Harrisburg – June 17, 2014 – Legislation authored by the Democratic leader of the Senate, Sen. Jay Costa (D-Allegheny), which would improve how pooled trusts are administered, has been approved by the state Senate.
“The measure changes the calculation of how funds are to be distributed after the beneficiary dies,” Costa said. “The legislation retains the original purpose of the bill which allows funding to be used for the benefit of all individuals who are serviced by the trust.”
Under current law, a trust may retain up to 50 percent of a beneficiary’s account for to be distributed to other beneficiaries. The remaining 50 percent of the account is reimbursed to Pennsylvania equal to the total amount of Medical Assistance that was paid on behalf of the beneficiary.
“The bill was designed to benefit those individuals who would otherwise not have access to pooled resources,” Costa said. “The legislation broadens the scope of how funds can be spent and allows pooled trust funds to be used in support of those
The bill was amended on the Senate floor to change the details about how the fund should be split. The new language requires that if there are funds not retained by the trust after the beneficiary dies, then the trust reimburses Pennsylvania or other states an amount that covers the cost of providing Medical Assistance to the beneficiary from the funds not retained by the trust.
The bill now goes to the state House of Representatives.
Harrisburg, January 30, 2013 — Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) and Senate Democratic Education Chair Andy Dinniman (D-Chester) today released statements expressing their opposition to Governor Tom Corbett’s plan to privatize and expand the sale of wine, spirits and malt beverages throughout the commonwealth.
“It seems this governor is attempting to privatize everything from the state lottery to liquor stores,” said Costa. “The privatization of the Lottery represents a significant expansion of gambling without legislative authority. Now this is an equally disturbing expansion of liquor sales which has the potential to directly impact the health and safety of our residents.”
“I have long maintained that we do not need to be privatizing the operations of the Liquor Control Board (LCB),” Costa continued. “What we do need to do is modernize and support the ability of the LCB to operate in an environment where they can be more productive and generate more dollars within a regulated structure.”
“As important, we need to make certain that in the dispensing of alcohol we recognize our obligation to be very careful and very safe,” Costa said. “The LCB’s employees are well-trained and have always done an exceptional job in following the law to the fullest and providing access to products only to those who are of age. There is no motive that would drive them to act otherwise.”
Costa expressed concern with Governor Corbett’s decision to use revenues generated from the sale of the wholesale and retail system to fund school programs. “If we place our focus on modernizing the system, we can use the revenues that are generated for supplementing school funds. We should not pit the future of our children’s education against the expansion of liquor.”
Expressing disappointment in the governor’s proposal and how he planned to use the funds from privatization, Senator Andy Dinniman (D-Chester) raised several important questions about the impact of the plan on education.
“While our school districts are in crisis, with poorer districts on the cliff of fiscal distress and other districts cutting education programs because of pension obligations, what does the governor do?” Dinniman asked. “Does he use LCB sale funds to help poor schools survive, provide pension spike relief or property tax relief?
“No, he uses the funds to create supplemental education programs in four areas, after he made severe and crippling cuts in basic education funding.”
Dinniman concluded that as a result of the governor’s plan, “liquor stores will pop up on one corner while schools are closing on the other.”
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HARRISBURG, March 7, 2012— Pennsylvania takes an important step toward making its roadways safer for drivers when the ban on texting while driving goes into effect this week, Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa said today.
“Distracted drivers are a significant risk on our streets and highways,” said Costa (D-Allegheny). A study by Virginia Tech Driving Institute revealed that those who resort to texting while driving are 23 times more likely to meet with a vehicle crash. “The new law bans texting, as well as the sending of instant messages and email while driving in Pennsylvania.”
Costa said the long-term success of the law will hinge on whether the practice of not using wireless interactive devices while behind the wheel becomes part of the culture on the road. “Much in the way that the seatbelt use was increased dramatically when Pennsylvania enacted a mandatory seatbelt law, I hope that texting and emailing while driving becomes a thing of the past.”
Texting while driving would be considered a primary offense, a police officer can pull a driver over if the officer sees a driver texting. However, if a driver is selecting or entering a phone number or name for the purpose of making a phone call, they will not be violating the texting ban. Drivers are permitted to pull off to the side of the road and put their vehicle in ‘park’ and use their phone to text.
Anyone convicted of texting while driving under the new ban will face a fine of $50 for each infraction. Pennsylvania now joins more than 30 other states that already have a texting while driving ban.
Because text messaging requires visual, manual, and cognitive attention from the driver, it is by far the most alarming type of distracted driving. In 2009, 5,474 people were killed in crashes involving driver distraction, and an estimated 448,000 were injured.
More information can be found on Pennsylvania’s texting while driving ban here.
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HARRISBURG, March 7, 2012 – – Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa today voted against another Republican led effort to take rights away from Pennsylvanians. After hours of floor remarks in opposition to the Republican Voter ID bill, the Senate passed House Bill 934 by a 26-23 vote.
[audio:https://senatorcosta.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/voter-id-reaction-sen.costa-03-07-10.mp3|titles=voter-id-reaction-sen.costa-03-07-10]
“This is a blatant ideologically driven initiative that limits and diminishes the rights of Pennsylvania citizens,” Costa said. “This is another display of failed leadership by the administration and the Republican majority in Harrisburg on issues that matter to Pennsylvanians. Our roads and bridges are in dire need of repair, thousands of people are out of work and without health care, schools are closing and this legislature would rather concentrate on suppressing voting rights.”
House Bill 934, which is estimated to cost between $4.5 million and $11 million in the first year, would require voters to present photo identification or a narrow list of other accepted forms of identification each time they vote.
A Department of Justice statistic has shown that since 2008, more than 20 million votes were cast in Pennsylvania and there were only four convictions of voter fraud.
House Bill 934 was returned to the House.
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HARRISBURG, February 7, 2012 — “The governor’s budget address touched on the themes of compassion, reform, and responsibility. His words don’t reflect the cold and painful reality behind the numbers. [audio:https://senatorcosta.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/2012budgetaddressreaction.mp3|titles=2012budgetaddressreaction]
Cutting funding to early childhood education programs, higher education and tuition assistance, and programs which help bring care and comfort to our veterans and disabled is not compassionate or responsible.
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Pennsylvanians also value fairness – and fairness is something in short supply in the governor’s budget. For a second year, the budget sends the message that the middle class doesn’t matter. The governor has shown us where his priorities lie. Pursuing a Marcellus Shale policy which allows billion-dollar companies to get this resource at one of the lowest rates in the country does Pennsylvania a disservice. Big businesses get a break, but if you own a home, send a young child to a public school, or have a teenager going off to college, you take a hit. That is not fair. It is also not wise. Pennsylvania’s next generation is going to find it harder to get an education, get a job, and provide for their families. It won’t make our state appealing to anybody – not even big business.
Passing along tax increases to local governments in the form of higher property taxes is passing the buck. It is not responsible. Pennsylvanians know better.
The governor also announced another commission, this one to study post-secondary education. In one year in Pennsylvania, we have seen commissions meet, make recommendations, and move on. We can’t continue to talk about problems. We need to truly be responsible and do something to address these problems. Our roads and bridges don’t become safer and our public transit systems don’t improve through discussions. The time for talk is over.
In the coming months, we will do all we can to make the state budget a better reflection of Pennsylvanians’ priorities.”
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