Oprah Does it Again; Much Else Remains Undone

Passage of HB 2525 and HB 2532, both laws designed to shut down the "puppy mills" that earned our state such disrepute on Oprah and elsewhere and produced an outcry for the plight of the poor puppies and dogs who were so badly mistreated, passed easily today with little argument on Final Passage. While some legislators said the General Assembly had allowed emotion to triumph over good public policy (the bill contains many very specific standards and regulations which might or might not represent the only safe conditions for dogs in kennels), it was clear something had to be done, and these bills were a good response to sickening conditions in some kennels. I supported the bills and am happy to report their passage. Now the action on these bills moves to the Senate.
In the mean time, however, there are some very large issues left undone --among them, extending the life of the MCARE abatement program that helps doctors pay their malpractice insurance premiums, and confronting a transportation funding crisis made worse by the Federal Highway Administration's decision to disallow tolls on I- 80, a road PA drivers presently maintain at a number that exceeds $100 million a year. Of course, the tolls on I-80 were also part of the Act 44 strategy that provided a steady source of income to SEPTA. Each of those issues are big, big problems even Oprah would have trouble solving--but if she's got any good ideas, we'll take 'em. Kate Harper