Making Pennsylvania more attractive to businesses will be a top priority of Theresa Kane should she be elected state representative for the 115th District in next month's election.
"We are a state that is not necessarily business-friendly," the Republican candidate, of Olyphant, said in an interview with The Times-Tribune editorial board on Monday. "It's a little bit cheaper to do business in other states so we need to bring our businesses here."
To create jobs in Pennsylvania, businesses must be unburdened by what Ms. Kane sees as an overabundance of regulations and excessive taxes, she said.
Still, Mrs. Kane said the state needs business-generated tax revenue.
One way to accomplish that would be to close what is referred to as the "Delaware Loophole," where businesses operate as subsidiaries of companies based in Delaware to avoid certain taxes in Pennsylvania.
"They need to pay their taxes. Our citizens are paying their taxes," she said.
Ultimately, Ms. Kane said, Pennsylvania should emulate states such as Texas, that do more to welcome businesses by lowering taxes and limiting regulation.
When asked, Ms. Kane did not identify any specific regulations on businesses in Pennsylvania that she intends to eliminate as state representative.
Ms. Kane stressed that the larger goal of creating a more welcoming environment to businesses would be to increase average income across the state.
"We are a very poor region and there's no reason for that," she said.
One industry that has been an "asset to Pennsylvania" has been natural gas drilling because of the jobs it creates and the money it brings into the state's economy, she said.
Ms. Kane said she opposes local zoning boards having the ability to prohibit gas drilling in a municipality. The decision to allow or disallow drilling should belong to private citizens rather than governing bodies, she said.
Asked about the cost of Pennsylvania's state government, Ms. Kane said she would support a part-time Legislature and will not take per-diem payments. Ms. Kane also said she would provide receipts for her expenses.
Ms. Kane's opponent in the race is Democrat Frank Farina of Jessup.
Contact the writer: domalley@timesshamrock.com, @domalleytt on Twitter