HARRISBURG - The House recently approved legislation by a near-unanimous vote to reduce the debt ceiling by $600 million for the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, a conduit for millions of dollars in state aid to Northeast Pennsylvania in recent decades.
This measure would give the force of law to changes that Gov. Tom Corbett has already made to the program. House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, R-28, Pittsburgh, touts scaling back RACP as a way to rein in state debt, but he was unable to get agreement from Senate Republican leaders last year to move a previous bill through their chamber.
Therefore, the newest bill focuses on the immediate debt reduction and drops earlier plans for a long-term debt reduction in RACP.
It also drops a provision from last session's bill to give preference in obtaining RACP grants to projects with a 75 percent local funding match, said Rep. Matt Gabler, R-75, DuBois, the bill sponsor,
This is being done to address concerns by Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-25, Jefferson County, that projects in rural areas with less local capital available wouldn't get consideration at that threshold.
RACP projects require a sizeable 50 percent local match of local dollars and receive reimbursement from the state only after spending documents are reviewed.
Mr. Corbett recently awarded $125 million in funding for 54 RACP projects, including $4 million for a new library at Marywood University in Scranton. He announced program changes last year to limit spending to $125 million annually and have a merit review of applications.
Although Mr. Corbett has acted on his own, the Legislature still needs to put those changes into law so a future governor doesn't brush the reforms aside, said Mr. Gabler.
Contact the writer: rswift@timesshamrock.com