Dear Friend,

I am pleased to unveil my first electronic newsletter. I plan to send electronic newsletters out from time to time as a way to provide information to you while saving postage costs. I hope you find this information useful. And if I can ever be of assistance to you, please call or stop by either of my district offices or e-mail me at evogel@pasen.gov .

If you do not wish to receive these e-newsletters, please click the "unsubscribe" at the bottom of the page.

Sincerely,

Elder

Senate Approves Bill on Community Fundraisers

On February 1, the Senate unanimously approved legislation I introduced barring the state from citing groups that sell homemade baked goods. Senate Bill 828 is now headed to the state House of Representatives for consideration. The measure eliminates the ability of the Department of Agriculture to cite non-profit community groups such as volunteer fire companies, churches, and school booster clubs for selling commonly prepared home-baked food at fundraisers.

I am pleased that my colleagues approved this bill. It's a bipartisan, common sense piece of legislation that I hope the House will enact quickly and send it to the Governor for his signature. I introduced the bill in response to the Department of Agriculture citing a church in Rochester for selling homemade baked goods prepared by ladies of the church at a Lenten fish fry fundraiser.

I believe we should all be concerned about food safety. However, I also believe that the Commonwealth could make much better use of its resources than to pursue volunteers and groups who are working to improve their communities. It's time to restore a little common sense to government.

An audio link of my comments on this legislation is available on my webpage:  www.senatoreldervogel.com.

2010 Pennsylvania Farm Show Wraps Up

The 94th Annual Farm Show recently wrapped up in Harrisburg. Billed as the largest indoor agricultural event in the country, an estimated 400,000 people attended this year's edition.

I was especially pleased to see quite a few constituents from the 47th Senate District at the event. The Farm Show is an ideal opportunity to showcase agriculture in Pennsylvania. Visitors had the chance to see nearly 6,000 animals, 10,000 competitive exhibits, and 270 commercial exhibitors.

In addition, the Farm Show featured youth livestock shows, cooking demonstrations, educational displays, celebrity contests, and much more. As a fourth generation dairy farmer, I was pleased to host a VIP Calf Showing contest. The farm show is always a lot of fun and is the premiere event to showcase Pennsylvania agriculture.

Legislation Reducing the Size of the Legislature to be Considered at April Public Hearing

I am pleased to announce that the Senate State Government Committee has scheduled a public hearing on my bill that would reduce the size of the legislature.

The committee will meet on April 30 at Penn State Beaver to gather testimony on Senate Bill 684.

When I ran for office, one constant message I heard from voters was that the Pennsylvania General Assembly was far too large and wasted too much taxpayer money. My legislation calls for a 40-percent reduction in the size of the legislature, saving taxpayers millions.

Under Senate Bill 684, the Senate would be reduced from 50 seats to 30 seats, and the House of Representatives would be reduced from to 203 seats to 121 seats. Based on Fiscal Year 2008-09 budget figures, that reduction would save $117.5 million.

I have posted audio and video clips about this legislation on my website, www.senatoreldervogel.com.

State Strips Funding for Old Economy Village

As many of you know, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission recently decided to no longer fund the operations of Old Economy Village in Ambridge.

In response, I've organized and held a series of meetings with the Friends of Old Economy, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and Representative Rob Matzie in order to discuss and initiate creative ways to keep Old Economy Village open in a modified fashion.

Due to the lack of funding from the Historical and Museum Commission to continue operations at Old Economy, I believe it is important that we find ways to increase fundraising from private sources rather than to blindly trust that state funding will be restored. While efforts from local legislators including myself to urge state funding restoration are very important, it is also incumbent upon us to step up to the plate to find innovative fundraising solutions in order to help the community and regional gem we know as Old Economy Village stay open.

Opposition to Governor's Tax Increase Proposal

Earlier this month, Governor Rendell put forth his 2010-2011 Budget, proposing to increase state spending by 4.1%. In order to fund his proposals, he called for a massive expansion of the Sales Tax.

While the governor proposed an adjustment in the Sales Tax rate, he also proposed a significant increase in the Sales Tax by applying the tax to 74 new items and services, including television, candy, gum, coal, firewood, flags, magazines, personal care products, telephone service, and water and sewage services.

I believe that as Pennsylvanians suffer through the worst recession since the Great Depression, proposing to spend and tax more is the wrong approach. With so many families at the tipping point, taxing them more will significantly hamper their financial ability to make it through this economic downturn. Pennsylvania families must live within their means, and state government should be no different.

Mark Your Calendar

I will be sponsoring my annual Kid's Extravaganza from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Dome at Beaver County Community College on May 1 and my annual Senior Expo from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Center Stage in Monaca on May 20.

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