open-records law, which makes it more difficult for state and local governments to deny access to public records. The law also set up an office of open records to oversee the process and advocate for open government.
But Madonna said the overall efforts to reform state government since the 2005 pay-raise debacle had fallen woefully short. "Sure, they've done open records," he said, "but they haven't banned gifts or straightened out the lobbying law or dealt with campaign-finance reform."
The governor and the legislature agree they must return to the drawing board to hash out agreements on how to deal with utility rate increases, health care, and transportation when the new session begins in January.
Legislative leaders emphasized that lawmakers and the administration would be negotiating next year's spending plan under the cloud of a national economic crisis, and that could mean drastic cuts in programs or tax increases.
On Sept. 30, revenues were $281 million, or 4.7 percent behind expectations, leaving the state with its biggest first-quarter shortfall in at least three decades.
Pileggi said he thought it was too early to discuss tax increases, but not too early to talk about government cutbacks. "We will have to dramatically reduce expenses or dramatically increase revenues," he said. "First we should reduce expenditures."