ACP Pubs

On July 7, Governor Edward G. Rendell signed the first major update of Pennsylvania’s 125-year-old bituminous deep mine safety law, ensuring better protection for the commonwealth’s 4,200 underground bituminous coal miners.

The new law incorporates recommendations to improve safety conditions that were made following the 2002 Quecreek accident in Somerset County. It also allows Pennsylvania mines to be competitive in the national and international markets while holding mine operators responsible for the safety of their mines, and it creates a process to update mine safety regulations in the future.

Pennsylvania began regulating mine safety in 1869. The bituminous mine safety law was first written in 1883, but ...Read More

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Governor David A. Paterson has signed into law more than 130 bills, including two Governor’s Program Bills, one of which will spur a major redevelopment project that will help to revitalize the Catskill Region. A new Video Lottery Terminal (VLT) gaming facility will be built at the current site of the Concord Hotel. The law will create 2,000 permanent jobs, lower the tax rate on VLT revenue at the resort in return for a $1-billion dollar investment, and increase education funding. This new Monticello project must be completed by January 31, 2011, and will provide a minimum of $38 million annually, twice the amount currently expected to be generated at the VLT’s current location at Monticello Gaming and Raceway.

Another construction-related bill includes Real Proper...Read More

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Governor Edward G. Rendell proclaimed June 19 as “Dump the Pump Day,” announced the purchase of 14 hybrid public transportation vehicles, and launched a web site to promote alternate transportation as he continues leading Pennsylvania toward energy independence.

To help protect consumers from rising energy costs, Governor Rendell unveiled the Energy Independence Strategy in February 2007 that would save Pennsylvania families and businesses $10 billion over the next decade. The plan, pending in the state Senate, would leverage $850 million in new investments to attract $3.5 billion in alternative and renewable energy products and reduce Pennsylvania’s dependence on foreign oil.

The Governor again urged the...Read More

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Governor Jon S. Corzine signed legislation on June 19 to redirect $260 million to the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. The action will prevent a tax increase on New Jersey businesses and ensure the solvency of the fund for unemployed workers during this national recession.

The fund is set to automatically increase unemployment taxes on businesses if the balance falls below a predetermined level. Over the past 14 years approximately $4.7 billion in revenues has been diverted from the fund to other purposes. That has led to a diminished balance.

The bi-partisan legislation (S1698/A2801) was sponsored in the Senate by Senator Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex) and Senator Sean T. Kean (R-Monmouth). It was sponsored in the Assembly...Read More

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On the heels of the late March tower crane collapse in New York City that killed nine people, the Associated Press is reporting this morning at 10:55am EST that at least 1 person is dead after a construction crane collapsed on New York's Upper East Side. The crane smashed into a 23-story apartment building before crashing onto the street below and killing one person. It was the second deadly crane accident in 2 1/2 months in the city, which is undergoing a building boom. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the latest collapse was "unacceptable," and the city would investigate.

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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) awarded New York State $245 million for four homeland security grants programs, a 54 percent increase from 2007 levels. Included in this amount is $175.38 million for transit security projects. DHS agreed to boost New York’s 2008 transit security grant allocation from an initial award of $153.3 million to $175.38 million. The Metropolitan Transportation Administration (MTA) will use the additional $22 million to harden and secure the region’s suspension bridges. For the four major grants, New York State received 29.6 percent of the entire national award.

In February 2008, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced that New York City would receive $153.3 million in federal transit funding. Following February’s announcement, Deputy Secretary for Public Safety Michael Balboni made the case to the Transp...Read More

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