PA House GOP Unveils Policy Agenda

Earlier this month, the PA House GOP put out a Policy Agenda for Pennsylvania. Not everything gets Commonwealth Foundation Approval – e.g., the “jobs package”, praise for government preschool, forgiveness of doctors loans – and their government reform and health care sections are weak. But there is plenty of good idea and solid policy proposals. In fact, a great number of proposals were ideas take from the Commonwealth Foundation.

Proposals with links to CF research and analysis:

• Liquor Control Board Privatization
• Performance-Based Budgeting
• Reduce Corporate Net Income Tax
• Public Private Partnerships in Transportation
• P3s in State Parks
• Prison Privatization
• Mass Transit Reform
• Restore EITC
• Teacher Merit Pay
• Limit Property Tax Exemptions
• Address School Costs
• State Spending and Grant Accountability (Online spending transparency)
• Reforming Unemployment Compensation
• Pension Reform
• Don’t tax Marcellus Shale out of PA
• Health Care Freedom of Choice Act
• PA BasicCare (Allow mandate-lite health care plan)
• Individual Tax Credits (Equitable tax treatment of health coverage)

Additional proposals that CF testified on:

• Welfare Fraud
• Design-Build P3s
• Highway Maintenance P3s
• PennDOT and Turnpike Commission Consolidation
• Whistleblower Protection
• Caution on Alt. Energy Subsidies