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 Six state legislators serving Western Montgomery County met with members of the Spring-Ford and Perkiomen Valley chambers of commerce recently during a luncheon held at Spring-Ford Country Club.
Sponsored by Comcast as part of its Public Affairs Series, the luncheon provided an opportunity for the legislators to speak about projects and issues of importance to their districts. It also afforded local businesspeople a chance to ask the legislators about some of their concerns.
Sen. John Rafferty, whose 44th district includes parts of Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties, including Limerick, Upper Providence and Royersford, spoke about several regional transportation issues.
The expansion of Route 422’s Betzwood Bridge is coming soon, he said, with the design and planning work all completed. Several environmental issues still need to be addressed, he explained, particularly asbestos in the ground from previous manufacturing uses in the area. He added that the bid has already been awarded to change the westbound side of the bridge to three lanes.
Rafferty also informed the gathering that he is working with U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach and state Sens. Andrew Dinniman and Michael O’Pake on the Schuylkill Metro. When the federal government and PennDOT were looking at the metro proposal four years ago, it carried a price tag of $2 billion, Rafferty said. The legislators are looking into private enterprise establishing the metro, and the proposal is estimated at $500,000.
A study on the proposal is expected in March, Rafferty said.
Former Royersford mayor Tom Quigley serves as the state representative for the 146th district, which includes Royersford. He discussed several proposed tort reforms and tax reforms. A hearing was scheduled on rolling back the Pennsylvania income tax to 2.8 percent, he said.
“Tax breaks and tax cuts … could go a long way to helping out the economic situation in Pennsylvania,” Quigley remarked. Concerning property tax reform, he said, a constitutional amendment has been proposed on homestead exemptions.
Rep. Mike Vereb, whose 150th district includes Upper Providence, commented, “You heard about proposals … you heard about the future.” It’s also important, he said, for the legislators to be on the defensive, stopping “bad ideas.”
For example, he said, the government should not tax businesses who already can’t afford to provide healthcare. “Should we punish small business owners and leave another storefront vacant?” he asked.
“We all support energy independence. We all support Cover all Pennsylvanians, but how are we going to pay for those?” Vereb questioned. He said it is important for the government to check with businesses and industries to make sure “our good ideas aren’t going to cripple you.”
Rep. Carole Rubley addressed environmental issues. Recently signed into law was legislation regarding environmental covenants. The bill deals with the problems of Brownfields sites not being used for the purposes for which they were cleaned up.
She also spoke about Green Building legislation, where buildings over 10,000 square feet that are built with state funding need to meet certified green standards. “Whatever we do, we have to look at conservation,” she stressed.
Rep. Bob Mensch spoke on the importance of looking at how the legislature can help businesses prosper. The government needs to fuel the economy by helping businesses create more jobs, not by taxing them, he said.
He also addressed the need for proactive policing, putting more police on the streets to prevent crime, rather than just responding after the fact. In addition, Mensch spoke on the issue of healthcare, stressing the need to address all four factions in the healthcare picture: medical professionals, hospitals, insurance and the patients.
Rep. Jay Moyer also commented on the issues of property tax reform and economic development.
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