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A state legislative update from
the PA House Democratic Caucus
THE LATEST...
Meet the new Democratic lawmakers for 2013-14
 Rep.-Elect Ryan Bizzarro, D-Erie.
Each point in Rep.-elect Ryan Bizzarro's career taught him invaluable
lessons about the greater needs of his community. He represents the 3rd
Legislative District in Erie County. Learn more about him here.
 Rep.-Elect James W. Clay Jr., D-Philadelphia.
Rep.-elect James W. Clay, Jr. grew up learning to lead by example and
to do what he can to make his community a better place to live. He
represents the 179th Legislative District in Philadelphia. Learn more
about him here.
 Rep.-Elect Mary Jo Daley, D-Montgomery.
Rep.-elect Mary Jo Daley continues a deep community service commitment
that includes 20 years as a Narberth Borough Council member -- 10 of
them spent as council president, and eight as the lone Democrat on
council. She represents the 148th District in Montgomery County. Learn
more about her here.
 Rep.-Elect Frank Farina, D-Lackawanna/Wayne.
The founder and president of a landscaping company, Rep.-elect Frank
Farina has operated his own small business in his community since 2004.
He represents the 115th District covering parts of Lackawanna and Wayne
counties. Learn more about him here.
 Rep.-Elect Marty Flynn, D-Lackawanna.
Rep.-elect Marty Flynn represents the 113th District covering portions
of Scranton, Moosic and Taylor and all of South Abington Township,
Clarks Green and Throop. The Scranton native was a professional boxer
for 10 years, a mixed martial arts fighter and a prison guard and inmate
education program coordinator. Learn more about him here.
 Rep.-Elect Ed Gainey, D-Allegheny.
Rep.-elect Ed Gainey brings new leadership and a new vision to the
neighborhoods that make up the 24th District in Allegheny County. He
recently was named one of the 50 Men of Excellence in the Pittsburgh
region. Learn more about him here.
 Rep.-Elect Kevin Haggerty, D-Lackawanna.
A native son of Dunmore and United States Marine veteran, Rep.-elect
Kevin Haggerty is the child of an educator and product of strong, blue
collar ideals. He represents the 112th District in Lackawanna County.
Learn more about him here.
 Rep.-Elect Jordan Harris, D-Philadelphia.
Rep.-elect Jordan Harris lives with his wife Amber in the home he grew
up in, right in the heart of the 186th District he now serves. The
lifelong Philadelphian has worked in his community to remove dangerous
weapons from the streets and helped to design summer and sports programs
for local youth. Learn more about him here.
 Rep.-Elect Patty Kim, D-Dauphin.
A former news anchor and reporter and Harrisburg City Councilwoman,
Rep.-elect Patty Kim represents the 103rd District in Dauphin County.
Throughout her two terms on city council, she served as the chairwoman
of Public Safety, Public Works and Community and Economic Development.
Learn more about her here.
 Rep.-Elect Stephen Kinsey, D-Philadelphia.
A lifelong resident of northwest Philadelphia and proud product of the
public school system, Rep.-elect Stephen Kinsey represents the 201st
District. His vision for the community he represents is an extension of
the work he started more than 20 years ago to help individuals gain
employment and become self-sustaining. Learn more about him here.
 Rep.-Elect Steve McCarter, D-Montgomery/Philadelphia.
A retired captain in the U.S. Army reserves, Rep.-elect Steve McCarter
spent 35 years of his career educating future generations as a high
school teacher and directed a joint program between the National Parks
Service and Lower Merion School District. He represents the 154th
District covering parts of Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. Learn
more about him here.
 Rep.-Elect Dan McNeill, D-Lehigh/Northampton.
A Pennsylvania National Guard veteran with 38 years of service with
Ironworkers Local 36, Rep.-elect Dan McNeill grew up in the East side of
Allentown and represents the 133rd District. Learn more about him here.
 Rep.-Elect J.P. Miranda, D-Philadelphia.
An active community leader who has won numerous awards for his
community service from his youngest days, Rep.-elect J.P. Miranda
represents the 197th District in Philadelphia. He also administered the
“Philly Counts!” project as part of the U. S. Census to encourage full
participation for all city residents. Learn more about him here.
 Rep.-Elect Erin Molchany, D-Allegheny.
Rep.-elect Erin Molchany decided at an early age to dedicate her life
to helping others. After more than 12 years working in the nonprofit
community, she now represents the 22nd District in Allegheny County.
Learn more about her here.
 Rep.-Elect Mark Painter, D-Montgomery.
Rep.-elect Mark Painter is an eighth-generation Pennsylvanian who
represents the 146th District in Montgomery County. His concern about
the lack of access to special education programs for students with
autism led him to the field of special education law and, now, to state
office. Learn more about him here.
 Rep.-Elect Mark Rozzi, D-Berks.
A three-sport athlete and member of the Political Science Club and
Model UN in high school, Rep.-elect Mark Rozzi represents the 126th
District in Berks County. He concentrated on constitutional law while
obtaining his bachelor's degree from Kutztown University. Learn more
about him here.
 Rep.-Elect Mike Schlossberg, D-Lehigh.
Rep.-elect Mike Schlossberg holds an extensive record of community and
public service within the 132nd District he now represents. From urban
development to infrastructure improvement to small business development
and more, he has worked to help residents of the Greater Lehigh Valley
improve their quality of life. Learn more about him here.
 Rep.-Elect Brian Sims, D-Philadelphia.
An experienced motivational speaker, and distinguished policy attorney
and civil rights advocate from Center City Philadelphia, Rep.-elect
Brian Sims represents the 182nd District. Learn more about him here.
 Rep.-Elect Pam Snyder, D-Fayette/Greene/Washington.
Rep.-elect Pam Snyder served nine years as a Greene County Commissioner
and as a senior aide to the late Congressman Frank Mascara before being
elected to serve the 50th District covering Greene and parts of Fayette
and Washington counties. She remains active in many political,
professional and civic roles in her community. Learn more about her here.
House Democrats blast Corbett’s ‘corporate giveaway’ of Pa. Lottery
 House
Democratic leaders sharply criticized Gov. Tom Corbett’s plan to hand
over control of the successful Pennsylvania Lottery to a foreign
corporation, which could cost older Pennsylvanians hundreds of millions
of dollars in lost funding for services over the life of the contract.
“We have said for months that this process has been too
secretive, and we called on Governor Corbett to shine some light and
transparency on his plan for privatizing the Lottery,” said Democratic Leader Frank Dermody,
D-Allegheny. “Now, when there is no General Assembly in session, he is
trying to hand-deliver a lucrative contract to the lone bidder with no
hearings, no legislative approval and no public scrutiny. This whole
thing stinks.”
The Corbett administration announced on Nov. 20 that it was
considering a bid from Camelot Global Services PA LLC for a
20-to-30-year contract to manage the Pennsylvania Lottery. The
Canada-based company was the sole bidder for the lucrative contract.
Camelot is owned by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and is the
operator of The National Lottery in the United Kingdom.
Democratic leaders decried the lack of openness and transparency
in Corbett’s privatization quest for the Lottery. Indeed, few details
of Camelot’s proposal have been released, leaving many unanswered
questions. Still, Democrats said the little information they’ve seen is
cause for alarm.
Area legislators call for action to keep the doors of local organizations open
 Area
legislators, as well as representatives of local fire departments,
veterans organizations and others used the last day of the 2011-12
legislative session, to sound the warning bell that community
organizations across the commonwealth are at risk for closing if action
isn’t taken to fix changes that take effect in February to
Pennsylvania’s Small Games of Chance Act.
State Reps. Peter J. Daley II, D-Fayette/Washington, Ted Harhai, D-Westmoreland/Fayette, Brandon Neuman, D-Washington, Rick Saccone, R-Allegheny/Washington, and Jesse White,
D-Allegheny/Beaver/Washington, as well as Sen. Tim Solobay, held a news
conference at the Donora American Legion, to talk about how changes to
reporting requirements, additional parameters on who and where small
games of chance can be sold, and other issues will impact the
fundraising activities of local fire departments, veterans organizations
and others.
Daley, who said he plans to re-introduce legislation (H.B. 2649 of 2011-12)
to repeal the changes to the law when the legislature returns to
session in January, said that the changes missed the legislative intent
of helping local organizations.
“The intent of the legislation was to help these organizations,
and given the concerns raised, I firmly believe that the legislature
missed its goal on the effort,” Daley said. “I’ve heard from literally
thousands of individuals since I introduced my legislation. During a
conversation that I had with the owner of a Pennsylvania company that
produces small games of chance, I was told that the changes, as they
currently are written, could mean that one of the largest Legions in the
state likely will not survive. That should be a real eye opener to all
of my colleagues in Harrisburg.”
Dermody praises report on abuse, seeks legislative teamwork
 House Democratic Leader Frank Dermody welcomed a recent report with recommendations from the Pennsylvania Task Force on Child Protection and said the House should set aside partisanship to speed up action.
He said House Democrats
want to work with Republicans in the House to quickly move to pass
bills on which there is wide agreement. “Part of the tragedy of recent
child abuse scandals is how long it took to bring abusers to justice. We
ought to work in a bipartisan way in 2013 to improve state laws sooner
rather than later,” Dermody said.
Dermody
also asked the Corbett administration to take immediate steps to
improve the responsiveness of Pennsylvania’s child abuse reporting
hotline, ChildLine, by adding more intake caseworkers. He noted that in
2011 more than 8 percent of calls were dropped before being answered and
other callers are placed on hold for long periods. “The ChildLine staff
simply is stretched too thin to handle the call volume,” he said. “When
a concerned citizen picks up the phone to report child abuse, the least
the state of Pennsylvania can do is answer the phone.”
The toll-free number for Pennsylvania’s ChildLine is
1-800-932-0313. Dermody, who prosecuted child abuse cases in Allegheny
County in the 1980s, applauded the task force’s recommendation to
improve state and county support of evidence-based child abuse
prevention programs. |
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