8/6/2019 Rep. Bloom Summer 2011 Newsletter

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/rep-bloom-summer-2011-newsletter 1/2Your Connection with Rep. Bloom

Dear Friends,With six months as a rookie representative under my

elt, the wintry glow o swearing-in day has given way tohe sun-bleached realities o post-budget summer. Andor the citizens I represent, that means it’s time or a bluntonversation on how our new Republican Pennsylvaniatate house majority has done so ar. Are we restoringeedom and scal common sense as promised?

The results are mixed. We’ve delivered somemeaningul wins or taxpayers, but we’ve also gotten

ogged down in some stubborn draws and suered aew sobering losses.

IRST, THE GOOD NEWS:WIN: On-time Balanced Budget. We completed thetate budget by the constitutional deadline or the rstme in nine years, cutting spending by a billion dollars

a 4 percent reduction) with no new taxes or borrowing.Many said it couldn’t be done, but we did it.WIN: Lawsuit Abuse Reorm. Over howls o protest

om trial lawyers, we enacted the Fair Share Act,nding unjust “joint and several” tort liability whichten orced Pennsylvania citizens, businesses andharities to pay more than their air share o damages.

WIN: Spending Transparency. The PennWATCH statute

means state government spending will be searchablenline. States with similar systems save millions o taxpayerollars, as citizen watchdogs keep government accountable.

WIN: Second Amendment Rights. With the Castleoctrine law, our constitutional right to sel-deense,ven outside our homes, was protected.

WIN: Welare Reorm. Tougher welare standards are noww, including drug testing or drug elons, and new powers

or the welare secretary to cut waste, raud and abuse.WIN: Unemployment Reorm. We enacted long-

verdue unemployment compensation reorms, like

WINS, DRAWS AND LOSSES FOR PA TAXPAYERS: FRESHMAN PERSPECTIVE FROM THE STATE HOUSE

I recently had the opportunity to wa group of international students

 state Capitol in Harrisburg. These swere part of a new study programthe Bridge Institute at Dickinson CoCarlisle. The Bridge Institute givesing international students a proorientation to the United States.,

  son College and the American clbefore they begin attending collegfall. I enjoyed meeting and talkinthe students who were eager tabout American government.

making beneciaries continue looking or work. Wenally began xing our insolvent system.

Despite these important wins or Pennsylvaniataxpayers, we had rustrating stand-os too, legislativeskirmishes where nobody won, nobody lost, andeveryone is itching to break the tie.

HERE ARE SOME DRAWS:DRAW: School Choice. With many kids trapped in ailingschools and costs rising, several bills to inspire benecialcompetition through choice were launched. However,

with erce opposition rom powerul teachers’ unions,none o the bills passed. Expansion o the popularEducational Improvement Tax Credit also got delayed.DRAW: Abortion Clinic Saety. Ater horric revelationsabout a Pennsylvania abortion mill, rules or patientsaety were separately passed in the House and Senate,but neither bill became law. Now, abortion providersstill operate without meeting basic standards orambulatory surgical acilities.DRAW: Energy Taxes. Companies drilling or cleannatural gas in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale havealready paid more than $1 billion in state taxes andcreated tens o thousands o high-paying jobs or

Pennsylvanians. But legislators (mostly Democrats,but some Republicans too) keep pushing or new taxeswhich will drive up energy prices and discourage hiring.DRAW: Property Tax Reorm. While eliminatingproperty taxes is a top issue or me and most CentralPennsylvania representatives, our concern is not yetshared by enough colleagues. We did succeed in closingmost Act I loopholes (which school districts used to raiseproperty taxes above ination without voter consent),but the battle or enough legislative votes to eliminateproperty taxes rages on.

And on some issues, we just plain got beat, ain these rst six months. Are they hopeless? Nowe’ve got to pick up the pieces and start over.

HERE ARE SOME LOSSES:LOSS: Mandate Relie. Pennsylvania imposes unumandates on schools, municipalities, nonorganizations, and private enterprises. These manare paid or by citizens, through higher prices andtaxes, or ewer services and jobs. While we did the sprinkler mandate on consumers building

homes, the rest o our mandate relie eorts ell LOSS: Legislative Reorm. I co-sponsored bills to rthe House, make our pay and jobs part time, andour luxurious pension (which I reuse) or a basicBut none o these bills shows signs o progress. Wtighten rules on per diem expenses and state ve(neither o which I use), and now require contribor health insurance, but we are still losing the gmajor legislative reorm.LOSS: Business Tax Cuts. Pennsylvania’s high businesmust be reduced to grow jobs. Other than cutting our CStock and Franchise Tax and setting it or eliminatioare allowing business taxes to remain high.

Ater six months, our Republican majority haskey wins or Pennsylvania taxpayers. But we’ve gtied up in some critical areas, and we’re losing in oI remain optimistic but realistic.

Published in The Sentinel, July 24, 2011 

Stephen Bloom199th Legislative District

  As a reshman representative, I was both humbled and encour-aged to be named “Best Local Political Ofcial” in The Sentinel’s“Best o Carlisle 2011” awards.Thank you to all who voted and—it is a great honor to represent the people o this community.

 Thank You!

Summer 2011

8/6/2019 Rep. Bloom Summer 2011 Newsletter

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/rep-bloom-summer-2011-newsletter 2/2

DISTRICT OFFICE: 1227 Ritner Highway, Carlisle, PA 17013 | Phone: (717) 249-1990 | Fax: (717) 249-877

CAPITOL OFFICE: 413 Irvis Ofce Building, PO Box 202199, Harrisburg, PA 17120-2199 | Phone: (717) 772-2

RepBloom.co

OFFICE INFORMATION

  Coffee and Conversation  IN THE 199TH DISTRIC

You’re invited to my neighborhood meetings! Be a part of the discussion of issues that matter most to you! 

Thursday, Aug. 25, 8 a.m.Big Spring Event and Activities Center, 2 Chestnut Road, Newville

Thursday, Sept. 29, 8 a.m.Penn Township Building, 1301 Centerville Road

Thursday, Oct. 27, 8 a.m.Dickinson Township Building, 219 Mountainview R

Thursday, Nov. 17, 8 a.m.Middlesex Township Building, 350 North Middlesex

oin Me or aTele-Town

Hall!

On Tuesday, Sept. 27,will be hosting my third

ele-town hall meeting.he purpose o these meet-gs is to give you a chance

o connect with me and askuestions about key topicsom the comort o yourwn home. The town hall

meeting will begin at 7m., and last or approxi-

mately one hour. You canmply listen to the con-ersation or participate byaling in to ask a question.

will try my best to answers many questions as I can the allotted time. I you

want to make sure you are

n the call list, please con-act my district ofce at717) 249-1990.

Agriculture Update

Ag Summit to Oer Ideas, Inormation on Local Agricultural Issu

Castle Doctrine Confrms Second Amendment RightsLegislation which I co-sponsored to urther protect law-abiding citizens who use sel-deense

when aced with an imminent threat was signed into law on June 28.Under previous law, criminals had greater protection than law-abiding citizens, who have aced

vil lawsuits rom intruders or their amilies. Residents who are protecting themselves, their amiliesnd their homes should not have to ear criminal prosecution or a civil lawsuit.

It is important to emphasize that the new law does not endorse unlawul aggression. It merely

rovides individuals with the necessary legal protection to respond to such aggression, including theght to use deadly orce in sel-deense.This proposal received strong bipartisan support when it passed the House and the Senate this session. I joined several members of the General Assembly and Gov. Tom Corbett as he

the Castle Doctrine into law on June 28. This law is a very important step in prethe Second Amendment rights of Pennyslvania citizens.

As a representative o one o the most agriculturally ocusedcounties in the state, I take a special interest in legislative issues re-lating to armers and the agricultural community.

• In the spring legislative session, I worked on a bill to improvethe registration, licensing and use o the PA Preerred trademark.The trademark is a recognized symbol o high quality agriculturalproducts produced in Pennsylvania. My bill, House Bill 1424, thePennsylvania Preerred Act, creates a statutory ramework or thePA Preerred program to encourage more agricultural producersto participate in the program and connect with consumers in themarketplace. The House unanimously passed my bill and it awaits

approval rom the Senate. I am hopeul that House Bill 1424 will besigned into law in the all session.

• In addition to my PA Preferred legisla-tion, I have plans to introduce another bill inthe all legislative session that will keep armamilies arming! Pennsylvania invests in nu-merous programs to encourage amily arm-ing, but senselessly undermines that eort by continuing the apractice o nancially penalizing arm amilies with an inheritanwhen they suer the death o a loved one, hitting surviving armily members when they are most economically vulnerable. To psurviving arm amily members rom being orced to sell their assets to pay inheritance tax obligations, my legislation will e

transers o agricultural assets rom the inheritance tax when tceiving heir is a sibling or child o the deceased armer.

In an eort to serve the agricultural community, I will be host-ing my rst annual Agricultural Summit as a way to connect areaarmers and residents with important inormation related to the ag-ricultural industry and ideas that may be useul to their operations.

This year’s summit will take place on Friday, Nov. 18, at thePenn Township Fire Hall. A hot buet breakast will be served at8 a.m. ollowed by the program at 9 a.m. The summit will eature

presentations by the Pennsylvania Department o Agriculture, theState Conservation Commission, the Pennsylvania State Police, theCumberland County Conservation District and more.

The event is sponsored by PennAg Industries and admissthe summit is ree. I you would like to attend, please contaofce at (717) 249-1990. Advance registration is required andeadline or registration is Nov. 11.

More inormation about my AgSummit will be available at my website,RepBloom.com.