Dear <<First Name>>:

The 2014-2015 state budget process is complete and the following is a summary of the results on issues of interest to our regional agenda. 

Our agenda and the 2014-2015 PA Budget

On June 30 the state legislature passed a $29.1 billion state budget for 2014-2015, and on July 10 the Governor announced that he signed the budget into law, but he also invoked his ability to make line-item vetoes. Governor Corbett vetoed $65 million from the General Assembly’s own general spending line, another $7.2 million in legislative-designated spending, and of particular note for increased economic development, by veto power he reduced, by $20 million, the amount of transfer to the General Fund from the Machinery and Equipment Loan Fund and the Small Business First Fund.

Capital Stock & Franchise Tax Phase-Out Preserved

We are able to report some significant victories, foremost among them the continuing phase-out of the Capital Stock & Franchise Tax (CSFT), which has been front and center on our agenda since the Ridge Administration. Under the original phase-out schedule, this tax should have been eliminated in 2009. Fortunately, the Governor’s proposal to complete the phase out passed as part of the budget passed, so we will be entering the final year of phasing-out this tax in January 2015.

Important Community Tax Credits Preserved

We were pleased that an effort to suspend many tax credit programs died in the Senate. We fought hard to protect these tax credit programs in large part because it would have dealt a devastating blow to our Strengthening Communities Partnership program, which leverages the state's Neighborhood Partnership Program. The tax credits remain level funded in the new budget.

Pressing Ahead on Pension Reform

Despite the urging of the Governor and support from House Republicans, the legislature failed to act on state and municipal pension reform and the cost of inaction is going up.
 
Major credit rating agencies have downgraded Pennsylvania’s credit rating, in part because of rising public employee pension costs. The downgrade will affect the Commonwealth’s cost of borrowing, and that means taxpayers will have to pay more to make up the difference. 

State taxpayers are already digging deep. According to the Commonwealth Foundation, between the 2010-11 and 2014-15 fiscal years, state aid to public schools for their pensions alone increased from almost $288 million to more than $1.38 billion. The billion-dollar increase in direct state aid for schools only covered about half of the increased pension costs. The other billion has to be made up by increases in local property taxes and cuts in spending by local school districts. 
 
We hope to make progress on this issue when the legislature returns to session this fall. But nothing will happen without your vocal support. If you cross paths with a state lawmaker this summer, please tell them you are concerned about this issue. If you need more background, you can find it right here. 

Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act is Law

At the federal level, we were pleased to see the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) signed into law this week. The Allegheny Conference and the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce actively supported passage of the legislation, with Workplace Committee Chair David Porges sending two letters on our behalf. The bipartisan legislation received overwhelming support in the House and Senate. The WIOA opens the door to states’ greater use of sector partnerships and career pathway models to achieve that end - models that we have helped to pioneer here in our region through such successful initiatives as ShaleNET. 

¡Hola Pittsburgh!’s Impact, “Muy Grande”

We are doing more to work with our partners across the region to enhance skill development among our people and to attract targeted, skilled talent from outside. On June 22, in partnership with the Hispanic Chamber, VibrantPittsburgh, VisitPittsburgh and numerous other non-profit, business and government organizations, we launched ¡Hola Pittsburgh! with the Pittsburgh debut of El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, billed as “the Rolling Stones of Salsa,” a featured attraction of JazzLive International, presented by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.

Not only did thousands of salsa fans turn out on Penn Avenue, many of them traveling hundreds of miles to Pittsburgh, but VisitPittsburgh organized an inbound media tour as well.  As that publicity has begun to hit in Puerto Rico – a key target of ¡Hola Pittsburgh! – we’ve noted a surge in traffic to ImaginePittsburgh.com. In fact, Puerto Rico represented 40 percent of all traffic to our talent attraction site during the first two weeks of July. In addition, we have received more than two dozen resumes from highly-qualified individuals in Puerto Rico seeking job opportunities in Pittsburgh. We are sharing them with interested employers.

We feel we’re on to something, so ImaginePittsburgh.com is doubling down to celebrate the late Roberto Clemente’s 80^th birthday in August, with a “Baseball and the ‘Burgh” sweepstakes in partnership with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Major League Baseball. You can find details here. 

It’s part of our strategy to identify populations on the move and put our region on the radar. Watch for initiatives targeting veterans and persons with disabilities later this fall.

Meantime, thanks for your support of the Allegheny Conference and you’re ongoing commitment to our region.

Sincerely,


Dennis Yablonsky
CEO, Allegheny Conference on Community Development 

P.S. Don’t miss Our Region’s Business on WPXI-TV, Sundays at 11:00 a.m. The show airing this Sunday, August 3 features Frank Coonelly, president of the Pittsburgh Pirates on efforts to leverage the popularity of the Pirates to attract talent to our region. Bill Smith, president and CEO of Smith Micro Software – a fast growing software company with a big presence in our region – also sits down to discuss a new partnership with Sprint to help grow the next generation of digital artists. And Robb Myer, president and chief product officer of NoWait, discusses why diners across the country are avoiding long lines and long waits thanks to an app born in our region.  
 
Hosted by our own Bill Flanagan, the 30-minute program is co-produced with Cox Broadcasting. Interviews from previous shows can be found by clicking here. The program is rebroadcast on PCNC-TV at 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sundays, and at 3:30 p.m. Mondays.