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Click here or visit www.RepQuinn.net to see this year’s “Budget Dashboard,” an interactive look at Pennsylvania’s $27.65 billion state budget for fiscal year 2012-13.
This year’s state budget took effect on July 1. If you have any questions about this year’s state budget, please contact my district office at (215) 489-2126.
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Thank you to the Fred Beans Family of Dealerships whose recent Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) donation allowed the Bucks County Free Library System to maintain and improve its summer reading program for area children. Without this generous support, our beloved summer reading program would not have been possible. Fred Beans Family Dealerships’ donation of $100,000 will fund the program this summer and next summer.
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Policy Committee Holds Events to Focus on Jobs
 The House Majority Policy Committee met in Doylestown at the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center of Bucks County (PABC) last Tuesday to discuss the economic impact of the life sciences industry in Pennsylvania. The center, which was founded by Dr. Timothy Block, advances medical research and serves as an important economic driver in the region. In just five years, and during difficult economic times, the Biotechnology Center has played an important role in job creation and overall economic growth in Bucks County. The center is home to 36 start-up companies and to several major nonprofit research organizations including the internationally known Hepatitis B Foundation. The facility currently employs more than 260 high-skill researchers and staff members, and 55 new jobs have been added since January 2012.
The facility is instrumental in developing new drugs and therapies, including eight new medical patents that have been filed as a result of research performed there. New discoveries that are just beginning to enter the market include a Hepatocellular carcinoma therapy, colorectal cancer screening by testing urine, and a GI distress drug that is entering Phase III trials.
The facility cements Pennsylvania’s status as an industry leader in bio-technology and life sciences and has established partnerships with public, private and nonprofit organizations in the region. Rehabilitating the vacant buildings that are now home to the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center was initially funded by a PA Redevelopment Authority grant.
This event was one of two events in southeastern Pennsylvania last week to focus on jobs and economic development in Pennsylvania. On Wednesday, the committee held a public hearing in Chester County to discuss job creation and investments in technologically advanced industries.
Click here to learn more about last week’s briefing and tour at the PABC.
New Law Strengthens Penalties for Hit-and-Run Accidents
 Legislation designed to strengthen penalties for individuals involved in fatal hit-and-run accidents was recently signed into law. Act 93 of 2012 closes a loophole in existing law that unintentionally encourages a hit-and-run driver to flee the scene of an incident, especially if the driver is intoxicated. Under previous law, a fatal hit-and-run accident is a third-degree felony that carries a mandatory prison term of at least one year, with a maximum sentence of seven years. By comparison, a fatal accident that involves a drunk driver is a second-degree felony with a much stiffer penalty range of three to 10 years in prison. The new law increases the penalty for a fatal hit-and-run accident from a third-degree to a second-degree felony, allowing judges to issue a longer prison sentence to ensure fair penalties are enforced. The law also aims to make sure in these cases drivers stop to render help rather than flee.
Help for Homeowners Signed into Law
 Legislation was recently signed into law to direct funding for the Homeowners’ Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (HEMAP) to aid Pennsylvanians facing home foreclosure. Act 70 of 2012 directs the Pennsylvania Treasury to use most of the funds acquired through the Homeowner Assistance Settlement Agreement to fund HEMAP. The Homeowner Assistance Settlement Agreement was established in February between the state attorney general and leading U.S. mortgage companies. In addition to providing funding for HEMAP, the new law also gives homeowners additional time to challenge certain foreclosures and clarifies other aspects of the process. Nearly all of the funding from the payments made pursuant to the agreement is directed to consumers, with 90 percent of funding going to HEMAP, 5 percent to the Office of Attorney General for housing consumer protection programs, and 5 percent for legal assistance involving housing programs.
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