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January 2011 Alloway Works to Cut Costs During His First Term It is important for all elected officials to remember that they serve the taxpayer; not the other way around. I am pleased to report that in my first two years in office, I have been able to cut more than $300,000 from my office expenses, ensuring that more tax dollars are available for initiatives to benefit our communities. To help reduce costs, I also drive my own vehicle instead of accepting a costly taxpayer-funded car lease. I do not accept mileage reimbursements for travel within the 33rd District, and I do not accept per diem payments. I am also supporting efforts to end per diem payments for legislators to provide greater accountability for how our tax dollars are being spent. In addition to these cost-cutting measures in my Senate offices, I also sponsored legislation that would require cash assistance recipients to pass random drugs tests to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not being spent on illegal drugs. Cutting the cost of government is important as we deal with declining state revenues and budget deficits. I will continue to look for new ways to reduce the cost of government operations to ensure that we maximize every dollar entrusted to us by the taxpayers. Alloway Hunter Safety Measure Signed Into Law The General Assembly recently passed a new law that I introduced to improve sportsmen safety by preventing dangerous offenders from obtaining a fishing or hunting license in Pennsylvania. My legislation enables Pennsylvania to join the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, a multi-state effort to ensure that habitual offenders in one state will not be able to commit violations in other states. The Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact Act would enable Pennsylvania to recognize the revocation of an individual's hunting, fishing or trapping privileges due to a violation of regulations in any other member's state. Sportsmen who habitually ignore the rules are a serious threat to other sportsmen and a danger to the state's rich traditions of hunting, fishing and trapping. As Chairman of the Senate Game and Fisheries Committee, I am deeply thankful that my colleagues joined me in taking action to protect the safety of our Commonwealth's sportsmen. During the 2009-10 legislative session, the General Assembly also passed a number of other laws relating to the sportsmen community, including legislation to increase penalties for poaching and clarify the enforcement powers and duties of Game Commission Wildlife Conservation Officers. In addition to these new laws, the Senate approved legislation I introduced to create a mentored hunter program to allow a licensed hunter with an antlered deer permit to give the permit to a young hunter who is participating in the program. Governor Vetoes Legislation to Expand Self-Defense Law While the General Assembly gave overwhelming support to legislation that would expand the self-defense statute for law-abiding gun owners, Governor Rendell vetoed this legislation as one of his last official actions in office. I am deeply disappointed that the governor has chosen to protect the rights of criminals over the rights of responsible gun owners. House Bill 1926 would have expanded the state's Castle Doctrine that protects gun owners who use a firearm in defense of life or property. The bill would have provided important protections against criminal prosecution or civil litigation for those who act in self-defense. As amended by the Senate, House Bill 1926 would remove the "duty to retreat" clause when an individual is threatened by an attacker in any place that individual has a right to be, including the individual's home or vehicle. While the governor and other opponents of this measure characterize it as a "shoot first and ask questions later" bill, nothing could be further from the truth. The legislation would apply only in those cases where a criminal has made a forcible entry into an individual's home or vehicle or is attempting to do so. The individual must also have reason to believe that the intruder wishes to do serious bodily harm to the individual or other occupants or commit other felonies, such as burglary, theft or assault. While I am disappointed that the governor vetoed this legislation, I will continue to work next year to expand the Castle Doctrine to protect the rights of responsible, law-abiding gun owners. Alloway Applauds New Government Reform Laws, Ethical Conduct Rules During the 2009-10 legislative session, the Senate passed a number of government reform proposals to help make state government more open, honest, efficient and accountable to the people we serve. I am disappointed that House Democratic leaders refused to give these measures a floor vote, but I am hopeful that we can work with the new House leadership team to see these reforms signed into law. The Senate passed measures to improve the state's Right-to-Know Law, create and maintain a searchable budget database-driven website of state spending records that the public can access for free, increase penalties for violating the Sunshine Law, improve public access to state plane logs and provide transparency for taxpayer-funded advertising. The Senate also passed a resolution to prohibit Senate funds from being used for automated phone calls, also known as robo-calls. With my strong support, the Senate also adopted new Rules of Ethical Conduct to make the line between legislative and campaign work clear and ensure that no campaign work is done on state time or with state resources. Senate employees who violate these guidelines will be subject to punishment including termination of employment, while Senators who violate the rules could be subject to paying restitution and any other sanction provided for under the Pennsylvania Constitution. The General Assembly also approved sweeping reforms to the state's gaming law. The new law prohibits political campaign contributions by individuals and entities subject to the Gaming Act, bars outside employment by members of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board and extends the ban on felons receiving gaming licenses. I am hopeful that we can continue to work to reform state government and see
many of the measures approved by the Senate reintroduced and signed into law
during the 2011-12 legislative session. I would like to see the General Assembly
go even further by ending per diems for legislators and permanently prohibiting
lame duck sessions. Improving the way that state government does business is
important to protect taxpayers, and I am hopeful we can make these reform
proposals a high priority in the coming weeks and months. | |
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