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January 2012 Dear Friend, In an effort to keep you informed about state and local issues, I have developed this e-newsletter, which I will be sending out to residents of the 34th District. I think it is a fast, convenient and affordable way to get news out to area residents. I hope you find this e-newsletter useful and informative - and if you know of someone else who would like to receive it, please feel free to forward this email. I invite you to visit my website www.jakecorman.com for more information about your state government. If you do not wish to receive these e-newsletters, please click the "unsubscribe" button at the bottom of the page. If you would like to contact my office, please go to my website and click on the "contact me button". Please do not "reply" directly to this e-mail. State Senate Approves Drilling Impact Fees, Increased Environmental Safeguards The Legislature moved closer to passing a bill that would establish reasonable fees on gas drillers, establish strong environmental safeguards, and strengthen oversight of the Marcellus Shale drilling industry. Both the House and the Senate passed differing versions of Senate Bill 1100 after months of negotiation and compromise on a number of areas, including how funding would be allocated and local zoning issues. A Senate/House conference committee will meet when the Legislature reconvenes to finalize a compromise plan. This legislation will help communities impacted by drilling, provide for reasonable local zoning parameters and implement strong environmental protections. The fee is expected to generate tens of millions of dollars a year to help maintain roads and sewer systems in communities affected by the drilling. It would also fund statewide initiatives that finance infrastructure improvement, environmental cleanups and open space. According to estimates, the fee proposal would raise $94 million from wells that were producing gas this year, a figure that would rise to $155 million next year and $255 million by 2014. Over the next five years the fee will yield more than $1 billion dollars. Approximately 55 percent of the fees generated would go to counties and municipalities in the Marcellus Shale region and 45 percent to statewide infrastructure projects, environmental programs and other projects related to natural gas production. Other funds also would be set aside for county conservation districts, firefighter training programs, the Fish and Boat Commission and for boosting availability of affordable housing. Researchers with the Marcellus Shale Education and Training Center estimate shale drilling will require between 3,700 and 15,000 direct jobs in central and northern Pennsylvania by 2013 and an additional 8,100 to 13,500 direct jobs in southwestern Pennsylvania by 2014. In addition, the state Department of Revenue estimates that natural gas drilling companies have paid more than $1.1 billion in taxes since 2006, including corporate taxes, sales taxes and employee withholding. Bills Would Ease Burden of Personal Income Tax on Job-Creators The Senate Finance Committee unanimously passed legislation I sponsored to reduce the personal income tax burden on job-creators, especially those that operate a small business. Senate Bill 562 permits individual taxpayers to offset gains within one class of income with losses within another class. In Pennsylvania, eight classes of income are set in statute. By not acknowledging an individual's income loss, we are not fairly valuing that individual's earnings. Both losses and gains are felt by individuals and reflect in the bottom line. Allowing offsets will enable the state to tax a person on their true income. Senate Bill 1354 similarly provides fairness by acknowledging a loss in a class of income and allowing an individual taxpayer to carry that loss forward within a class of income in subsequent years. Both of these bills would move Pennsylvania in line with federal tax laws. Being one of a few states that does not allow some sort of offset or carry forward puts the commonwealth at a competitive disadvantage. Both at the federal level and within Pennsylvania's rules for corporations offsets and carry forwards are viewed as good tax policy to provide a fair assessment of one's income. Small businesses deserve this same policy, and I believe this will enable and encourage entrepreneurs to start up in our state, creating jobs and growing our economy. Adam Walsh Legislation Signed into Law Pennsylvania will now take part in a national sex offender registry under a child protection law, which I strongly supported. Act 111 will bring the Commonwealth in compliance with the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. The Act was named for Adam Walsh who was abducted from a Florida shopping mall and later found murdered. Under the new law, Pennsylvania will join other states in providing law enforcement officials with the resources they need to better monitor and track sex offenders. It will also close loopholes in current law that have allowed homeless and out-of-state offenders to avoid registering under the state's Megan's Law and set strict standards for posting information on offenders on a centralized Internet data base. The law also:
An Unexpected "Gift" May Be Waiting For You Abandoned bank accounts, forgotten stocks, uncashed checks, contents of safe deposit boxes, and other valuables amounting to some $1.8 billion in unclaimed property await their rightful owners, according to the Pennsylvania Treasury. Some $99 million was returned to more than 72,000 owners during 2010. Don't let your assets sit in the PA State Treasury; begin your search of the Unclaimed Property Database or call 1-800-222-2046. You can avoid having your property fall into the unclaimed category and subsequently landing in the state Treasury with a few easy steps:
The Treasury is reminding Pennsylvanians that unclaimed property may belong to businesses, as well as individuals, and encourages a quick look at the Unclaimed Property Frequently Asked Questions to ensure you locate any unexpected "gifts." Check out MissingMoney.com to search for unclaimed property in other states. |
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