Governor Rendell Says ‘Protecting Our Progress’ Plan Holds Potential for South-Central PA
LANCASTER, Pa., Feb. 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Protecting Our Progress, Governor Edward G. Rendell’s $2.3 billion initiative to invest in Pennsylvania’s infrastructure, communities and citizens — unveiled as part of his 2008-09 budget — will create jobs in south-central Pennsylvania and continue to grow the local economy.
“If the legislature adopts the plan we can fix the Duke Street Bridge, which spans the Conestoga River,” the Governor said. “We’ll be able to replace the deck, paint the bridge and do other repairs. This project is ready to go and it is exactly what the stimulus program is intended to make happen this year.”
Governor Rendell’s Protecting Our Progress strategy has three key elements:
— Immediate, targeted tax rebates to keep struggling families afloat given rising energy and fuel prices;
— Release of state funds to meet the pent-up demand for public construction development projects; and
— Stimulating business expansion and job creation and retention.
The Governor pointed to the Franklin and Marshall Life Sciences project — which combined the biology, psychology and philosophy department within a nationally unique and cutting-edge instructional and research environment — as an example of what smart government investment can accomplish.
Governor Rendell’s Protecting Our Progress plan would also stimulate local economies by providing a one-time tax rebate of up to $400 per household to more than 475,000 lower-income working families. The $130 million for the rebates would come from the Rainy Day Fund and be repaid at the end of the current fiscal year.
Other Protecting Our Progress components are designed to infuse critically-needed capital into the business sector, rewarding job creation and lowering the cost of business expansion.
“Over the past five years, jobs in Lancaster County have gone from 248,100 to 262,200 — an increase of 5.6 percent — and the unemployment rate has dropped from 4.2 percent in 2003 to 3.6 percent last year,” Governor Rendell said. “During the same period, the commonwealth has invested more than $225 million here to repair roads, improve parks, and grow businesses.
“What I am asking the General Assembly to do now is work with me to ensure that this sort of progress continues,” he said.
In addition to providing the tax rebates, Governor Rendell’s Protecting Our Progress plan calls for:
— Quick passage of an additional $750 million in Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, or RACP, funding to jump-start $1.5 billion in community and economic development projects. Nearly $200 million worth of projects are ready to go by the end of this year, and nearly a billion dollars more are in various stages of readying for development.
— Immediate enactment of The Jonas Salk Legacy Fund to provide $1 billion to build new facilities for health-related research. Right now, $750 million in projects are ready to break ground before the end of this year. Tobacco Settlement Funds would cover half of development costs at no cost to taxpayers.
— Enactment of the Energy Independence Strategy to put $850 million to work expanding the alternative energy sector and helping consumers bring down their household energy costs, attracting $3.5 billion in new private investments and creating 13,000 jobs.
— Launching “Rebuilding Pennsylvania” to repair the state’s aging infrastructure with more than $700 million to accelerate progress in the next three years to repair at least 1,000 bridges, all state-owned high-hazard dams, and help local governments repair their dams. In addition, capital funds will provide targeted infrastructure improvements to expand rail freight and aviation facilities and mitigate flooding.
— Replenishing one of the commonwealth’s most successful economic stimulus programs — Business in Our Sites — with $100 million to continue cleaning up and revitalizing old industrial sites, making them “shovel-ready” for business reuse. The Department of Community and Economic Development has a waiting list of projects worth $50 million. Approval of the funds would clear the way for business development that could commence by the end of this year.
Increasing incentives for job creation from $1,000 per job to $3,000 per job through the job creation tax credit program and lowering the interest rate charged for key commonwealth economic development program loans to two percent below the prime rate.
— Adding $10 million to the infrastructure development program. There now are at least 10 businesses, including new and expanded manufacturing facilities in the pipeline that could put these funds to use by the end of this year. These funds leverage an additional $250 million in private capital.
— Extending the Keystone Opportunity Zone program to encourage development of underutilized land and buildings, creating business districts to revitalize local economies, spur job creation and improve the quality of life in KOZ areas.
Governor Rendell is in the middle of a five-day, eight-city bus tour of the state to discuss his economic stimulus strategy. He plans to make stops in Reading, Allentown, Scranton and Philadelphia.
More information on Governor Rendell’s 2008-09 budget proposal and his Protecting Our Progress initiatives is available at: http://www.pa.gov/.
The Rendell administration is committed to creating a first-rate public education system, protecting our most vulnerable citizens and continuing economic investment to support our communities and businesses. To find out more about Governor Rendell’s initiatives and to sign up for his weekly newsletter, visit http://www.governor.state.pa.us/.
CONTACT: Chuck Ardo 717-783-1116
Pennsylvania Office of the Governor
CONTACT: Chuck Ardo of the Pennsylvania Office of the Governor,+1-717-783-1116
Web Site: http://www.governor.state.pa.us/