State Rep. Mark Mustio

Mustio Votes to Bar Unemployment Benefits for Prison Inmates, Increasing Penalties for Willful Fraud

State Rep. Mark Mustio thanks Bridge Educational Foundation and U.S. Steel for providing scholarships to students in need through state's Educational Improvement Tax Credit.

This week, the PA House took a major step forward to protect Pennsylvania taxpayers by unanimously passing sweeping Unemployment Compensation reform legislation that would increase penalties on individuals who commit willful fraud to obtain unemployment compensation benefits, including cases of fraud perpetuated by incarcerated individuals.   If enacted, House Bill 403 would require the Department of Labor and Industry to cross-check databases to make sure prison inmates are not collecting unemployment compensation. This legislation would also impose an additional 52-week penalty for claimants who illegally apply for benefits while in prison. This penalty would apply to these same individuals in the future should they become eligible and …

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Mustio: Uncorking the Pros of Liquor Privatization

Weekly updates from Pennsylvania Rep. Mark Mustio.

  This week’s Headline Harrisburg report “uncorks” just some of the government-limiting aspects of liquor privatization that await Pennsylvanians under House Bill 790. First of all, our current state-run liquor system was created in 1933 by then-Gov. Gifford Pinchot, who declared that the PA Liquor Control Board’s mission was to make liquor sales “as inconvenient and expensive as possible.” When you consider that now only two states, Pennsylvania and Utah, still maintain complete control over wholesale and retail operations, the LCB’s original mission statement becomes even more antiquated and prohibitionist. Not surprisingly, the public overwhelmingly and consistently agrees. Opinion poll, after opinion poll, confirms the same thing: …

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Mustio: Updates from Harrisburg

Rep. Mark Mustio, R-Moon, discusses efforts to implement real-time tracking of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine purchases in Pennsylvania.

  Uncorking the pros of liquor privatization A few short days after the PA House cast a historic vote in favor of House Bill 790, which contains my commonsense liquor privatization amendment, to end full government control of wine and spirits sales in the Commonwealth, I received a photograph from a constituent vacationing in Florida. In particular, the Now Hiring sign photographed below “uncorks” just some of the pro liquor privatization benefits that await Pennsylvania under House Bill 790, especially in the area of job creation. Just like Florida and several other states, I have personally visited such as Washington and Oregon, if Pennsylvania’s state liquor store system were sold off, or privatized under House Bill 790 our entire …

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State Rep. Mark Mustio

Mustio: 911th Mission Renewal 'Huge Victory'

Pennsylvania Rep. Mark Mustio, R-Moon, discusses state efforts to save the Moon Township air wing.

Thanks once again to the tremendous response and vigilant efforts of concerned District 44 residents, on March 13, the United States Air Force announced that the 911th Airlift Wing will remain open through at least fiscal year 2014. In late April 2012, my resolution encouraging the President of the United States and U.S. Congress to prohibit the closing of the 911 the Airlift Wing was unanimously approved by the State House and sent to Washington D.C. Just as we did in 2005, my Southwestern Pennsylvania colleagues in the General Assembly, Pennsylvania’s Congressional delegation and a host of state and local officials came together to achieve another huge victory for our military personnel and our local economy. My purpose for advancing …

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State Rep. Mark Mustio

Mustio: PA House Budget Hearings Wrap Up

Pennsylvania Rep. Mark Mustio, R-Moon, said the state legislature plans to pass a budget on time in 2013.

House budget hearings conclude As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, I participated in the final week of hearings at the State Capitol to review the governor’s proposed 2013-14 state budget. Among the agencies and departments testifying were the State System of Higher Education, the Gaming Control Board, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Department of Health, the Department of Public Welfare and Secretary of the Budget Charles Zogby. Watch all my questions to testifiers during the past three weeks by visiting my Video Library at www.RepMustio.com or my Facebook page. On the final day of budget hearings, House members were given the opportunity to testify about their budget…

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State Rep. Mark Mustio

Rep. Mustio: Updates from Harrisburg

Rep. Mark Mustio, whose district includes Sewickley area communities, shares news with his constituents on Patch in this new weekly feature.

State Budget Hearings Under Way  The House Appropriations Committee, of which I am a member, began budget hearings with state agencies on Feb. 19 to carefully review the details of the governor’s proposed budget for the 2013-14 fiscal year. The Department of Revenue and Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) testified the first day. 

The IFO offered information on revenue collection projections and current tax collection figures. Testifiers indicated that revenues will grow by 1 percent for the remainder of the current fiscal year. The office also discussed the Commonwealth’s unemployment figures and jobs climate, indicating that Pennsylvania employment is expected to expand by 69,000 jobs this year and 78,000 jobs next year. The Department of …

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Op-Ed: Pennsylvania Pension Reform: Consolidation is Not the Answer

David M. Sanko, executive director of the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors, argues that consolidating municipal pension plans into one statewide system would penalize well-run plans to reward troubled, underfunded ones.

Pennsylvania’s pension funding problem didn’t happen overnight, and you can’t fix it overnight. Recently, there’s been a lot of buzz about pension reform, and rightfully so. Pennsylvania is on the fast track to a crisis.  The commonwealth’s pension programs for some 800,000 state workers and public school teachers are in the hole to the tune of $40 billion, a figure that’s expected to climb to $65 billion by 2021 if lawmakers don’t do something soon. Hastened by Gov. Tom Corbett, the General Assembly and others are searching for solutions, some of which have come to light during a series of fact-finding meetings hosted by the Pennsylvania Employee Retirement Commission. The hearings have focused on the state’s financial predicament, which …

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Letters to the Editor

Letter: Enough with Negative Campaign Ads in 37th District

A resident of the 37th district saii he rejects negative campaigning in the state senate race.

As one who has supported the election campaigns of D. Raja in the past, posted a lawn sign on his behalf, and talked up his candidacies to many friends and acquaintances, it is with utter disgust that I note the negative television ad he is currently airing against his opponent in the State Senate race, Democrat Matt Smith.   This disgraceful promotion is particularly outrageous, given that the Raja candidacy was subjected to the slimy, smarmy Mark Mustio campaign in the primary election. For the Raja campaign to take a page out of the same dishonorable playbook is to insult and patronize every voter of the district. As an intelligent, thoughtful voter, I have never been swayed by the tactic of "vote for me because my opponent is a dirty …

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Remembering Sept. 11 and Telling the Story

I remember everything I did on Sept. 11, 2001, but telling the story isn’t easy.

Sept. 11, 2001 is the day that marks the difference between when I was a kid, and when I started growing up. I was 15 years old in the fall of 2001, a sophomore in high school, and an aspiring … something-or-other. It happened on a Tuesday, and I wasn’t thinking much beyond Friday. But when I remember that day, I don’t just remember what happened. I remember everything. The clothes I wore to school, what I ate for lunch, my class schedule and who I sat next to are still clear in my mind, as though I’m about to wake up tomorrow and do it again. It’s the uneasy feeling I remember most, because I knew my teachers—the people we looked to for stability and explanation—were scared. Worse, I remember the indescribable feeling of realizing it wasn…

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Vacation to Pittsburgh!

Columnist Gab Bonesso had a two-day mini vacation in Downtown Pittsburgh this week and lived to write about it!

Perhaps the greatest perk about living in a suburb outside of a bigger city is that the city is technically not your home. Therefore if you need a quick two day getaway then a trip to the big city is actually an option. Plus it feels like a vacation! Well, sort of. This past week I spent two nights in a hotel in downtown Pittsburgh for a mini-vacation. This summer really got away from me, and I just did not take the time to plan out a proper trip. Also I have been really busy with my five zillion freelance gigs and taking time off seemed irresponsible. I knew that I had two free days this week so I figured I could feel guilt-free about taking some time off to enjoy myself. I stayed at the Fairmont with a view overlooking Market Square and …

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