Open house at Martina White’s office
On Friday, July 31, state Rep. Martina White (R-170th dist.) will hold an open house from 6 to 8 p.m. at her new district office at 10752 Bustleton Ave., Suite C.
“I want to encourage everyone to stop by the office, meet me and my staff and learn about the services we offer,” White said. “This is also a great opportunity to personally share your thoughts with me and learn what I am doing in Harrisburg.”
White’s staff will be on hand to help constituents with all state issues, such as senior-related issues like PACE and PACENET, as well as student and veterans’ affairs.
For more information, visit www.RepWhite.com or www.facebook.com/RepMartinaWhite.
White’s district office can be reached at 215–330–3711. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ••
Breast cancer screenings on Aug. 10
The district office of state Rep. John Taylor will host breast cancer screenings on Monday, Aug. 10, starting at 9 a.m.
The Fox Chase Mobile Mammography Van will be at Taylor’s office at 2901 E. Thompson St.
To receive a mammogram, a woman must be 40 or older and receive a prescription from her doctor. She must not be breast feeding or have breast fed within the last nine months. She must not have had a breast cancer diagnosis within the last two years. She must not have had a mammogram in the last 12 months.
To schedule an appointment or for more information, call 215–425–0901. ••
White’s condo bill passes
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives has passed legislation sponsored by state Rep. Martina White (R-170th dist.) to help those living in condominiums and cooperative associations. It now moves to the Senate.
“My legislation, House Bill 1340, will ensure that these self-governing communities are not negatively affected by a recent U.S. Court of Appeals decision and new federal mortgage underwriting guidelines,” White said.
As a result of current mortgage underwriting guidelines, a condominium might be ineligible for mortgage financing if the number of rental units in the community exceeds 50 percent.
“A community association that is declared ineligible for financing suffers dramatically from decreasing values of the units and a chilling effect on sales,” White said. “To preserve such eligibility status, many condominium associations have adopted, or are in the process of considering, amendments to their governing declarations to limit the number of rental units to below 50 percent.”
Last year, the United States Court of Appeals held that a personal judgment obtained by a community association does not preserve the statutory lien.
“This means that unless associations file lien foreclosure actions within three years of a delinquency, the lien for assessments is extinguished,” White said. “As a result, associations will resort to drastic, aggressive and expensive foreclosure proceedings to assure continued financial viability. In turn, collections of unpaid assessments will become substantially more expensive and time consuming, with the increased costs being passed on to homeowners.”
To avoid any confusion on this issue and ensure that associations will be able to comply with federal underwriting standards, the law must be amended to make it clear that the term “uses to which any unit is restricted” does not include the leasing of units.
Condominium and homeowner associations rely on unit owner assessments to pay for various obligations imposed on them by their governing documents. In most cases, these obligations entail not only maintenance and repair of unit components such as roofs and siding, but also infrastructure components, including roads, storm water management and utility systems. ••
White on pipeline task force
State Rep. Martina White (R-170th dist.) has been appointed to Pennsylvania’s Pipeline Infrastructure Task Force.
White will be part of the Workforce and Economic Development workgroup.
The task force will create recommendations and best practices for planning and routing pipelines for the natural gas industry. It will also examine ways for engaging the public; study ways to increase efficient permitting; employ construction methods that reduce environmental and community impacts; and develop long-term operations and maintenance plans to ensure pipeline safety and integrity.
The projects are expected to bring billions of dollars to Pennsylvania’s economy, and support tens of thousands of jobs during construction phases and several hundred permanent jobs.
“We have an incredible opportunity to help this industry grow in a way that will create jobs and revenue for our state for the next century. We have to make sure we do it right to encourage the growth of this industry and protect our environment at the same time,” White said.
This task force will work closely with federal and state agencies, local governments, industry representatives, landowners, and environmental and cultural resource advocates.
“I believe this collaborative approach will help Pennsylvania meet the challenge of responsible development of its natural resources while supporting economic growth.” White said.
White will develop recommendations and best practices for consideration by the task force in developing the final report presented to Gov. Tom Wolf.
The task force is expected to report to the governor no later than February 2016. ••
Taylor, White back budget
State Reps. John Taylor (R-177th dist.) and Martina White (R-170th dist.) voted in favor of a $30.18 billion budget that’s balanced without any new or increased taxes.
The budget proposal increases spending for basic education by $100 million, Pre-K Counts by $25 million, special education by $20 million and higher education by $41 million.
The budget also dedicates $96 million more for home- and community-based services, which will allow an expansion of services to more than 3,700 seniors.
This budget includes an 11.9-percent increase in funding for the Community Waiver Program that allows those with intellectual disabilities to live more independently in their homes and communities, and gives a 10-percent funding increase to domestic and rape crisis centers, and a 6.5-percent increase in funding to drug and alcohol centers.
The $5 million in additional funding dedicated to Head Start will help more than 3,500 children, many in Philadelphia.
“Again, while this proposal does some positive things without raising taxes, we will eventually get to a negotiated budget,” Taylor said.
“I believe the working-class people I represent want to be able to spend their hard-earned money on their families, not more on taxes,” White said. “I also believe that people want their governor and General Assembly to work together to transcend party lines and make budget decisions that are in the best interest of Pennsylvanians both now and in the future. At the end of this budget process, I believe we will have accomplished this.”
Rep. Tom Murt (R-152nd dist.) also voted for the budget.
Voting against the budget were Reps. Kevin Boyle (D-172nd dist.), Mike Driscoll (D-173rd dist.), Jason Dawkins (D-179th dist.), Mark Cohen (D-202nd dist.) and Dwight Evans (D-203rd dist.). ••
Taylor backs blight bill
State Rep. John Taylor (R-177th dist.) joined his House colleagues in unanimously passing House Bill 792 to expand funding for the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement Fund.
Currently, PHARE’s only revenue is from impact fees generated by shale drilling, and those monies may be spent only in counties impacted by shale drilling. These funds provide resources for home repairs, new construction, rental assistance, home rehabilitation and demolition. House Bill 792 expands this funding to all counties.
“Most importantly, PHARE funds can be used to remediate blight as well as develop homes within reach of people on fixed incomes,” Taylor said. “This will be a major boost to our efforts to rescue our neighborhoods from blight.”
The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration. ••
White backs tougher crime laws
State Rep. Martina White (R-170th dist.) supported legislation to hold accountable those who place young children in danger and to enhance the state’s 911 systems.
“One of my priorities is to strengthen our laws to hold criminals accountable for committing crimes against children,” White said. “I’m happy to report we are doing just that.”
House Bill 74 would change the penalty for endangering the welfare of a child. Currently, the penalty makes no distinction between someone who places a very young child at risk versus an older child.
The bill would make the offense a third-degree felony if the crime placed the child at risk of death or serious injury and a second-degree felony if it was part of a continuous course of conduct. Also, the grading for any offense would be increased one level if the child victim is under the age of 6 at the time of the offense.
House Bill 424 would increase the penalty for concealing the death of a child from a first-degree misdemeanor to a third-degree felony. This legislation was created in response to the disappearance of toddler Caylee Anthony in Florida in 2008.
White also supported legislation to upgrade the state’s aging 911 systems.
“We passed House Bill 911 to modernize the law by focusing on the implementation of next-generation technology, which will allow citizens to contact emergency responders through a variety of new communication methods, such as text messaging, video calls and more,” White said.
Not all 911 centers are equipped to handle new communications methods. House Bill 911 would create a standard statewide that will increase convenience for people across Pennsylvania, along with potentially saving lives, especially in situations where people need to contact emergency responders in a discreet manner.
All the bills now go to the Senate for consideration. ••
