AARP Pennsylvania

Harrisburg, PA: Governor Tom Wolf presented his FY 16-17 budget in the annual budget message to the Pennsylvania General Assembly on Tuesday, February 9 th, but the budget itself was almost irrelevant to the event. Here are three takeaways for you and your family to consider in the coming months.

Over the past week, the talk of the town has been the winter blizzard that is set to hit tonight. Rumor is that Pennsylvania will get about 18 inches of snow, and have wind and snow drift. Schools are letting out early. Shopping center shelves are emptying out. People are taking precautions and you should be doing the same!

The budget discussions in Harrisburg reflected the winter weather this week – they appear to have gone into a deep freeze. With no movement anticipated for the near future on resolving the remaining budget concerns, it seems appropriate to discuss another issue on AARP’s legislative priority list for 2016 – the passage of the Caregiver, Advise, Record, and Enable (CARE) Act.

After a tumultuous end to 2015 in Harrisburg, 2016 has begun rather quietly. Perhaps the biggest political news of the first half of January has been the number of state legislators who have announced they will not be running for re-election. The total does not seem historically high yet (11 legislators have announced their retirements), but it is unusual that this many incumbents have opted to make their futures known a month before the February 16 filing deadline for the April 26 primary election. It is very likely in the coming weeks more legislators will decide to leave the General Assembly at the end of 2016. These retirements add to the twelve seats that became open in 2015 because of resignations and have been filled (or are in the process of being filled) with newly-elected replacements, plus a number of incumbents who are running for higher office. The result will be a 2017-18 General Assembly with an unusually high number of freshmen legislators roaming the halls of the Capitol.

The story of public policy in Pennsylvania in 2015 began with new occupants of three of the most important positions in the Commonwealth’s political structure – Governor Tom Wolf, Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, and House Majority Leader Dave Reed. They took on the leading roles in the on-again, off-again state budget drama that played out over the course of the year, beginning with the Governor’s budget address in March.

Pennsylvania’s state budget situation has reached the point where it now resembles a nightmare road trip with a dysfunctional family.

Every month, millions of Pennsylvanians receive their electric utility bill and I would guess that many of us look at the total, maybe grumble a little, then make a payment and go on with our business. I would also hazard a guess that most consumers don’t know how to read or understand their utility bills, and don’t know exactly what the charges are for or how one could be saving money. Do you know the difference between ‘supplier’ and ‘distributor’? Did you know that you can shop for your electric supplier, but not your distributor? How do you know where you could be saving money on your monthly electric utility bill and which costs are fixed?

As we enter the holiday season, many shoppers are juggling long grocery lists for that big family gathering and long gift lists for their loved ones. For some, this holiday season brings the excitement of shopping, cooking, and gift-wrapping. For others, this holiday season is a precursor to the hefty credit card statement or empty wallet.

“An age-friendly community is a livable community for people of all ages.” – Getty

An eventful Monday before Thanksgiving in Harrisburg with the focus entirely on the State Budget. Governor Wolf spoke before the Pennsylvania Press Club and confirmed that he and the General Assembly have taken a step backwards in working toward an agreement to pass a state budget, which is now almost five months overdue. The framework agreement that appeared to be in place a week ago is no longer acceptable to either side. A method to reduce property taxes is now the main sticking point, as the two sides cannot agree on a formula for implementing the reduction. With that disagreement in mind, the State Senate held a vote on a budget amendment to eliminate property taxes in Pennsylvania. The vote failed 24-25.