PA Chamber 2012 Legislative Agenda
January 17, 2012

Hi, I’m Gene Barr, president of the Pennsylvania Chamber. Happy New Year, and welcome to 2012’s first Chamber Minute.

The past year saw recognizable progress on policies that are beginning to move Pennsylvania forward. But the General Assembly also left a lot of unfinished business when it recessed in December. This includes:

• finalizing a responsible Marcellus Shale oversight bill;

• addressing the unemployment compensation debt to the federal government;

• ensuring that the public education system works for all students;

• getting state government out of the liquor sales business

• securing additional legal reforms to build on the success of the Fair Share Act; and

• developing viable funding options for Pennsylvania’s transportation infrastructure needs.

Many of these issues will require some heavy lifting – and a lot of compromise – to resolve, as many represent major shifts in public policy and government philosophy.

At the same time, state revenues are currently lagging expectations, which means another difficult budget debate is likely.

However, there is some good news on which to build. The Corbett administration and pro-jobs lawmakers, working with the Pennsylvania Chamber, are paving the way for business investment and are helping to keep unemployment numbers down compared to other states, even as robust economic recovery has yet to be realized.

And, according to Forbes magazine’s 2011 Best Places for Business study, Pennsylvania improved four spots in the overall ranking – from 30th to 26th – and has improved seven spots since 2009.

While any improvement to the state’s reputation for business growth and investment is encouraging, Pennsylvania’s middle-of-the-pack ranking reinforces that more needs to be done. And Pennsylvania Chamber members look forward to working with lawmakers on the task at hand.

If you want to know more about how 2012 could impact your business, I encourage you to attend the Pennsylvania Chamber’s members-only Annual Budget Briefing, to be held Wednesday, Feb. 8 in Harrisburg, the day after Governor Tom Corbett delivers his budget address to the General Assembly. Online registration is available.

We thank McNees Wallace and Nurick for their sponsorship of the event, and we hope to see you there.

Thank you for your support and for spending a minute of your time with the Pennsylvania Chamber, the Statewide Voice of Business.