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May 8, 2012, 3:12 pm
Pennsylvania Bio today announced the release of a report drafted in cooperation with the Life Science Leadership Advisory Council (LSLAC) offering a long-term roadmap for economic development in the life sciences industry. The report coincides with PA Bio’s annual day at the Capitol.
Rep. Scott Petri (R-Bucks), LSLAC Chairman and chair of the House Life Sciences Caucus, detailed the report, which is titled Life Sciences Leadership for the Next Decade: Nurturing a Life Science Ecosystem for Job Creation and Economic Development in Pennsylvania. Commending its flexibility, Rep. Petri said the report lays out strategies by which the industry itself can gauge its own growth and success over the next eight to ten years.
Carolyn Newhouse, Deputy Secretary of Innovation and Investment for the Department of Community and Economic Development, offered the Corbett Administration’s support for the life sciences industry. She identified a series of tax credits and investments, including the Research and Development Tax Credit and the Life Sciences Greenhouses, through which the state is helping the industry grow in the Commonwealth.
Check the Capitol Toolbox later for the full story.
May 8, 2012, 1:31 pm
SEIU members rally against Corbett budget
Members of local Service Employees International Union (SEIU) branches today congregated at the Capitol to deliver letters to Gov. Tom Corbett protesting the proposed service and funding cuts in his budget.
The union, which represents public services and health care workers, opposes cuts to education, nursing homes, homecare services and other related lines in the governor’s proposed budget.
May 2, 2012, 3:31 pm
Gov. Tom Corbett this afternoon announced that an agreement has been reached between Highmark and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), promising continuity of coverage for patients and their families throughout western Pennsylvania through 2014. The governor also answered questions from the media, addressing subjects including the budget, revenue projections, pension reform, business tax reform, and property tax relief. The governor declined to endorse any specific bills or funding restorations but stated his willingness to have discussions on most subjects.
Look for the complete story in the Capitol Toolbox now.
May 2, 2012, 1:22 pm
The PA Homecare Association rallies at the Capitol
The Pennsylvania Homecare Association today rallied at the capitol, urging lawmakers to help push for reconsideration of a number of regulations promulgated by the Department of Health they feel are barring senior access to in-home services.
Vicki Hoak, CEO of the PA Homecare Association, said current state regulations prevent caregivers from assisting with self-administered medications like eye drops or pills. She said this considerably limits the relief they can provide to families of seniors who require help with such medicine.
Additionally, Hoak said the recently released list of preliminary rates for Office of Long-Term Living waiver programs barely – and in some cases not at all – reimburses agencies for the care they provide. Paul Bartoletti, president of the association and CEO of CareGivers America warned the rates as they stand could drive agencies out of business.
Sen. Pat Vance, Chairman of the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee, reported to the association that she has discussed the matter with Department of Health Deputy Secretary Mike Wolf and believes positive steps can be made in revising the new rates.
Check the Capitol Toolbox later for the full
Continue reading PA Homecare Association uses annual Lobby Day to push for regulation reform
May 2, 2012, 12:59 pm
Brain Injury Coalition holds annual rally
The Pennsylvania Brain Injury Coalition held its annual legislative rally at the state capitol this morning, calling for increased awareness of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and continued funding for home and community-based services for those afflicted with a TBI.
Mike Miller, chairman of the Coalition, which is composed of the Acquired Brain Injury Network of Pennsylvania, the Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania, the Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania, and the Pennsylvania Association of Rehabilitation Facilities, also lent the group’s support for two measures currently before the General Assembly.
HB 2024, by Rep. Tom Murt (R-Montgomery), would require insurance companies to provide information to customers on the kind of TBI services provided in their health insurance policy.
SB 997, by Sen. Stew Greenleaf (R-Montgomery), would create a state-level brain injury advisory board.
Miller said that with roughly 20,000 Pennsylvanians newly diagnosed with a TBI each year, the need for publicly-funded programs to aid in their recovery is “critical.”
Check the Capitol Toolbox later for the full story.
May 1, 2012, 4:25 pm
Rep. Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster) marks ALS Awareness Month
Two Pennsylvania chapters of the ALS Association held a press conference at the capitol today to mark May as ALS Awareness Month. Jim Pinciotti, Executive Director of the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the ALS Association, and Merritt Spier, Executive Director of the Western Pennsylvania Chapter of the ALS Association, spoke to the importance of ALS awareness and the association’s role in helping patients navigate the difficult, and fatal, disease. Several ALS sufferers and family members of ALS victims testified to the benefit of the Association in offering resources and support.
In the current budget, the ALS Association’s state funding has been zeroed out. Neil Alexander, a middle-aged ALS sufferer, presented a “business case” for the state to restore $800,000 in funding to the Association, which he contended would ultimately save a considerably larger amount of tax dollars in public healthcare costs.
Rep. Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster), whose mother and father both died from ALS, was the recipient of the ALS Advocacy Award. He said he will continue to fight for ALS patients in the state capitol as budget negotiations proceed.
Check the Capitol Toolbox later for the full
Continue reading Groups mark ALS Awareness Month in the Capitol
April 26, 2012, 3:40 pm
House Majority Leader Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) met with the media today to preview the House’s upcoming legislative agenda.
Rep. Turzai began by noting the House Republican caucus has focused its agenda thus far on private sector job creation and fiscal and governmental integrity, while running many of the priorities the caucus identified while in the minority, including voter ID, reducing the size of the General Assembly, and implementing a Marcellus Shale impact fee.
Of immediate import, Rep. Turzai noted, when the House returns on April 30 the first priority will be business tax reform and reduction by the way of House Bill 2150.
Also discussed by Rep. Turzai were items relating to the budget, liquor store privatization and a reaction to the primary election.
Check the Capitol Toolbox’s “Around the Capital” section for the full story.
March 14, 2012, 12:52 pm
Rep. Gene DiGirolamo speaks at PA Equine Coalition press conference
Lawmakers and members of the Pennsylvania Equine Coalition held a press conference today to urge Governor Corbett to reconsider part of his budget proposal that would redirect $72 million a year from the Racehorse Development Fund to other areas.
Carl McEntee, director of bloodstock services for Northview Stallion Station in Lancaster County, said the moneys for the fund, which come from casino slots revenue, were always intended to help maintain attractive purses for horse racing. He said the loss of that funding would cause breeders and owners to leave for other states, crippling the industry.
Legislators, including Rep. Gene DiGirolamo (R-Bucks), Rep. Chris Ross (R-Chester), Rep. Stan Saylor (R-York) and Sen. Tim Solobay (D-Washington) voiced their support for the industry in asking Gov. Corbett to rethink the proposal.
Check the Capitol Toolbox later for the full story.
March 13, 2012, 1:03 pm
Members of the House Philadelphia Delegation today strongly criticized Gov. Tom Corbett’s budget proposal, warning of the negative impacts it will have on the city of Philadelphia and the state as a whole.
Delegation chairman Cherelle Parker (D-Philadelphia) said the Corbett budget would have a “disastrous effect” on Philadelphia and its citizens. Highlighting the economic importance of the southeast region of the state, she noted its 6 counties, along with Allegheny County account for 50 percent of all General Fund revenues. She said cuts to education and welfare, along with a lack of funding for transportation, economic development and housing assistance, will damage the economic driver of the state.
Other members of the Philadelphia Delegation, including the minority chairs of 10 standing committees, offered their views on specific areas of the budget proposal. Check the Capitol Toolbox later for the full story.
March 7, 2012, 6:38 pm
Following its lengthy hearing with DPW this afternoon, the House Appropriations Committee capped off its penultimate day of budget hearings with representatives from the Pennsylvania Equine Coalition.
Discussion focused mainly around the proposal by Gov. Tom Corbett to cut $72 million from the Racehorse Development Fund and re-allocate a further $49 million to the General Fund. The Racehorse Development Fund, as a result of Act 71, is funded by casino slots revenue and supplements racing purses at Pennsylvania tracks. Horse breeders and representatives from the standard and thoroughbred horseman’s associations warned the loss of that money could have serious consequences for the equine industry and relegate Pennsylvania from its status as a top-10 racing venue in the country.
Check the Capitol Toolbox later this evening for the full story on the hearing. Not a PLS Capitol Toolbox subscriber? You can now purchase individual budget hearing recaps here.
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