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Harrisburg Office: 53B East Wing • PO Box 202015 • Harrisburg, PA 17120-2015 • (717) 260-6144 • Fax: (717) 260-6506
Center Township District Office: 3468 Brodhead Rd • Suite 9 • Monaca, PA 15061 • (724) 728-7655 • Fax: (724) 773-7802
Raccoon Township Satellite Office: Raccoon Township Municipal Building • 1234 State Route 18 • Aliquippa, PA 15001
Hours: Tuesdays 9 a.m. to Noon • (724) 643-7655 • Fax: (724) 643-7657
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The House passed the state’s operational budget for the 2010- r OE"OOVBM,JE[%BZ
11 fiscal year on June 30. I voted against this $28 billion budget Saturday, August 21 · 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
because it spends beyond our means, borrows against our future, Beaver Valley Mall
and further burdens our citizens. Times are tough, revenues are
down, and this budget INCREASED spending over last year. This r 5PXO)BMM.FFUJOH
simply defies common economical sense. Wednesday, September 1 · 6:30 p.m.
Center Township VFW, Post 1821
This budget spends more than Pennsylvania actually collected
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in revenues over the past year, but it does nothing to address the
looming multi-billion dollar deficit we face next fiscal year. Gov-
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ernor Rendell has relied on federal stimulus money for the past
#SFBLGBTU
couple of years to feed his appetite for overspending. This money Thursday, September 9 · 9 a.m. - 11 a.m.
will not be available next year. He ignored the opportunity to pre- Monaca Turners
pare for this looming crisis by not reining in spending this year.
Furthermore, this budget relies on Pennsylvania getting a non- r 4FOJPS$JUJ[FO&YQP
guaranteed hand-out of $850 million from Washington. To date, Friday, October 8 · 9 a.m. - Noon
we have not received one penny of this money and there’s no Monaca Senior Center
indication this money will come. This “empty promise” approach
to budgeting leaves our entire Commonwealth vulnerable to yet
another financial deficit.
In addition, this budget provides millions for Gov. Rendell’s pet
projects. WAMs were eliminated in last year’s budget, but magi-
cally reappeared this year. How on earth can Gov. Rendell con-
sider this a responsible way to manage the people’s money?
There were, however, some positives associated with this bud-
get, including a lower spend number than originally proposed
by the governor and no new broad-based taxes on hard-work-
ing Pennsylvania families and small businesses. And while I am
happy this budget, after seven consecutive years of late budgets
by Gov. Rendell, was passed by the June 30 deadline, I am dis-
appointed by the overall spend number and irresponsible way in
which it was attained.
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What if I told you that you millions more spent each and every year maintaining the
are part owner of a 32- room property. This money would go directly into Pennsylvania’s
mansion sitting on more than General Fund.
three acres of prime real estate In this time of economic hardship, where many people
in the City of Harrisburg, com- are struggling just to put food on the table, we should look
plete with luxuries such as 30 into every reasonable option that saves Pennsylvanians
full-time security guards and a money, such as reducing the legislature and eliminat-
full-time personal chef? It’s true. ing the state’s motor vehicle fleet. Selling the governor’s
You just don’t receive the bene- mansion wouldn’t fix all of our Commonwealth’s revenue
fits from such property, only the shortfalls, but it’s a step in the right direction of reducing
expenses. our expenses WITHOUT raising taxes.
Hard-working Pennsylva- Realistically, the governor would likely require some
nians spend millions of tax dollars each and every year for type of residence while conducting legislative business in
the operation and maintenance of the Governor’s Resi- Harrisburg. But should we pay for this year round, year
dence and I believe it’s time to downsize. That is why I after year? It makes better fiscal sense to reimburse the
have introduced legislation, House Bill 2580, calling for governor for temporary lodging expenses while on the job
the sale of the governor’s mansion through a competitive at the Capitol or provide reasonable housing - not a man-
bidding process. sion. As I mentioned before, such a move would save tax-
Why sell the governor’s mansion? Because fiscal re- payers millions.
sponsibility starts at home. More specifically, the gover- I realize this idea may seem “out of the box” to some.
nor’s home. However, the time has come for us to consider “out-of-the
Pennsylvania taxpayers would save millions of dollars box” options instead of “out-of-pocket” options to respon-
from the immediate proceeds of such sale along with the sibly fund our Commonwealth.
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Since being elected as your representative in Harrisburg, I have made it a priority to remain active in our district,
believing that it simply wouldn’t be possible to fight for your best interests if I were to lose touch with the very people
that chose me to represent them. Looking back over my first term, I have had the pleasure of meeting with several of
my neighbors from the 15th Legislative district at various events. To date, I have conducted two Job Fairs, two Senior
Expos, two Kidz Day Expos, two District Office Open Houses, an Open Records Informational Event, a Marcellus Shale
Informational Event, a Small Business Forum, an EMS Responders Informational Event, a Senior ID Theft Seminar, four
Legislative Breakfasts, one Ice Cream Social, fourteen Town Hall Meetings, and several TeleTown Hall Meetings.
As you can see, it has been a busy 18 months and I have no intention of letting up. I have several events planned for
the futuer. A couple of these events are listed on the other side of this newsletter. Please visit my website at RepChristiana.
com for more information. I look forward to seeing you and your neighbors at several events planned for the future!
Rep. Chris- Rep. Chris- Rep. Chris-
tiana recently tiana and friend tiana answers
hosted his Simeon Davis- questions
second ton on the floor from residents
annual Job of the House at his recent
Fair at Penn during the Big Monaca Town
State Beaver. Brothers, Big Hall Meeting.
There were Sisters Job
over 40 em- Shadow Day.
ployers and
over 100 job
seekers.
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Next time you are a passenger in a vehicle, look around. Take special note of the streets, gutters, fields, and water-
ways. You will likely spot litter thrown from vehicles.
None of this trash simply disappears. Cleaning up litter costs hard-working Pennsylvanians more than $10 million each
and every year. Also, a considerable amount of this trash finds its way to our waterways, posing a substantial threat to our
drinking water and wildlife. Countless rivers and streams become polluted as a direct result of litter thrown from vehicles.
So, what can we do to combat this problem? Current laws, designed to curtail this behavior in the form of fines, are
simply not getting the job done. The current penalty for littering from a vehicle in Pennsylvania can be up to $300. I be-
lieve the fine for this irresponsible and lazy act is simply too low.
I have introduced legislation, House Bill 2584, that would increase these fines to up to $1,000 for the first of-
fense. In addition, my legislation would increase the fines for littering from a vehicle in protected agricultural areas. By
substantially increasing the penalty for littering, I am hopeful our roads and waterways will be spared from the continued
onslaught of illegal trash thrown from vehicles.
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