HARRISBURG, February 3, 2010 - - State Sen. Jim Ferlo (D-Pittsburgh) today stood with fellow Senate Democrats at a Capitol news conference to present their budget and policy priorities, which include passing the 2010-2011 in a timely manner and not supporting any new broad-based tax increases. 

“Finger pointing by the leadership driving the budget process must end and we must fulfill our Constitutional obligation to pass a balanced budget prior to the mandated June 30th deadline if we are to re-gain some measure of respect from our constituents,” Ferlo stated.

“I stood today with my colleagues ready to meet the challenges of this year’s budget negotiations,” Ferlo said.  “It is my hope that some of the policy initiatives we discussed today will be looked at seriously to save money and make the most of available state funding.”

Some of the specific issues Democrats plan to focus on include: 

• retooling a few underperforming Commonwealth Financing Authority (CFA) programs and refocusing its job creation efforts;

• closing the “Delaware Loophole” and using those funds to reduce the state’s Corporate Net Income Tax;

• passing a job development bill that leverages federal monies to help people struggling to find work, especially those who have exhausted unemployment benefits and targeted workforce development to fill existing opportunities in the job market;

• utilizing state and federal dollars to create energy industry-related jobs in the fields of weatherization, alternative energy, green product development and sustainable community development.

Ferlo added that one “no-brainer” way to raise revenues in Pennsylvania is to implement a "severance" tax on gas extracted from the Marcellus shale formation.  While Senator Ferlo did not vote in support of opening up state forests to gas drilling due to un-resolved environmental impact issues, he believes that where drilling takes place local communities as well as state coffers should benefit.

“Such a tax is already in place in numerous neighboring states and has not discouraged healthy speculation or drilling,” Ferlo said. “This resource belongs to all of the people of Pennsylvania. Why would we give it away for free to gas companies?”

So far, Pennsylvania is facing another large funding shortfall this year and facing the possibility of more cutbacks.  Governor Rendell will give his budget address on February 9.

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