By Marc Levy | The Associated Press
5:14 PM EDT, June 10, 2008
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HARRISBURG - The state Senate has approved a compromise bill to outlaw smoking in most workplaces and public spaces in Pennsylvania. The Senate voted 41-9 this afternoon, sending the bill to Gov. Ed Rendell to be signed into law.
The bill was stalled for a year before the House approved it last week.
Rendell has advocated a smoking ban as a way to reduce health care costs, and plans to sign the bill.
It would take effect 90 days after being signed into law, banning cigarette, cigar and pipe smoking in restaurants, office buildings, chools, sports arenas, theaters and bus and train stations.
A dozen exemptions would ensure that smoking can continue at some bars and taverns, portions of casino floors, private clubs and elsewhere.
More than 30 other states have approved some type of statewide smoking ban
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/ap-smoke-0611cn,0,3673354.story
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Pennsylvania Legislator Still Expects to Introduce Ballot Access Reform Bill This Year
June 6th, 2008
Pennsylvania State Representative Kerry Benninghoff kindly telephoned today to say he will introduce his ballot access reform bill this year. He expects to be re-elected and he will also introduce it next year, since it seems unlikely to pass this year. The bill will eliminate mandatory ballot access petitions for all candidates, those seeking access in a primary as well as those petitioning for a spot on the November ballot.
www.ballot-access.org
Pennsylvania State Representative Kerry Benninghoff kindly telephoned today to say he will introduce his ballot access reform bill this year. He expects to be re-elected and he will also introduce it next year, since it seems unlikely to pass this year. The bill will eliminate mandatory ballot access petitions for all candidates, those seeking access in a primary as well as those petitioning for a spot on the November ballot.
www.ballot-access.org
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Pittsburgh city council put limits on 1st admendment
Pittsburgh narrowly OKs campaign finance reforms
By Jeremy Boren
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Pittsburgh City Council today narrowly passed limits on political campaign contributions.
In a 5-4 vote, the council capped contributions from individual donors to $2,000 per election. Political action committees would be limited to donations of $5,000 per election. If Mayor Luke Ravenstahl signs the legislation, the restrictions would take effect Jan. 1, 2010 and affect only candidates for the city's 11 elected offices.
"I will not be supporting the bill, simply because I believe that if campaign finance reform is to be adopted, it needs to be adopted statewide," said Councilman Jim Motznik, who voted against the limits with council members Tonya Payne, Dan Deasy and Darlene Harris.
Councilman Patrick Dowd said statewide adoption is irrelevant because the restrictions mirror federal standards.
"We don't need the state to do that," Dowd said. "We're following the lead of the Federal Elections Commission. If those limitations are good enough for Barack Obama, for example, then they're good enough for the nine elected City Council members, the city controller and the mayor."
Also voting in favor of the legislation were council President Doug Shields and members Ricky Burgess, Bruce Kraus and Bill Peduto, the bill's sponsor.
In addition to the donation restrictions, the ordinance would prohibit donors who give the maximum amount to a candidate from receiving a city contract without going through a competitive bidding process. Candidates who spend $250,000 or more on their own campaigns would trigger a provision that would double their opponents' contribution limits.
Ravenstahl previously has voiced skepticism about campaign finance limits. It isn't immediately clear whether the mayor will sign or veto the legislation.
Jeremy Boren can be reached at jboren@tribweb.com or 412-765-2312.
By Jeremy Boren
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Pittsburgh City Council today narrowly passed limits on political campaign contributions.
In a 5-4 vote, the council capped contributions from individual donors to $2,000 per election. Political action committees would be limited to donations of $5,000 per election. If Mayor Luke Ravenstahl signs the legislation, the restrictions would take effect Jan. 1, 2010 and affect only candidates for the city's 11 elected offices.
"I will not be supporting the bill, simply because I believe that if campaign finance reform is to be adopted, it needs to be adopted statewide," said Councilman Jim Motznik, who voted against the limits with council members Tonya Payne, Dan Deasy and Darlene Harris.
Councilman Patrick Dowd said statewide adoption is irrelevant because the restrictions mirror federal standards.
"We don't need the state to do that," Dowd said. "We're following the lead of the Federal Elections Commission. If those limitations are good enough for Barack Obama, for example, then they're good enough for the nine elected City Council members, the city controller and the mayor."
Also voting in favor of the legislation were council President Doug Shields and members Ricky Burgess, Bruce Kraus and Bill Peduto, the bill's sponsor.
In addition to the donation restrictions, the ordinance would prohibit donors who give the maximum amount to a candidate from receiving a city contract without going through a competitive bidding process. Candidates who spend $250,000 or more on their own campaigns would trigger a provision that would double their opponents' contribution limits.
Ravenstahl previously has voiced skepticism about campaign finance limits. It isn't immediately clear whether the mayor will sign or veto the legislation.
Jeremy Boren can be reached at jboren@tribweb.com or 412-765-2312.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
A word from Thomas Jefferson
Honor, justice, and humanity, forbid us tamely to surrender that freedom which we received from our gallant ancestors, and which our innocent posterity have a right to receive from us. We cannot endure the infamy and guilt of resigning succeeding generations to that wretchedness which inevitably awaits them if we basely entail hereditary bondage on them.
Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of the Causes and Necessities of Taking up Arms, July 6, 1775
Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of the Causes and Necessities of Taking up Arms, July 6, 1775
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Chuck Baldwin on the 2nd Admendment
“The Second Amendment Protects Our LibertyTo help keep your family safe and your country free, go buy a gun.”
“The right to keep and bear arms is guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the Constitution; it may not properly be infringed upon or denied. Therefore, a Baldwin Administration will uphold the right of the citizens to keep and bear arms and will oppose attempts to prohibit ownership of guns by law-abiding citizens, and, further, will stand against all laws which would require the registration of guns or ammunition.’
“Judge Roy Moore, recently noted that ‘Our ancestors firmly believed in God-given ‘unalienable rights’ and had no reservation about using guns, when necessary, to defend those rights against tyrannical oppression. Before there was a Constitution, our guns guaranteed the rights God had already given us, including the right to bear arms. The Constitution was written and designed to protect, not preclude, those very rights.’
“Richard Henry Lee, a signer of the Declaration, once said, “To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them.”
“Just as the right to bear arms is necessary in the defense against tyranny, so to is that same right vital for the purpose of self-defense. American citizens use a firearm to defend themselves more than 2.4 million times EVERY YEAR. That is more than 6,500 times EVERY DAY. This means that, each year, firearms are used 60 times more often to protect the lives of honest citizens than to take lives. Furthermore, of the 2.4 million self-defense cases, more than 192,000 are by women defending themselves against sexual assault. And in less than eight percent of those occasions is a shot actually fired. The vast majority of the time (92%), the mere presence of a firearm helps to avert a major crime from occurring. That is what Congressman Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) concluded after extensive research. According to Rep. Bartlett, the number of defensive uses is four times the number of crimes reported committed with guns.’
“In conclusion I would again quote Judge Moore, who wrote, ‘Liberty and freedom are gifts of God, and not the government. The means by which we secure those gifts are ultimately in the hands and the “arms” of the people.’”
“The right to keep and bear arms is guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the Constitution; it may not properly be infringed upon or denied. Therefore, a Baldwin Administration will uphold the right of the citizens to keep and bear arms and will oppose attempts to prohibit ownership of guns by law-abiding citizens, and, further, will stand against all laws which would require the registration of guns or ammunition.’
“Judge Roy Moore, recently noted that ‘Our ancestors firmly believed in God-given ‘unalienable rights’ and had no reservation about using guns, when necessary, to defend those rights against tyrannical oppression. Before there was a Constitution, our guns guaranteed the rights God had already given us, including the right to bear arms. The Constitution was written and designed to protect, not preclude, those very rights.’
“Richard Henry Lee, a signer of the Declaration, once said, “To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them.”
“Just as the right to bear arms is necessary in the defense against tyranny, so to is that same right vital for the purpose of self-defense. American citizens use a firearm to defend themselves more than 2.4 million times EVERY YEAR. That is more than 6,500 times EVERY DAY. This means that, each year, firearms are used 60 times more often to protect the lives of honest citizens than to take lives. Furthermore, of the 2.4 million self-defense cases, more than 192,000 are by women defending themselves against sexual assault. And in less than eight percent of those occasions is a shot actually fired. The vast majority of the time (92%), the mere presence of a firearm helps to avert a major crime from occurring. That is what Congressman Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) concluded after extensive research. According to Rep. Bartlett, the number of defensive uses is four times the number of crimes reported committed with guns.’
“In conclusion I would again quote Judge Moore, who wrote, ‘Liberty and freedom are gifts of God, and not the government. The means by which we secure those gifts are ultimately in the hands and the “arms” of the people.’”
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Rendell vs. Specter in 2010?
By Robert Novak
Sunday, May 25, 2008
WASHINGTON
Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell is reported by party sources to be considering a race for the Senate in 2010 even if his friend and fellow Philadelphian, Republican Sen. Arlen Specter, seeks re-election.
Specter has indicated that he wants a sixth term in the Senate, but that may depend on his health. He is suffering from a recurrence of cancer.
Republican insiders believe that Specter might decide to run as an independent if conservatives launch another serious Republican primary campaign against him, as they did in 2004. A three-way election would all but guarantee the election of a Democrat.
www.pittsburghlive.com
Sunday, May 25, 2008
WASHINGTON
Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell is reported by party sources to be considering a race for the Senate in 2010 even if his friend and fellow Philadelphian, Republican Sen. Arlen Specter, seeks re-election.
Specter has indicated that he wants a sixth term in the Senate, but that may depend on his health. He is suffering from a recurrence of cancer.
Republican insiders believe that Specter might decide to run as an independent if conservatives launch another serious Republican primary campaign against him, as they did in 2004. A three-way election would all but guarantee the election of a Democrat.
www.pittsburghlive.com
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