Boscola Proposes Child Protection Legislation

Among the legislative package recently introduced by state Sen. Lisa Boscola (D-18) is a bill that would limit where registered sex offenders can live.

State Sen. Lisa Boscola (D-18) has introduced a legislative package that includes several bills focused on child protection, her office announced Jan. 8. “Children are our most precious resource,” Boscola said in a statement about the bills. “We owe them our love, support and every legal protection available.” Among the proposed legislation is a bill that would limit where sex offenders registered under Megan's Law can live. Specifically, under Boscola’s proposal registered sex offenders would be prohibited from living within 1,000 feet of a school, preschool, daycare facility or public playground, and from within 500 feet of a school bus stop. The subject of sex offenders living near school bus stops became a hot topic in the Saucon …

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Local Lawmakers to Return, Donate Automatic Pay Raises

State Rep. Justin Simmons (R-131) said he plans to return his 3 percent pay raise to the state treasury, while State Sen. Lisa Boscola (D-18) plans to donate her raise to local charities.

State lawmakers get a 3 percent cost-of-living raise--about $2,400 before taxes--starting today (Dec. 1), and all of the Lehigh Valley lawmakers reached by Patch said they will either donate their raises to charity or refund them to the state treasury. The lawmakers’ annual pay--before taxes--will go from the current $79,623.23 to $82,026.11, according to the Pennsylvania Bulletin, which lists legal and rulemaking information. Lawmakers in leadership positions already make extra money, and the 3 percent increase also applies to those amounts, according to the Bulletin. The extra amounts, including the 3 percent raise, will range from $11,506 to $46,021. The following is a list of area lawmakers and what they plan to do with their raises…

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Statewide Redistricting Plan Would Affect Lower Saucon

Wednesday, Nov. 30 is the deadline to submit comments or complaints about the proposed redistricting plan.

A proposed statewide redistricting plan would change representation at the state legislative level for residents of Lower Saucon Township, but not for residents of Hellertown. Specifically, the proposed redistricting plan would move Lower Saucon into a new senatorial district and change which township wards would be represented by the same two House seats. Lower Saucon would go from being in the 18th Senate district, represented by Democrat Lisa Boscola, to the 16th district, represented by Republican Pat Browne. Hellertown would remain in the 18th district. Lower Saucon would still be represented by the 131st House district of Republican Justin Simmons and the 136th district of Democrat Bob Freeman. But which legislators represent which …

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PA Independent

Wide Range of Issues on Tap for PA Senate This Fall

A Marcellus shale impact fee, transportation spending, school choice and liquor store privatization top the list.

Students are back in school, football season is in full swing and those favorite television shows are back with new episodes. Along with other signs of autumn, the state Senate returned for the start of the fall session Monday, with no shortage of items to keep senators busy between now and the week before Christmas. As always, the questions are what issues leadership must prioritize and where consensus exists between the Republican-controlled General Assembly and Gov. Tom Corbett, also a Republican. The state House will not return until Monday, giving the state Senate the first crack at setting the fall agenda.  In no particular order are a fee or tax on natural gas companies drilling in the state, transportation infrastructure …

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Boscola Wants Table Game Revenues Moved to Property Tax Relief Fund

Senate Republicans and a taxpayer advocacy group are against the bill proposed by the state senator from Northampton County.

By Yasmin Tadjdeh | PA Independent With tax revenue on the rise, state Senate Democrats and Republicans disagree on whether to keep funneling millions in table game revenue to the state budget or give it back to taxpayers to relieve property taxes.  Table game tax revenue generated $71 million this year, but the state collected about $785 million more in other taxes than anticipated last year, prompting state Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Northampton, to propose returning the gaming money to taxpayers.  “With this kind of excess cash, there is no reason why the state’s general fund needs more help from table games. These revenues should be used for additional tax relief,” said Boscola in a statement.  Boscola’s proposal, SB 160, would move table …

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In Their Words: Lawmakers Discuss State Budget

Legislators from across eastern Pennsylvania react to the passage of the state budget Thursday.

As the ink from Gov. Corbett's pen dries from signing his first budget in office, citizens from across the commonwealth are mulling over the implications of the $27.15 billion budget. Legislators from eastern Pennsylvania are among those opining on a bill that Republicans champion for being 4.1 percent lower than its predecessor. Many Democrats, meanwhile, bemoan what they see as critical cuts to education and other programming. Below is a sampling of views from General Assembly members in Bucks, Berks, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton and Philadelphia counties, as collected by Patch editors.  Sen. Lisa Boscola (D-18/Northampton, Lehigh and Monroe) - “Irresponsible budget cuts are just as bad as irresponsible …

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Unemployment Benefits Accessed at Casino ATMs

State Senator Lisa Boscola (D-Northampton) is pushing legislation to ban such withdrawals.

State agencies are not keeping track of what could be millions in unemployment compensation benefits being withdrawn from ATMs at Pennsylvania casinos--and this lack of information has one state senator asking for a ban. The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, or DL&I, which disburses unemployment compensation benefits, does not track the withdrawal of benefits from ATMs anywhere, because it does not have the means to do so, said Christopher Manlove, spokesman for DL&I. Neither does the state Gaming Control Board, or GCB, which was established to regulate the gaming industry in Pennsylvania. However, only DL&I has the authority to regulate unemployment benefits, said Richard McGarvey, GCB spokesman.  The average unemployment …

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Mary Anne Looby

1:38 pm on Wednesday, June 1, 2011

I agree! Why not take it a step further and ban ATM's at casino's. Unemployed people are not the only one's who are turning to "the big win" to fix their lives. If someone has to leave the casino to go get cash, chances are they will have time to think about what they are doing and not go back. Those who do are addicts. They will get the money and play no matter what or where they have to go. I …   more ›

Men Face Charges after Alleged 'Bath Salts'-Induced Gunplay

U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent and state Sen. Lisa Boscola are touting legislation to ban the "bath salts" linked to the South Bethlehem incident.

Three young men have been charged as a result of an incident in which a gun was allegedly fired from the window of a South Bethlehem home on Saturday afternoon, Bethlehem police said yesterday. The alleged shooter, Ryan B. Shoemaker, 25, of 205 Van Buren St., had apparently twice injected himself with “bath salts” or mephedrone, a powerful, but currently legal, stimulant, before shooting the gun, police said. Roommates told police that Shoemaker had told them he saw people on the roof of the home. Shoemaker told police that people were “watching” him and his girlfriend. Also yesterday, both U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent, a Republican who represents most of the Lehigh Valley, and state Sen. Lisa Boscola, a Democrat who represents Bethlehem and …

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State Senator Bob Mensch: Cut Taxes to Attract Businesses

State Sen. Lisa Boscola is co-sponsoring the legislation aimed at creating jobs.

If State Senators Bob Mensch and Lisa Boscola were ranking their legislative priorities for the year, they would look something like this: 1) Jobs 2) Jobs 3) Jobs. Both Lehigh Valley senators say the most important thing Pennsylvania can do to eliminate its $3 to $4 billion budget gap is to spur employment growth, which will put more money in people’s pockets and more in the state coffers. To that end, Republican Mensch has introduced five tax bills he says will make Pennsylvania more attractive to businesses, including reducing the rates for the personal income tax and the corporate net income tax. Democrat Boscola, whose 18th district includes Hellertown and Lower Saucon Township, has signed on as a co-sponsor. “Collectively, …

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Letters to the Editor

Let Gracedale Question Go to the Ballot

'The voice of the people should not be ignored,' says State Sen. Lisa Boscola.

Dear Editors, Over 23,300 Northampton County residents signed a petition recently in opposition to selling the county nursing home, Gracedale. This petition would have allowed a referendum question to be placed on the ballot this May, allowing county voters to decide the fate of Gracedale. Now, county officials have put up roadblocks, barriers and hurdles to silence their voices by not allowing the ballot question to appear. This is wrong. The collection of over 23,300 signatures was a monumental success, not just for those advocates of Gracedale, but for democracy as a whole. Those of us in government, along with county government officials, should want, welcome and embrace the thousands of voices who spoke by lending their names to the …

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