Oct. 26, 2018
HARRISBURG – State Rep. Bryan Cutler (R-Peach Bottom) shared his disappointment that Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed three bills that would have benefitted Pennsylvanians by reducing the state’s debt, better protected consumers from price gouging and provided more career and technical education opportunities. The bills all received near unanimous support from the General Assembly.
House Bill 83 would have repaid the state’s debt in a more responsible manner by making equal payments during the life of new loans, rather than making smaller payments in the beginning while allowing the interest to balloon.
“This change alone would have saved the Commonwealth millions in interest, and potentially even more if the level payments generated additional consideration about the state’s ability to pay and perhaps resulted in the decision not to pursue the loan at all,” Cutler explained.
Senate Bill 1172 would have simplified the current law regarding price gouging when the governor makes a disaster emergency declaration so consumers would have a clear understanding, and therefore, be better equipped to recognize a violation. It would have also halved the allowed 20 percent price increase standard to 10 percent and prohibited a cap on the amount of restitution that may be sought from violators.
House Bill 2157 would have made it easier for schools to establish and renew vocational programs.
“From my own personal experience of being trained to work as an X-ray technologist, I know how critical career and technical education is to the success of our young people. There are scores of well-paying jobs in these industries, but students don’t have the pathways they need to attain necessary training,” Cutler said.
“My colleagues and I were caught off guard by these vetoes, which I believe would have positively benefited Pennsylvanians in many ways. Being fiscally responsible with our debt load and providing more opportunities for our students to succeed are ideals I would have hoped the governor shared with us; unfortunately we will now have to try again early next year,” Cutler added.
Representative Bryan Cutler
100th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Alison Evans
717.260.6206
aevans@pahousegop.com
RepCutler.com /
Facebook.com/RepBryanCutler
Twitter.com/RepBryanCutler