rep. rock dec. 2009
TRANSCRIPT
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8/14/2019 Rep. Rock Dec. 2009
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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
PRSRT STD
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
HARRISBURG, PA
PERMIT NO 529
Visit me on the Web atRepRock.com
January 2010
Rock Report Going DigitalDuring my first three years
in office, I have taken severalp e r s o n a l s t e p s t o s a v ePennsylvania taxpayers inexcess of$20,000 annually.
These include refusing to accepta taxpayer-funded automobile,mileage reimbursement to andfrom the State Capitol or the$163 daily per diem formealsand lodging.
Throughout 2009, I donatedmy Cost of Living Adjustment(COLA), totaling $1,560, to localcharities.
As we begin the new year after enjoyingthe blessings of family and friends during theholiday season, I wanted to update you on anumber of key topics regarding my legislativeefforts in Harrisburg. 2009 was a year ofmuch debate in Harrisburg over the size anddirection of state government, and that debatewill continue in 2010.
As I look back over 2009, one thing standsout. The volume of citizen comments sharedwith me and all elected officials has grownby leaps and bounds. Whether through e-mails, calls, letters, or just catching up in thehardware store aisle, I regularly hear fromcitizens who are passionate about healthcare, taxes, education, rising tuition costsand a host of other causes, concerns andgovernment reform issues.
Our representative form of governmentsurvives and thrives based on the activedebates that happen in our community from
neighbor to neighbor, and the communicationof those same thoughts and views with thosewho hold office.
Clearly, in a House district with well over60,000 residents, not all views will prevail.But as your representative, input from all ofmy constituents is appreciated and valued.
It has been and continues to be my honorto listen to and exchange ideas with an ever-growing number of Franklin County residents.Once again, I thank you for the high honor ofserving of you in the Pennsylvania House
Sincerely,
Todd RockState Representative90th Legislative District
Representative Rock welcomes a group of Franklin County homeschoolers
and their parents for a State Capitol tour.
In the interest of furtherreducing taxpayers costs, thiswill be my final district-wideprinted newsletter.
Al l Distr ic t 90 residentsinterested in receiving my futuree-newsletters can simply visitRepRock.com and click onthe Have Your NewsletterDelivered Online icon.
A convenient form is there foryou to complete to be added to mye-mail distribution list.
For those without computeraccess, a limited number of printednewsletters will be available at mydistrict offices.
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RepRo
After the unprecedented 101-day stalemate,on Oct. 10, I had no choice but to vote againstthe 2009-10 $27.8 billion state budgetdue tomore than $1 billion in new taxes and increasedspending.
I voted against this years budget because it is just plain wrong for state government to spendmoney it doesnt have and then demand thatworking-class families and job-creating employersmake up the difference through more than $800million in increased taxes. Especially during aneconomic recession, state government has anobligation to live within its means.
Some of my other primary reasons for rejecting
the state budget for the third consecutive yearinclude:
House Democrat majority holding nearly$700 millionofhigher education tuitionassistance hostage to the Commonwealthsfour major state-related universities PennState, Lincoln, Pitt and Temple asnegotiating leverage to legalize tablegames.
Failureto address the hundreds ofmillionsofdollarsin welfare fraudidentified by AuditorGeneral Jack Wagner.
Retroactive increase in thejob-killing CapitalStock and Franchise Tax by $374 million.
Millions of dollars in special interestdiscretionary fundingor WAMs (WalkingAround Money).
Draining of critical state reserve funds,including the $755 million Rainy Day Fund,$708 million Heath Care Provider RetentionAccount, $400 million Tobacco EndowmentAccountand$100 million MCARE Fund.
The governor and individual lawmakers needto remember that they were elected to serve thepeople who work hard and pay the taxes, ratherthan knowingly supporting legislation that will leadto massive revenue shortfalls and more economy-crippling tax increases in the future.
Now more than ever, this Legislature should beabout taking every step possible to protect thebest interests of Pennsylvanias most importantspecial interest group: You the Taxpayer.
Rock and House RepublicansHold the Line to Defeat
Nearly $2 Billionin Rendell Tax Increases
NO! $1.5 Billion Personal Income Tax Increase.
(Estimates indicate that the governors 16percent PIT increasewould have costPennsylvania more than24,000 privatesector jobs).
NO! Marcellus Shale Natural Gas DrillingSeverance Tax
(Natural gas industry experts predict this Rendell
tax proposal would cost the Commonwealth
approximately 53,000 new jobs during thenext five years.)
NO! 20 percent tax increaseon small gamesofchance benefiting local volunteer fire
departments, veterans groups and othercommunity and non-profit organizations.
NO! expanded state sales taxon admissiontoart exhibitions, concerts, museums,theaters, etc.
Rock Votes to Protect You The Taxpayer!
One week before the governors annual budget address,
Representative Rock joined with nearly a dozen fiscally
conservative House Republicans in the state Capitol
Rotunda to offer several government-limiting solutions
that are designed to putPennsylvania TaxpayersFirst. During this press conference, Rock officially
reintroduced the Tax and Expenditure Limitation
Act(House Bill 1100) to constitutionally cap all state
government spending at the concurrent growth of
inflation and population from the previous fiscal year.
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k.com
Rock Working to AdvanceCastle Doctrine
As an NRA member, an avid hunter and gunowner for many years, I believe that governmentshould take no action that infringes on our self-
evident right to keep and bear arms.
Each year, there are thousands of cases ofmurder, in-home assault, kidnapping and rapeacross our nation. While our law enforcementofficials do an excellent job of protecting us,they cannot be everywhere all the time. Mostimportantly, citizens must have the legal rightto defend themselves and their families fromattack, even it means using lethal force.
As a member of the House Judiciary Committee,I am working to advance House Bill 40 to makePennsylvania the 24th state in the nation toadopt the Castle Doctrine.
If enacted, the Castle Doctrine wouldestablish the presumption that an attacker orintruder intends to do great bodily harm. Inaddition, it would offer specific protection againstcivil liability for the lawful use of force in self-defense.
This bill is not intended to give anyone thelegal right to misuse lethal force. However, it isimportant to assure Pennsylvanias law-abidinggun owners that they have the explicit legal rightto protect themselves and their families if theneed should ever arise.
As a member of the House Judiciary Committee, Representative Rockis working to advance the Castle Doctrine (House Bill 40) to fullyrestore the legal ability of law-abiding gun owners to use lethal forceto protect their homes, businesses or automobiles against criminalintruders. Sign the No Gun Control petition at RepRock.com.
Representative Rock receives a warm greeting in the State Capitol
Rotunda from members of theFranklin County 4-H Seeing EyePuppy Project.
In commemoration of 2009 EMS Week , Representative Rock
welcomed two very special guests to the state Capitol: Arley
Scott, president of the Waynesboro Ambulance Co. (left) and Bob
Shockey, a life member of the Waynesboro Ambulance Company
(center), who drove to Harrisburg in a vintage 1954 Henney
Packard ambulance to receive the EMS Star of Life award.
Representative Rock and Quincy Township Sewer Authority Chairman
Carroll Wilhide break ground for a new public sewer extension along
Stamey Hill Road. From left: Supervisor Chairman Robert Gunder,
Rep. Rock, Supervisor Kerry Bumbaugh, road crew member Corey
Kasier, Supervisor Wilbur Sanders and Wilhide.
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RepRock com
Assist with car registrations, special tags, license problems and
forwarding completed title work.
Obtain birth certificates. Obtain copies of House and Senate legislation. Provide state maps and publications. Distribute applications for higher education grants and various
professional programs. Answer questions on Pennsylvania income tax, senior citizen
property tax and rent rebates, and financial aid to students. Follow-up on licensing applications, unemployment compensation
problems, and income tax rebates.
WHAT MY OFFICE CAN DO FOR YOU . . .District Offices:
15 East Main Street
Waynesboro, PA 17268
Phone: (717) 749-7384FAX: (717) 762-4380
8 South Carlisle Street
Greencastle, PA 17225
Phone: (717) 597-2224
FAX: (717) 597-3988
Harrisburg Office:
PO Box 202090
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2090
Phone: (717) 783-5218
FAX: (717) 260-6505
Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program Now OpenPennsylvanias Low-Income
Home Energy Assistance Program
(LIHEAP) has begun accepting ap-
plications for cash grants. Crisis
grants will be available on Jan. 4,
2010.
LIHEAP helps low-income people
pay their heating bills through home
energy assistance grants and crisis
grants.
Cash grants are awarded based on
household income, family size, type
of heating fuel and region.
Crisis grants are provided in the
event of a heating emergency, in-
cluding broken heating equipmentor leaking lines that must be fixed
or replaced, lack of fuel, termination
of utility service or danger of being
without fuel or of having utility service
terminated.
Income eligibility for cash grants
begins at $16,245 for individuals,
$21,855 for couples, and $33,075
for a family of four.
Applications, complete eligibil-
ity requirements and additionalinformation can be obtained by
visiting my Web site at RepRock.
com and clicking on LIHEAP
Information.
PACE and PACENET Provide Low-Cost PrescriptionDrug Assistance for Seniors
Senior citizens who rely on prescription drugs to stayhealthy may qualify for financial assistance through thestates PACE and PACENET prescription drug assistanceprograms.
Eligibility restrictions for PACE require that applicantsbe residents of Pennsylvania for at least 90 consecutivedays prior to application. Additionally, applicants must beage 65 or older and have a total income for the precedingcalendar year of less than $14,500 for a single person, orless than $17,700 combined for a married couple.
Once enrolled in the PACE program, a benefit card
will be mailed, and enrollees will be required to pay a $6co-payment for each generic prescription medication.Brand name prescriptions require a $9 co-payment.These co-payments are made to the pharmacy at thetime of purchase.
PACENET members who enroll in a Medicare PartD plan will pay the Part D premium directly to the plan.Depending on the Part D plan one is enrolled in, monthlypremiums will range between $14.80 and $28.45. Inaddition, Part D cardholders will pay no more than thePACENET co-payments of $8 for each generic prescrip-tion medication and $15 for each brand name to the
pharmacy at the time of purchase.PACENET members who do not enroll in a
Part D plan will pay $28.45 each month at thepharmacy toward the cost of their medications.If this is not paid on a monthly basis, it will ac-
cumulate. In addition, the individual will pay $8 for eachgeneric prescription medication and $15 for each brandname.
Individuals who believe they qualify for PACE orPACENET can contact my district offices or visit my Website at RepRock.com.