State Representative PRSRT STD

Jim Christiana
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
HARRISBURG, PA
PERMIT NO. 529
15th Legislative District
Harrisburg Office: 53B East Wing  PO Box 202015  Harrisburg, PA 17120-2015  (717) 260-6144  Fax: (717) 260-6506

Center Township District Office: 3468 Brodhead Road  Suite 9  Monaca, PA 15061  (724) 728-7655  Fax: (724) 773-7802

Raccoon Township Satellite Office: Raccoon Township Municipal Building  1234 State Route 18  Aliquippa, PA 15001
Hours: Tuesdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (724) 643-7655  Fax: (724) 643-7657

Spring 2010
Governor’s ‘Pay Now, Pay Later’ Budget
Proposal Calls for More Taxes, Spending Upcoming Events:
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
In tough economic times, the last thing any government
Job Fair
should consider is raising taxes or increasing spending. And Thursday, March 18
yet, as he has done in the past, Gov. Ed Rendell is proposing 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
just that with his budget proposal for fiscal year 2010-11: a Penn State Beaver Campus
tax increase of $874 million this year and $1.4 billion next
year. The governor is also calling for a budget of $29 billion, 100 University Drive, Monaca
an INCREASE of $1.2 billion more than last year.
Pennsylvania’s revenue for the current fiscal year is esti-
mated to be at least $500 million short of the governor’s pro-
jections from last year. The governor believes the best and Springtime Open House
easiest way to rescue our Commonwealth from the fiscal defi- Thursday, April 22
cit that he helped to create is to, once again, ask hard-working 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Pennsylvania families to pay for it.
Some of the additional taxes he proposes include lowering 3468 Brodhead Rd., Suite 9, Monaca
the sales tax to 4 percent and expanding it to 74 currently ex-
empted items, and the implementation of a severance tax on
the extraction of natural gas, including the Marcellus Shale.
Higher taxes equal increased costs for residents and business-
Veterans Celebration
Breakfast
es. This will cause a trickle-down effect that will eventually
cost Pennsylvanians jobs. I find this extremely irresponsible
and cannot imagine why the governor has proposed such a Friday, July 9
budget.
The governor’s budget proposal also anticipates Pennsyl- More details to come!
vania receiving $850 million from the federal government, Please contact my office at (724) 728-7655 to be
which is far from guaranteed. recognized.
Bailouts, tax increases, and increased spending mark yet
another chapter in the fiscally irresponsible book of the cur-
rent administration. It is a book that Pennsylvanians are tired
of reading. Let’s turn the page and craft a realistic budget Please visit my Web site
that reflects our current economical situation: controlled and
reasonable funding of our state. for a complete list
What are your thoughts on this issue? Please visit my Web
site, RepChristiana.com, to complete a brief survey about of my upcoming events.
the governor’s latest budget proposal. You may also mail your
comments to me at: 3468 Brodhead Road, Suite 9, Monaca,
PA, 15061-3149. Your input will be very helpful to me as I
continue fighting for a responsible state budget.
My office has notary services available.
Please call for an appointment.

E-mail: jchristi@pahousegop.com
www.RepChristiana.com
The Age of Transparency is Here: Easy Access to Government Expenditures
Important legislation, which recently passed the state House and is awaiting action from the Senate, would reform the way Pennsylvania does
business by creating an online database of state expenditures.
I introduced this idea in March, and, like many legislative initiatives, I reached across the aisle for support. Rep. Mirabito (D- Lycoming),
fellow freshman and co-author of the measure, and I worked together in a bipartisan fashion to ensure passage of the bill through the State Gov-
ernment Committee and the House.
I am privileged to be a co-author of a bill creating more openness, accountability and transparency in state government. This database will
empower Pennsylvanians to see how their government is spending tax dollars. It will eliminate waste and duplication, and give taxpayers access to
information such as how much is being spent to run state programs.
Technology and the good sense of this Legislature would equate to more access for our citizens. This legislation is a win-win for taxpayers who
have written e-mails, made phone calls, and demanded a more accountable and transparent state government. The doors of secrecy are not only
being forced open; they are being removed.
• House Bill 1880, which passed the House 192-0, creates a fully searchable, public Web site known as the Pennsylvania
Government Accountability Portal (Penn-GAP).
• Expenditures for all state agencies, the judicial system and the Legislature would be available online.
• Revenue received by each state agency will be listed, as well as audit reports and details about public funds and how they
are being invested by the state treasurer.
• All data would be retained and accessible to the public for a minimum of 10 years from its initial publication.
The governor needs to show he is serious about his reform agenda, publicly support this bill, and sign it after it passes the Senate and arrives
on his desk.

Natural Gas Extraction Process Should Remain State-Regulated

I recently introduced a House resolution (HR 609) supporting continued state
regulation of the hydraulic fracturing process associated with natural gas development
and extraction. My resolution, which has bipartisan support in the House of Rep-
resentatives, also urges Congress to forego legislation requiring federal regulation of
hydraulic fracturing for developing America’s natural gas resources.
Hydraulic fracturing is absolutely essential to produce natural gas from the Marcel-
lus Shale and other gas shales that promise to hold more than a 100-year supply of nat-
ural gas for our nation, which would go a long way in reducing our reliance on foreign
oil. This clean and safe process has been used on more than one million wells and been
the subject of more than 30 studies by various state and federal agencies. There are no
documented cases linking hydraulic fracturing to contamination of ground water.
Hydraulic fracturing (also known as fracking), which has been used to stimulate
production of oil and gas wells for more than 60 years and is currently used on more
than 90 percent of wells drilled in the United State, involves pumping sand, water and
several diluted chemical additives, which represent less than 1 percent of the mixture,
into the rock to create a fracture allowing natural gas to escape for extraction.
As a member of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, I
believe Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection, along with Pennsyl-
vania’s oil and gas industry, have been very effective in protecting drinking water aqui-
fers from contamination attributable to hydraulic fracturing. Recent efforts to regulate
hydraulic fracturing under the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act, which would substan-
tially increase the costs of producing our vast reserves of clean, domestic natural gas
with no resulting environmental benefits, are unwarranted and were never intended by
Congress or the Environmental Protection Agency.
Pennsylvania’s oil and gas regulatory program is among the most stringent in the
United States and places great emphasis on protecting groundwater supplies. Addi-
tional and costly federal oversight is unnecessary and would cause Pennsylvania to lose
thousands of jobs at a time when unemployment is at a decades-high level.
Additional information on hydraulic fracturing is available at my Web site at RepChristiana.com.

Applications Now Available for Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program

Forms for the state’s Property Tax/Rent Rebate program for 2009 are now available.
Eligible participants can receive a rebate of up to $650 based on their rent or property taxes paid in 2009. The program benefits eligible Penn-
sylvanians who are 65 years or older, widows and widowers 50 years or older, and those 18 years or older with disabilities.
Eligibility income limits for homeowners are set at the following levels, excluding 50 percent of Social Security, Supplemental Security Income,
and Railroad Retirement Tier 1 benefits:
• $0 to $8,000, maximum $650 rebate (Homeowners and renters)
• $8,001 to $15,000, maximum $500 rebate (Homeowners and renters)
• $15,001 to $18,000, maximum $300 rebate (Homeowners only)
• $18,001 to $35,000, maximum $250 rebate (Homeowners only)
The Property Tax/Rent Rebate program is one of many initiatives supported by the
Pennsylvania Lottery, which dedicates its proceeds to support programs for older Pennsyl-
vanians. Since the program began in 1971, more than $4 billion has been paid to qualified
applicants.
Residents are reminded to provide all the necessary income, property tax or rental in-
formation required to process claims quickly and accurately. Applications are due by June
30.
Property Tax/Rent Rebate claim forms are available by contacting my office at (724)
728-7655, or by visiting my Web site at RepChristiana.com. My office will fill the form out for you and submit it if you bring in all proof of income
for 2009 as well as 2009 paid property tax receipts. Please call my office with questions.