PSoTD

What is the motivation to create a health insurance program by the State of Pennsylvania to insure government workers NOT employed by the state without consideration of private entity employees NOT employed by the state?

Wake up on online auctions. This looks like pure money-grubbing. Wonderling's bill seems like the right approach.

You hear all this tsk-tsking about how low election voter turnout is, particularly in elections like Tuesday, where no state or national office was being determined.

Here's a suggestion for an enterprising Pennsylvania state legislator: why not propose a law that requires any local government web site for a particular office or position to provide the date of the next election for any offices or positions within that local government, on their front page? It seems RIDICULOUS that local governments - counties, townships, cities, boroughs - aren't providing election information on the easiest place on their site to find it.

Lobbying in 2007, that is:

The Associated Press says these are the 10 companies and groups that spent the most on lobbying Pennsylvania state government in the first six months of 2007, with totals for each:

- Hospital & HealthSystem Association of Pennsylvania, represents about 250 hospitals; $933,011.
- Pennsylvania Medical Society, represents about 18,000 doctors; $604,908.
- Highmark Inc., major health insurer based in Pittsburgh; $502,600.
- Reynolds American Inc., North Carolina-based parent of R.J. Reynolds, the nation’s second-largest tobacco company; $477,473.
- Comcast Corp., the Philadelphia-based cable company; $407,943.
- The Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania, represents more than 200 commercial insurers; $358,809.
- Verizon Pennsylvania, state subsidiary of the national wireline and wireless service provider; $333,792.
- Pennsylvania Builders Association, represents 12,000 residential builders and associated companies; $328,960.
- Exelon Generation Company LLC, part of the corporation that owns three Pennsylvania nuclear power plants; $317,701.
- Energy Association of Pennsylvania, represents electric and gas distribution companies; $291,133.

Source: Pennsylvania Department of State