Sunday, March 24, 2013
Or does it act more as a business? And what about the other major nonprofits in the area?
In a June 2012 "Taxpayer Alert," Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner questioned the fairness of nonprofits that have expanded their roles beyond the traditional definition of a charitable organization, but still maintain tax-exempt status. "In these challenging financial times, it is our duty and responsibility to address the questions raised by a recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling and determine if properties are used for a truly charitable purpose," Wagner said in the report. "While exemptions are justified for clearly charitable organizations such as churches, soup kitchens and many others, some are plainly unfair." A 2012 state Supreme Court decision has given local governments a tool to challenge the loopholes in a five-…
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Several groups Tuesday filed briefs in support of the group of communities, medical doctor and nonprofit that have challenged Act 13.
A group of environmental and community planning organizations, as well as government entities, filed a series of Amicus Briefs with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Tuesday in support of communities’ rights to making zoning decisions about Marcellus Shale play within their borders. The groups—including the Natural Resources Defense Council, Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Planning Association, the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs, the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors, the Pittsburgh City Council, Mountain Watershed Association, and Earthjustice—filed in support of a Commonwealth Court decision that found portions of Act 13 unconstitutional. The groups filing today join a broad spectrum of entities from …
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
A local group plans to present petitions on Thursday in downtown Pittsburgh calling on Allegheny County election officials not to enforce the new voter ID law this November.
Opponents of Pennsylvania's new voter ID will make their case Thursday before the state Supreme Court. There's no timeframe for a ruling from the court—but the Nov. 6 General Election is fast approaching. Oct. 9 is the last day to register to vote. The Supreme Court is composed of three Republican and three Democratic justices (a seventh judge was suspended while she faces criminal charges). A 3-3 tie would affirm the decision of the lower court, according to a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report. Commonwealth Court upheld the law in August. Supporters say the law will prevent voter fraud and imposes the same photo ID standard required in many common circumstances. Challengers say the law is designed to disenfranchise poor and elderly voters …
Monday, July 30, 2012
The application was filed Monday.
State officials on Monday asked the state Supreme Court for expedited consideration of an appeal of a Commonwealth Court decision last week that ruled portions of the state’s new Marcellus Shale law—known as Act 13—as unconstitutional. The court last week ruled that zoning regulations related to Marcellus Shale play should be made at the local level, and not the state level as Act 13 mandated. “That decision has gutted Act 13 of one of its key interstitial parts and has created significant uncertainty for the Commission, the Department, and the regulated community at this critical juncture in the Marcellus Shale development,” an attorney for the Public Utility Commission and the state Department of Environmental protection wrote in the …
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Sewickley area districts will remain the same for now after justices ruled 4-3 Wednesday to send back the plan to the Legislative Reapportionment Commission.
It’s back to the drawing board for Pennsylvania’s five-member Legislative Reapportionment Commission. According to the Associated Press, the state Supreme Court in a close vote Wednesday determined the new lines for Pennsylvania's 203 state House seats and 50 Senate districts are "contrary to law" and need to be redrawn. That's precisely the argument that lawyers for several Pennsylvania voters and a top state lawmaker made to the high court on Monday during a day of appeals concerning the maps the commission approved in December, the Allentown Morning Call reports. The Associated Press reported that the justices voted, 4-3, to send the plan back to the Legislative Reapportionment Commission, and the majority said their opinion in the …
MBM
5:39 pm on Wednesday, March 27, 2013
The poll is incomplete. There should be a box that allows you to vote for "no, it acts more like a business than a charity, but it is ultimately in the regions best interest to leave them alone." I'd pick that one. more ›