Boscola v. PPL (Part II)

Yesterday I told you about State Senator Lisa Boscola's flip-flop on electricity deregulation. Back in 1996 then-State Rep. Boscola voted for for the bill which allowed electricity deregulation and the rate caps which are set to expire in the next few years. Now, State Senator Boscola is the head cheerleader leading the opposition to the expiration of these rate caps.

Today I am going to tell you how PPL contributes to the campaigns of state reps and senators, including Boscola

PPL has a PAC. It is called the PPL Good Government Committee (aka PPL for Good Government).

Since 2001, they have given $4,600 to Boscola, which is really nothing for this PAC. Although, I am not sure what that money got them except a public hearing with the PUC in south Bethlehem last week. Not really money well spent. (Note: Campaign Finance records are not online for the time period of 1995-1996, I would have liked to see what kind of money PPL gave Boscola during the time the deregulation bill was pending.)

In their latest filing with the Department of State, PPL had $136,239.71 available to them, and gave away $49,224.57.

They get their money from their employees. Their contributions are deducted from their paychecks. That is why the majority of the contributions are number like $13.46 and $20.67.

In the most recent filing, the following local representatives and senators received money from this PAC.
(Push or scroll over to see the contribution amount)

CITIZENS FOR BROWNE ALLENTOWN,&nbspPA &nbsp18105 Description: PATRICK BROWNE, STATE SENATE 16TH PA

3/3/2008

$8,000.00

BRENNAN FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE BETHLEHEM,&nbspPA &nbsp18015 Description: JOSEPH BRENNAN, STATE HOUSE 133 PA

2/19/2008

$5,000.00

CITIZENS FOR CLYMER SELLERSVILLE,&nbspPA &nbsp18960 Description: PAUL CLYMER, STATE HOUSE 145 PA

2/14/2008

$256.00

BRENNAN FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE BETHLEHEM,&nbspPA &nbsp18015 Description: JOSEPH BRENNAN, STATE HOUSE 133 PA

2/13/2008

$500.00

FRIENDS OF DOUG REICHLEY BREININGSVILLE,&nbspPA &nbsp18031 Description: DOUGLAS REICHLEY, STATE HOUSE 134 PA

2/12/2008

$500.00

FRIENDS OF DOUG REICHLEY BREININGSVILLE,&nbspPA &nbsp18031 Description: DOUGLAS REICHLEY, STATE HOUSE 134TH PA

1/9/2008

$1,000.00

CITIZENS FOR CARL MANTZ KUTZTOWN,&nbspPA &nbsp19530 Description: CARL MANTZ, STATE HOUSE 187TH PA

1/7/2008

$250.00

CITIZENS FOR CLYMER SELLERSVILLE,&nbspPA &nbsp18960 Description: PAUL CLYMER STATE HOUSE 145TH PA

1/7/2008

$500.00

CITIZENS TO ELECT CRAIG DALLY HARRISBURG,&nbspPA &nbsp17108 Description: CRAIG DALLY, STATE HOUSE 138TH PA

1/7/2008

$1,600.00

The complete list of the PPL PAC's contributions for the latest reporting period can be found here.

Now, I am a busy man and do not have time to research voting records and additional contributions(I barely have time to write a blog), however I am going to watch to see how the above legislators vote on bills concerning PPL in the future.

If any one wants to look at PPL's People for Good Government's other finance reports, they are linked here.

I am not trying to cause trouble for any of these elected officials. I like some of these guys. I am just trying to shed light on this problem. Regular people do not have this type of influence on their elected officials. Companies like PPL all have PACs donating to campaigns and all have expensive lobbyists working for them.. One thing we citizens cannot forget is that elected officials work for us. The little guy still has a voice on election day! I am not saying all these officials are engaging in pay to play, I just want to raise awareness. A well-informed electorate is a dangerous thing!

Boscola v. PPL.

I am admittedly a bad blogger. I go months without updates and really stink at this. I am no Bernie O'Hare...few are.

However, sometimes I get information passed to me, for some reason some Democratic Committee person likes me.

This person sent me an email telling me that Boscola is a hypocrite. Apparently, when she was a State Representative from Bethlehem, the seat currently held by Steve Samuelson, she voted for Bill 1509 back in 1996. Bill 1509 was the bill that allowed for the deregulation of electricity. It has been in the news recently since the rate caps it created are set to expire in 2010 and PPL wants to get a jump start on charging people more later this year.

I am cannot offer confirmation that Boscola voted for the bill. Two sources have told me she did. However, I cannot find her voting record online.

While I agree with Boscola and think the rate caps should be extended, I believe Boscola should have thought about the impact on her constituents back in 1996. Now she is being trumpeted as a saint who is standing up to a big bad corporation and will be re-elected in a landslide in a few years. The truth is that she is really an opportunistic hypocrite who takes opposing sides of the same issue when it is convenient for her. Boscola helped cause this problem, now she wants to offer solutions to it, sounds hypocritical to me.

(Next time I will explore PPL's PAC's contributions to local politicians....Boscola is on that list!)

Bethlehem City Council Update

1. City Council approved the Five Points traffic plan at Tuesday's meeting with 5-1 vote. This is not a surprise. The only opposition it faced on council was Mike Schweder, who ended up voting for it, Jean Belinski, who voted against it, and Jay Leeson, who was absent from the meeting.

You can read about it here.

My take: Something needed to be done about the traffic in that area. This plan of one-way roads seems to be the best plan suggested. I am not sure why it will take from April 2009 through December 2009 to turn some roads from two-way to one-way, but that is the timetable.

2. The City Council Recreation Committee, which consists of council members Belinski, Schweder and William Reynolds, had meeting this week. They are changing the use permits for the city's little league teams to use the city's fields. The permits were all terminated in December, so the city could make changes. As you may recall, Lehigh Little League and the Bethlehem Blue Mountain League team were involved in a few tussles regarding the use of a field at the City's Monocacy fields. One of the proposed changes include the city collecting fees from teams to use fields, instead of the local little league. A little league will have use of the field for $1 per year. A team wanting to use the field would pay the City $150.00, who would give that money to the Little League to pay for maintenance and lights.

Another change, proposed by Reynolds, would be to have the organizations submit their financial statements to the city earlier. Currently little league and other organizations submit their financial statements by March 31st, the change would move that to the middle of February. The change would allow more time for the city to make sure the fees, collected by the City and given to the little leagues, are being properly spent once they get to the little league.

You can read more about it here.

My take: It is about time that City Council steps in a regulates these little leagues and the control they have over the public fields. These leagues were profiting from charging other teams huge fees to use the fields, and the little leagues get to use the fields for nothing. I will admit that the little leagues do maintenance and pay for the electricity for the fields, but the profits they were making were ridiculous.

3. Council Meetings will now begin at 7:00 pm, instead of 7:30 pm.