Governor Rendell Calls Prompt Legislative Action to Protect and Serve Pennsylvanians

Urges General Assembly to Work Together to Pass Property Tax Relief, Raise Income for Workers, Support National Guard Troops and Protect Children From Predators and Drugs, Support Communities

HARRISBURG, Pa., Sept. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Calling for prompt action by the legislature this fall, Governor Edward G. Rendell today laid out his new agenda, which is focused on providing property tax relief and protecting Pennsylvania's families, seniors, children and communities.

"I am calling on the members of the General Assembly, Democrats and Republicans, to join me and pass critical legislation that is needed now for all Pennsylvanians," Governor Rendell said. "I am proposing legislation that guarantees that property tax relief is real for every homeowner, increases the prosperity of our working families, and expands our community investments that create jobs and wealth.

"As partners, we have made historic progress in the past two and half years by investing in education and our workforce," the Governor said. "We expanded prescription drug coverage for seniors, invested in our economy to create jobs and made great strides squeezing every nickel out of government to make sure it works efficiently and effectively for our citizens.

"But there is more we can and must do together for the people of Pennsylvania," Governor Rendell said. "There is no question that the people of this commonwealth expect us to work together to get these things accomplished starting today."

At a press conference with a number of his Cabinet secretaries and agency leaders, Governor Rendell laid out five major proposals that he said need urgent action this fall. They are:

-- Property tax relief to every homeowner in every school district;
-- Raising the incomes of the 254,000 lowest paid workers in the state;
-- Moving the economy forward by passing the Redevelopment Assistance
Capital Program Bill so the state can continue to invest in economic
and community development projects;
-- Financial relief to our National Guard members and veterans; and
-- Protection for our children and our communities from sex offenders and
drug dealers.

PROPERTY TAX RELIEF

"People are waiting and watching and they need property tax relief now," Governor Rendell said. "It is urgent that the General Assembly pass legislation to ensure that every homeowner gets tax relief."

The Governor said his simple proposal for property tax relief still remains viable -- legalize slots and use state funds generated from slots to cut property taxes. However, the legislation on property tax relief -- Act 72 -- needs to remove language that gave the school districts the power to decide if their homeowners would get property tax relief. He added that the legislature must remove the mandatory Earned Income Tax hike.

"We must get this done as early as possible this fall so our school districts can comply and take necessary local action so that our citizens know that property tax relief is a certainty," Governor Rendell said.

RAISING INCOMES

The Governor also proposed raising the state's minimum wage to $6.25 an hour by January 2006, and to $7.15 an hour by January 2007.

"We have not raised the minimum wage in this country in eight years and everyone knows and has seen other increases -- business profits have risen, worker productivity has increased, and the cost of food, clothing and basic necessities along with fuel prices, have climbed," Governor Rendell said.

In 1997, the minimum wage level was federally mandated at $5.15 an hour. Seventeen states, plus the District of Columbia, currently have minimum wage levels above $5.15 an hour -- Alaska, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. The last time Pennsylvania's General Assembly increased the minimum wage was in 1988.

The Governor noted that earlier this summer he signed 'Job Ready PA' into law to better train and develop the state's workforce. "Pennsylvania cannot continue to increase the skill of our workers and not raise their salary base. Improving the income of our working men and women does not need to put our businesses at a competitive disadvantage, but it does need to help our working families get beyond the poverty line."

SUPPORTING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY PROJECT

Passage of the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program will allow Pennsylvania to continue investing in economic and community development projects, the Governor said. "These vital projects throughout the commonwealth pave the way for new businesses, increase our economic competitiveness and put Pennsylvanians to work," he said.

Unless the General Assembly acts, projects like the completion of the Fifth and Forbes Avenues development in Pittsburgh; redevelopment at 5th and Penn Streets in Reading; and critical Johnstown improvements to the mining and coke facilities that are part of Enterprise Zone Industrial Park, will remain unfinished.

FINANCIAL RELIEF FOR NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERS

Regarding veterans and National Guard troops, Governor Rendell said, "Every day we see them serve us and risk their lives both in the war on terrorism and in helping people whose lives have been shattered by natural disasters such as Katrina."

The Governor said various elements of the legislation he proposed last April have not been enacted, and further action is needed "to address the real needs of our active duty guard and their families."

The remaining elements include:

-- Critical financial resources to the families of deployed soldiers;
-- Emergency assistance and support for families who lose family members
in the war;
-- College access for surviving spouses and deferments of student loans
for deployed soldiers;
-- Priority access to state-funded childcare and job training programs;
-- Tax benefits for disabled veterans and deployed soldiers; and
-- Incentives to employers of deployed soldiers

Additionally, he has proposed passage of the recommendations prepared by the Election Reform Task Force that will ensure that all military and overseas voters' ballots can be cast and counted in every election.

"These election changes will make it easier for our fighting men and women to get their absentee ballots, extend the time for filing in their ballots and cleaning up the process for how those ballots are requested, tallied and tracked," Governor Rendell said.

PROTECTING PENNSYLVANIA CHILDREN

The Governor also said Pennsylvania needs to protect its children and communities from sex offenders and drug dealers.

Governor Rendell is proposing mandatory sentences for every major sex offense. Under the Governor's proposal, violent sex offenders who rape children would get a minimum term of 25 years in prison. He also is proposing stronger mandatory sentences for kidnapping a minor.

"Convicted sex offenders have gotten off too lightly," Governor Rendell said. "It's simply not right that a sex offender may serve a short sentence for rape, while a victim serves a life sentence of anxiety, stress and depression. It's time to turn the tables and guarantee that if you commit a sex offense in Pennsylvania, you not only get a mandatory sentence, but you get a harsh one."

The Governor also asked the legislature to get tough on those who commit sex offenses against adults and enact his proposed legislation that establishes for the first time a mandatory sentence of 10 years for offenders who rape another adult. If a weapon is used to commit a sex offense, or even threatened to be used to commit a sex offense of a child or an adult, the courts would be able to add at least five years to the mandatory sentence.

To fight other criminals in Pennsylvania who are wreaking havoc on communities by manufacturing Methamphetamine, the Governor has proposed legislation that will decrease access to the chemicals needed to make Methamphetamine by requiring pharmacies to keep any medicine containing pseudoephedrine behind the counter and will require purchasers to show identification, sign a purchase log and limit their purchases to no more than 7.5 grams of pseudoephedrine per month (2.5 packs of cold medicine per month).

Last year, the Governor signed legislation that put the financial burden on the convicted Methamphetamine lab operators for cleanup of their labs and created higher penalties for stealing chemicals to make this drug.

"No one walking down their street should have to fear that as an adult they will be sexually assaulted or that their child will be sexually molested," Governor Rendell said. "No one walking down the street should worry that they will be injured by an explosion caused by criminals who are cooking Methamphetamine or worry that their children are getting fast and ready access to this highly addictive drug. It's time to get tough on these crimes, and these bills will place these bad actors behind bars for a long, long time."

Editor's Note: A summary of three components of the Governor's Fall Agenda are attached.

GOVERNOR RENDELL'S 2005 FALL AGENDA

MILITARY AND OVERSEAS VOTER ELECTION IMPROVEMENTS

The Governor's legislative proposal is designed to increase ballot access for all electors in active military service, members of the Merchant Marine, electors in religious or welfare groups serving with the military and spouses and dependents of the foregoing and all overseas citizens. It proposes to amend the Pennsylvania Election Code as follows:

1. Extends the deadline for county boards of elections to receive
absentee ballots from electors listed above to 8 pm on the day of the
election (currently the deadline is 5 pm on the Friday before the
election). In addition, those ballots containing a postmark no later
than the day before Election Day and which are received up to seven
days after Election Day will be accepted as timely. Adjusts
corresponding procedures and deadlines accordingly.

2. Allows submission of an application for an absentee ballot by
facsimile or computerized electronic transmission (e-mail) provided it
contains all required information and a facsimile of the elector's
signature or the signature of an adult member of the elector's
immediate family. It eliminates the need that the facsimile copy
would only be valid if the original was received prior to election
day.

3. Extends the use of the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB) to the
electors listed above in all elections for all offices. The FWAB is
available at locations all over the world and provides increased
access to vote in Federal elections. This amendment will greatly
expand access to the ballot.

4. Allows absentee ballots to be returned to the county boards of
elections by the elector's authorized representative, a commercial
delivery or courier service that accepts and delivers as an
intermediary between third parties in the ordinary course of its
business throughout the year documents and packages deliverable to a
specific street address as well as by personal hand delivery by the
elector and the United States mail.

5. Requires earlier printing of the absentee ballot by mandating the
county boards of elections to print absentee ballots immediately upon
certification of the official ballot. Also requires county boards to
begin to deliver or mail absentee ballots to qualified electors
immediately upon receipt of absentee ballots from the printer, but no
later than one week following receipt of the certification.

6. Establishes an earlier date for the filing of nomination papers by
independent candidates of political bodies and minor parties in order
to expedite the resolution of litigation pertaining to such
candidacies. The goal is to enable the Secretary of the Commonwealth
to certify the names for ballot placement earlier, allow the county
boards of elections more time to print and distribute absentee ballots
to the electors listed above. Also requires appeals in such cases to
be filed within two business days of the filing of such decisions.

7. Requires county and district election officials to make files and
lists of absentee electors available for inspection only upon written
request instead of posting information at the office of the county
board and/or polling place. This is an attempt to provide security to
the absentee voter and his/her family against criminal acts.

8. Authorizes the Secretary of the Commonwealth to require county boards
of elections to report information concerning absentee ballots,
including specifically, but not limited to, the number of absentee
ballot applications received, the number of electors listed on the
permanent absentee ballot qualification list, the number of absentee
ballots distributed or mailed, and the number of absentee ballots
returned by electors. This will provide a mechanism for the state to
monitor whether absentee ballots from electors listed above are
receiving expeditious attention.

GOVERNOR RENDELL'S 2005 FALL AGENDA

METHAMPHETAMINE CONTROL PROPOSAL

Residents of many rural counties, including Bradford, Crawford, Venango and Erie are finding their families and communities ripped apart from the scourge of Methamphetamine.
______________________

Those states that have passed strong legislation have seen the results. Oklahoma passed laws similar to those in this proposal, and Oklahoma has seen 90 percent fewer arrests for meth trafficking, labs or manufacturing.
______________________

This proposal builds on the successful Oklahoma legislation. It would:

Move products like cold and allergy medicines containing pseudoephedrine, as well as any products containing ephedrine, behind the pharmacy. Only a pharmacist or licensed pharmacy technician could distribute products with pseudoephedrine or ephedrine.

Limit how much of such products a person can buy in one month to 7.5 grams. This is more than enough for one month and constitutes about 250 pills.

Require that the purchaser sign a written log showing the date of transaction, the name of the person, and the name and amount of the substance purchased.

Require that the purchaser show the pharmacist government issued identification.

Restrict the sale of products with pseudoephedrine or ephedrine from anyone under 18.

None of these restrictions would apply to products dispensed per a valid prescription from a physician, or to pediatric medicine that is in liquid form.
______________________

It also would make it a first-degree misdemeanor for anyone to knowingly violate these limits or to knowingly enter false information in the log.
______________________

The proposal targets drug couriers by making it a second-degree felony to knowingly transport in a vehicle ephedrine or pseudoephedrine with knowledge that the substances will be used to make Methamphetamine.

GOVERNOR RENDELL'S 2005 FALL AGENDA

Sex Offender Accountability and Sentencing Reform Act

This Act will protect our children and communities from sex offenders.

For too long, convicted sex offenders have gotten off too lightly. The Act changes this. It provides long and mandatory sentences for convicted sex offenders and ensures that they will be locked up for a long time.
______________________

Someone who rapes or commits aggravated indecent assault on a child under 13 will be put behind bars for a minimum of 25 years. This is five times greater than the current 5-year mandatory minimum. A judge must impose either life without parole or a 25-year mandatory minimum for a second conviction. A subsequent conviction requires a life sentence without parole.
______________________

A first conviction for rape of an adult will carry a 10-year minimum mandatory. Currently, there is no mandatory minimum. If the offender uses or threatens to use a deadly weapon or the victim suffers serious bodily injury or the victim is more than 60 years old or the offender uses a substance to impair the victim, he will receive an additional 5 years on his mandatory minimum. A judge must impose either a sentence of life without parole or a 25-year mandatory minimum for a second conviction. A subsequent conviction requires a life sentence without parole.
______________________

The Act also makes incest, currently a second-degree felony, a first- degree felony. Anyone convicted of incest of a child under 16 would also receive a 25-year mandatory minimum sentence. A judge must impose life without parole for a second conviction or a 25 year mandatory minimum, and a subsequent conviction requires a life sentence without parole
______________________

The Act creates significant sentences for other sexual crimes. The Act creates a brand new 5-year mandatory minimum for someone convicted of a second-degree felony sex crime, such as sexual assault, sexual exploitation of a child, and aggravated indecent assault. If the victim is under 13 or more than 60, or suffers serious bodily injury, or the defendant uses or threatens to use a deadly weapon, the mandatory minimum is doubled to 10 years. For a second conviction of these offenses, a judge must impose either a 15-year mandatory minimum or life without parole.
______________________

The Act also makes some misdemeanor sex crimes felonies, such as luring a child into a motor vehicle, indecent assault of a victim under 13, and unlawful contact with a minor third degree felonies because they are serious crimes with harmful consequences. Convictions for these crimes -- for which there are no current mandatory minimums -- will carry a mandatory 3.5 year sentence, unless the victim is under 13 or more than 60, or suffered serious bodily injury, or the defendant used or threatened to use a deadly weapon against the victim, in which case the mandatory minimum doubles to 7 years. If the sex offender had a prior first or second-degree felony conviction, he would receive a 12.5-year mandatory minimum and the mandatory for any subsequent conviction would be 40 years. If the offender had a prior third degree felony conviction, he would receive a 10-year mandatory, and a subsequent conviction would result in a 25-year mandatory minimum.