Tartaglione Applauds Investments, Initiatives in Governor’s Proposed 2020-2021 Budget

Tartaglione Applauds Investments, Initiatives in Governor’s Proposed 2020-2021 Budget

Senator Tartaglione

During his annual budget address today, Governor Wolf said PA should invest in fixing toxic schools, raise its minimum wage, and require the reporting of lost or stolen guns. He is also calling for a lower corporate tax rate while closing the ‘Delaware Loophole.’

Philadelphia, PA, February 4, 2020 – State Senator Christine M. Tartaglione (D-Philadelphia) issued the following statement regarding the fiscal year 2020-2021 budget address delivered by Governor Tom Wolf today to a joint session of the Pennsylvania General Assembly.

Among the governor’s many policies to advance the Commonwealth on a “path to prosperity,” he proposed investing more than $1 billion toward identifying and removing contaminants such as asbestos and lead from schools; raising the minimum wage to $15; reducing the corporate tax rate while closing the “Delaware Loophole”; and requiring gun owners to report to authorities any lost or stolen firearms:

“I applaud Governor Wolf for embracing and taking action on many of the initiatives I have championed in the Senate for many years and those that I continue to advocate. Toxic schools are a statewide crisis that need immediate response from all stakeholders. We need local, state, and federal investment as well as a coordinated effort to protect the health of students, teachers, staff, and all people who visit our schools. I strongly support funding for toxic schools in pending capital budget legislation.”

“Minimum wage is another issue that affects all Pennsylvanians. Raising our minimum wage to a true living wage, as I have proposed in Senate Bill 12, would help us to reduce poverty throughout the Commonwealth and would help low-wage workers afford necessities like food, shelter, transportation, healthcare, and childcare. It would also help businesses by putting more spending money in consumers’ pockets and increase Pennsylvania’s tax revenues.”

“I also agree with the governor that closing the Delaware Loophole and lowering our Corporate Net Income Tax will benefit all Pennsylvanians. My legislation, Senate Bill 1032, would achieve this. Thousands of companies that do business in Pennsylvania and make money here aren’t paying their fair share of taxes. That’s unfair to all taxpayers. By requiring companies to reveal what they really make and pay what they really owe, we will be able to reduce our corporate tax rate, which is among the highest in the nation, and make the Commonwealth more attractive for businesses.”

“Public safety and gun violence is another fundamental issue that we must address. I’m glad that Governor Wolf is calling for common-sense gun laws, like those I have proposed in Senate Bill 483. We must reduce the number of illegal guns on our streets, and we can do that by stopping the people who deal in illegal guns, including straw purchasers. Mandatory reporting will help to protect all Pennsylvanians from gun violence, including law-abiding, responsible gun owners.”

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If you would like more information about this topic, please contact William Kenny at 215-533-0440 or William.Kenny@pasenate.com.

Tartaglione Joins Wolf to Announce $1.1 Billion Funding Plan to Fix Toxic Schools And Community Infrastructure

Tartaglione Joins Wolf to Announce $1.1 Billion Funding Plan to Fix Toxic Schools And Community Infrastructure

Asbestos and lead paint detection and remediation will be two focus areas for statewide targeted investments at schools, day care centers, homes, and public water systems.

Harrisburg, PA, January 30, 2020 – State Senator Christine Tartaglione (D-Philadelphia) yesterday joined Governor Tom Wolf and many of her legislative colleagues to announce a $1.1 billion combined state and federal funding proposal for the remediation of toxic materials including asbestos and lead from Pennsylvania’s schools, day care centers, homes, and public water systems.

The major portion of the proposal is an investment of up to $1 billion in Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant opportunities for aging schools throughout the state where toxins threaten the health of students, teachers, staff, and the community members who visit the facilities.

“This is a timely and meaningful commitment to Pennsylvania’s students and educators, a far-reaching and comprehensive investment in our aging school buildings,” Senator Tartaglione said. “There is an urgent need for these resources because with every week, every day, and every hour that passes, countless individuals may be exposed to undetected toxic substances.”

The governor also proposed leveraging $4 million in state funding to obtain $10 million in additional federal funding through the Health Services Initiative (HSI), a collaboration involving the Department of Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to remediate lead in places where children have been exposed to high levels of the harmful substance.

Further, the governor proposed employing recently adopted federal legislation that allows states to transfer dollars from their clean water state revolving fund allocations into their drinking water state revolving funds. Doing so could free up to $90 million in Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST) grants for lead water service line replacements.

To address housing-related lead-based paint hazards, Pennsylvania and several local communities within the state have been awarded $22.5 million in grants through the federal Lead Based Paint Hazard Reduction Program since last September. The governor has proposed to convene a roundtable of these recipients coordinated by the state’s Department of Health to ensure collaboration in the implementation of their hazard reduction projects.

Finally, the Wolf administration has applied to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a $1.7 million Lead Testing in School and Child Care Program Drinking Water Grant. The EPA has not announced the award recipients for the program. Funding would support environmental testing at 3,000 Pennsylvania schools and childcare facilities.

In recent months, Senator Tartaglione has worked closely with public school stakeholders from Philadelphia and from throughout the Commonwealth to develop solutions to the pervasive toxic schools problem.

Six public schools in Philadelphia, including several in Senator Tartaglione’s district, have been shut down for emergency repairs this academic year after environmental tests revealed the presence of hazardous asbestos. One elementary school was closed for more than three weeks, declared safe to reopen, then closed again just two days later when additional asbestos was detected.

“We know that until the late 1970s, asbestos was commonly used in school construction. In Philadelphia and communities of all sizes throughout the state, most schools fall into that category,” Senator Tartaglione said. “We know the threat. The fear is what we don’t know about. Experts tell us it can take years, even decades, after someone is exposed to asbestos for harmful and often fatal illnesses to surface.”

Earlier this month, Senator Tartaglione convened a summit of local, state, and federal elected officials, organized labor leaders, and public-school officials where participants shared knowledge and ideas on the issue.

“Our conversations then and those I have had with various stakeholders since then reaffirm that this is not just a Philadelphia issue, a Democratic or Republican issue, or an urban or rural issue,” Senator Tartaglione said. “It’s an issue for all Pennsylvanians. Protecting the health of our school children, teachers, staff, and administrators must be our highest priority as we fulfill our Constitutional obligation to provide all kids with access to equal and safe public education. We have inherited a heavy burden, and we all have a role in carrying the load.”

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If you would like more information about this topic, please contact William Kenny at 215-533-0440 or William.Kenny@pasenate.com.

Senator Tartaglione Issues Statement Regarding New Reports of Asbestos Hazards at Two Philadelphia Schools

Senator Tartaglione Issues Statement Regarding New Reports of Asbestos Hazards at Two Philadelphia Schools

Philadelphia, PA – January 17, 2020 – State Senator Christine Tartaglione (D-Philadelphia) issued the following statement regarding the School District of Philadelphia’s response to asbestos contamination at Alexander McClure Elementary School and at Francis Hopkinson Elementary School:

“I am extremely frustrated and deeply concerned that the School District of Philadelphia was forced to close Alexander McClure Elementary School for a second time today after new environmental testing revealed that the district failed to properly contain hazardous airborne asbestos in the building. The district spent more than three weeks on this emergency project before declaring McClure safe to reopen just two days ago.”

“I am equally disappointed that the district has also detected hazardous asbestos inside Francis Hopkinson Elementary School. Yet – in this case – it has chosen to keep the building open for regularly scheduled classes and activities. It is my understanding that the district notified students’ parents in a letter, but it did not promptly share its new knowledge of this threat with the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.”

“These two cases, within the context of the citywide toxic schools crisis, raise serious questions about the district’s ability or will to systematically identify and promptly remediate materials that threaten the health of students, faculty, and staff. They also demonstrate a troubling lack of consistent and effective communication by the district with its many stakeholders including students and their families, teachers, staff, and the communities served by the schools.”

“In light of these two cases, and the unresolved complaints of environmental hazards at many other public schools, I call upon the district to complete comprehensive and fully transparent environmental inspections immediately at every public school throughout Philadelphia.”

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If you would like more information about this topic, please contact William Kenny at 215-533-0440 or William.Kenny@pasenate.com.

 

 

William Kenny

Communications Director for

State Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione

Office: 215-533-0440

William.Kenny@pasenate.com