PA Capitol Digest Blog

February 3, 2015

Quinnipiac Poll: Clinton Leads In Presidential Runoff In PA

Gov. Christopher Christie from neighboring New Jersey does best against Clinton in Pennsylvania, but still trails 50 - 39 percent in a Quinnipiac Poll released Tuesday.

She is at or over the magic 50 percent mark against other Republicans: 50 - 35 percent over Bush; 53 - 34 percent over Paul; 54 - 34 percent over Huckabee; and 54 - 34 percent over former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, the Native Son.

Pennsylvania women are out in force for Clinton, giving her a 57 - 34 percent margin over Christie. Men go 45 percent for Christie and 42 percent for Clinton. Women give Clinton margins of 23 percentage points to 31 points in matchups with other Republicans.

Clinton gets her best favorability rating, 55 - 38 percent in Pennsylvania. Ratings for the Republicans are: Negative 36 - 43 percent for Christie; Negative 30 - 38 percent for Bush; A split 29 - 30 percent for Paul; A split 31 - 30 percent for Huckabee; and Negative 33 - 42 percent for Santorum.

"New Jersey Gov. Christopher Christie fares better than other potential GOP candidates against Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania, but despite his 'neighbor' status he is nowhere close to challenging a candidate who is riding a tsunami of support from women," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.

"While would-be Republican presidential candidates, even Native Son Rick Santorum, absorb less than stellar favorability numbers, Clinton has the closest thing to rock star ratings a politician can get in America today. Pennsylvania, which just elected a Democratic governor, is shaping up early in the campaign season as the bluest of the Swing States."

Tuesday NewsClips

Wolf Appointees To Make More Than Corbett Cabinet

McCord Charged With Extortion Under Hobbs Act

McCord Charged With Extortion

McCord To Plead Guilty To Extortion Charges

Charges Against McCord Carry Up To 40 Years In Prison

McCord Plea Agreement Sheds No Light On Sentencing

Squeaky Clean Auditor General Sidesteps Scandals

Editorial: Treasurer Makes Odd, Necessary Exit

New House Majority Leader Sees Bipartisan Opportunities

Editorial: Keep Partisanship Out Of Open Records Office

Ex-Deputy Attorney General Disbarred

Turnpike Sues Tech Firm For $45 Million

Op-Ed: Fast Action Needed On Pension Reform

Community College Give Credit For Life’s Work

Jackpot Fatigue Cuts Into Lottery Revenue In PA

Uber, CMU To Collaborate To Develop Driverless Cars
Google Is Developing Uber Competitor

PA Firms Had Solid 2014, But Tough Road Ahead

Click Here for Today's PA Environmental News

February 2, 2015

January State Revenue Collections $89.7 Million More Than Anticipated

Pennsylvania collected $2.4 billion in General Fund revenue in January, which was $89.7 million, or 3.9 percent, more than anticipated, Acting Secretary of Revenue Eileen McNulty reported Monday.

Fiscal year-to-date General Fund collections total $15.7 billion, which is $360.4 million, or 2.3 percent, above estimate.

Sales tax receipts totaled $844.5 million for January, $6.9 million above estimate. Year-to-date sales tax collections total $5.6 billion, which is $66.6 million, or 1.2 percent, more than anticipated.

Personal income tax revenue in January was $1.1 billion, $14.1 million below estimate. This brings year-to-date PIT collections to $6.3 billion, which is $400,000, above estimate.

January corporation tax revenue of $127.2 million was $900,000 below estimate. Year-to-date corporation tax collections total $1.6 billion, which is $162.6 million, or 11.7 percent, above estimate.

Inheritance tax revenue for the month was $72.9 million, $1.4 million below estimate, bringing the year-to-date total to $594.6 million, which is $81.5 million, or 15.9 percent, above estimate.

Realty transfer tax revenue was $31.1 million for January, $7.3 million below estimate, bringing the fiscal-year total to $247.1 million, which is $28.4 million, or 10.3 percent, less than anticipated.

Other General Fund tax revenue, including cigarette, malt beverage, liquor and table games taxes, totaled $112.7 million for the month, $23 million above estimate and bringing the year-to-date total to $854.6 million, which is $32.6 million, or 3.8 percent, above estimate.

Non-tax revenue totaled $101.4 million for the month, $83.4 million above estimate, bringing the year-to-date total to $478.2 million, which is $45.1 million, or 10.4 percent, above estimate.

In addition to the General Fund collections, the Motor License Fund received $196.1 million for the month, $7.9 million above estimate. Fiscal year-to-date collections for the fund – which include the commonly known gas and diesel taxes, as well as other license, fine and fee revenues – total $1.4 billion, which is $9.2 million, or 0.7 percent, above estimate.

Community Colleges Launch First Statewide College Credit FastTrack Program

Pennsylvania’s 14 community colleges Monday announced the launch of the first statewide Prior Learning Assessment initiative in the country, called College Credit FastTrack.

College Credit FastTrack allows PA’s 14 community colleges to allow adult learners to earn credit for learning through training and work experiences – and establishes common standards for awarding these credits across the state.

PLA is the process used by many institutions to determine if an individual’s prior educational, workforce and life experiences can be translated to college credits. Students who are granted PLA credits have better academic outcomes, better degree completion, better persistence, and shorter time to completion than non-PLA students.

“Some postsecondary education is as necessary now as a high school degree was in previous generations, and many adults want to gain a degree and gain re-employment with as little time in the classroom as possible,” says Dr. Nicholas Neupauer, president of Butler County Community College and board chair of the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges. “College Credit FastTrack will enable these students to complete a life-changing degree program more quickly and at a reduced cost.”

College Credit FastTrack is a new website and e-portfolio platform which provides a single point of entry for adult learners in Pennsylvania to access prior learning credits at all of our community colleges.

Students will be shepherded through the process by connecting with a PLA advisor at one of the colleges through the site and developing and submitting a portfolio for review for college credits. Then the portfolio is evaluated by college faculty to determine which credits will be awarded.

Current community colleges have already been engaging in PLA processes at their campuses with great success.

Anthony Caso, a forty-two year old single father, has been awarded 27 credits towards his associate’s degree in criminal justice at Montgomery County Community College, which will cut his time to degree completion nearly in half. With College Credit FastTrack in place, it is anticipated that more Pennsylvania students will gain PLA credits than ever before.

Headed by lead institution Montgomery County Community College, College Credit FastTrack was made possible by a $2.5 million Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training grant from the U.S. Department of Labor.

For more information, visit the College Credit FastTrack website.