BY STACI WILSON
From left: Bill deRosiers of Cabot, Rep. Sandra Major, Sen. Lisa Baker, Rep. Tina Pickett, Sen. Gene Yaw, Tammy Bonnice of Williams and the Montrose Chamber; and Joe Hunt of JHA Companies.
State legislators that represent parts of Susquehanna County met with area business owners, local government officials, organization leaders and members of the public at a luncheon Friday hosted by the Montrose Area Chamber of Commerce at the Cabot offices in Dimock.
Senators Lisa Baker and Gene Yaw, as well as Representatives Sandra Major and Tina Pickett spoke about the committees they serve on, as well as legislative initiatives happening in Harrisburg.
Baker, chair of the Senate Labor & Industry Committee, said member would be looking at the affect of a recent federal level executive order that addresses raises the minimum pay for salaried workers.
She also noted that PA One-Call legislation was due to be re-authorized but oversight will likely be moving from Labor & Industry to the Pennsylvania Utility Commission (PUC).
Yaw, a member of the Chesapeake Bay Commission, said the state will have to comply with new EPA regulations that would likely target farmers.
“The bay is not any cleaner,” he said, noting billions of dollars had been spent to upgrade sewage treatment facilities that comprised only a small piece of bay pollution.
Yaw also spoke about the natural gas industry, specifically mentioning the Atlantic Sunrise pipeline. “We need pipelines to get the gas out of the area.” Yaw said people opposed to natural gas drilling were now targeting pipelines.
The senator also heads up the Center for Rural Pennsylvania which has focused its efforts over the past two years on the heroin and opioid epidemic in the state.
Information gathered through hearings around the state and experts will be worked into some form of legislation, he said. “It’s problem that can not be fixed overnight,” he said. “It’s going to take years to dig our way out.”
Major, who is retiring at the end of this term, serves as the House Republican Caucus Chair.
She noted worked to extend funding for rural telephone companies until 2020. Major said many senior citizens depend on access to land lines.
She also mentioned progress on liquor modernization that is expected to generate $150 million into the state coffers.
Major said the legislators are working toward a budget deal and that she was hopeful that this year there would be an on-time June 30 state budget.
Pickett said energy is a big subject – from coal to gas and electric. “The primary thing that runs everything is jobs, and energy is such a big piece of that,” she said. She is a member of the Consumer Affairs committee.
Pickett also chairs the Insurance committee in the PA House. That committee – comprised of consumers, insurance companies, trial lawyers and legislators – is also focused on the opioid crisis.
The legislators also took questions from attendees.
Scott Quigg, of Pump N Pantry, asked that while working on a state budget the legislators remember that they represent an area that borders another state. Some proposed taxes, including a “sin tax” on cigarettes or additional gas taxes could put businesses in the area at a competitive disadvantage with other states.
Retired educator Gary Parker spoke about pension reform and the unfunded liabilities in the state worker and educator pensions.
He said he was concerned about changing the pensions, effective July 2018 (SB 1071) from a defined benefit to a hybrid plan would take 32 years to fully fund the pension accounts. “Is there something else” he asked. “It’s not going to go away and has a tremendous strapping effect on local school districts.”
Pickett said, “There are no simple solutions.” She said the legislators were working to take incremental steps toward nibbling away at the unfunded liability.
Yaw said the House had significantly modified the Senate bill and that it was likely that the Senate would not go along with the House changes. But he said, “We have to stop the bleeding. Every day they hire someone we incur liability.”
Yaw also addressed the state’s gas tax, saying that $800 million from the gas tax is used to fund the Pennsylvania State Police.
County Commissioner Alan Hall noted the critical importance of Act 13 to the county and local municipalities, and asked the legislators to work to keep that funding in place.
The Legislative Luncheon was hosted by the Montrose Area Chamber of Commerce, and sponsored by Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. and Williams Companies, and JHA Companies.
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