Business News in the Lehigh Valley, 2/19/13

Good morning Lehigh Valley, and happy Tuesday. You got through Monday, so give yourself a pat on the back.

City Center Lehigh Valley has hired Sheila Johnson, former vice president of Berks Economic Partnership and PPL Economic Development Director, in an effort to attract out-of-area businesses to Downtown Allentown. City Center Lehigh Valley will construct two high-rise office buildings adjacent to Allentown's arena at Seventh and Hamilton streets.

Bethlehem's ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks is in the running for another top international architecture award, as a top five finalist in the urban transformation category for the Architizer A+ Awards. Votes can be submitted through March 19 by following this link.

Pennsylvania's new Attorney General has stated that Governor Corbett's proposal to privatize the lottery is not within his authority, but rather it rests with state legislature. She also said she reviewed the constitutionality of the proposal, "not the validity or business wisdom of it."

That's all for now - here's hoping everyone has a productive day today!









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The Pennsylvania Lottery proposal shouldn't surprise anyone

Written By Daniel P. Meuser  (PA Secretary of Revenue). Secretary Meuser will be a special guest of the Chamber on February 27 to provide members with a Harrisburg Update. Register here.

What's with this sudden burst of surprise and indignation over the Corbett administration's move to hire a private management firm for the Pennsylvania Lottery?

The effort has been going on for almost a full year, right out in the open, with meetings, announcements and press releases explaining how a private management contract will increase benefits to senior citizens by billions of dollars.

Just because the media wasn't listening doesn't mean we weren't talking. Last year, on April 2 to be exact, the Department of Revenue issued a news release saying that it would seek qualified bidders for a contract to operate the lottery. Gov. Tom Corbett himself was quoted: "This initiative is simply part of my administration's efforts to tap private sector innovation to make state government work more efficiently and effectively, which is precisely what taxpayers expect."

Some newspapers even editorialized in favor of the idea, saying that if private operators can guarantee more money for the state, at a lower cost to taxpayers, everybody wins.

Between March 27 of last year and Jan. 14 of this, the administration met, conversed or otherwise communicated with legislators of both parties about the lottery privatization effort. Three Cabinet secretaries testified before the House Committee on Aging and Older Adult Services in April of last year. In fact, our outreach data show how public an effort this was:

• "A printed report issued in April, detailing the plan and its timeline.

• "Meetings or phone conversations with at least 127 legislators.

• "Ten 'milestone updates' to either the entire General Assembly or its staff.

• "Twenty-three letters responding to inquiries.

• "Public testimony at two legislative hearings."

On Friday of last week, the administration announced that it had issued a statement of intent to award the contract to Camelot Global Services LLC , a procedural move that freed the Department of Revenue of confidentiality clauses in the bid so it could discuss the proposal in detail before the state Senate Finance Committee.

Cue the opponents, led by leaders of the union representing state lottery employees. They screamed that the proposal was a last-minute rush, done under cover of darkness. One called an email issued at 4:23 p.m., "a midnight raid."

It sounds exciting, makes for zesty reading, but it simply isn't true. Camelot's contractual pledge to generate $34 billion in profits over a 20-year period, backed by $150 million in cash collateral and a $50 million letter of credit, puts the lie to claims that Pennsylvania's seniors would lose out under this proposal. In truth, the private management contract takes the sale of a product to a venue where selling is done best: the free market.

Lottery employees affected by this change have received assurances from Camelot that it will seek to hire as many of them as possible. Gov. Corbett, too, has pledged to do his best to find places for those who do not make the shift to Camelot.

No lottery employee need end up jobless under this proposal. Those who are not hired by Camelot are assured that the administration will make the best effort to find another position for them within the commonwealth.

By 2030, one in four Pennsylvanians will be over 60. In other words, 25 percent of our population will need the very services the lottery underwrites. As it now stands, the lottery is not equipped to meet that demand. Camelot's offer provides that assurance.

No, the Pennsylvania Lottery is not broken. But it's headed toward some very rutted road and it's time to install a stronger set of springs.

Now we finally have everybody's attention about why we need to act. We should have had it sooner and would have if the current alarmists had paid attention to what was happening around them.

Daniel P. Meuser is Pennsylvania secretary of revenue.
First Published January 17, 2013 12:00 am

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/opinion/perspectives/the-pennsylvania-lottery-proposal-shouldnt-surprise-anyone-670719/#ixzz2IdYmPJQq
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Business News in the Lehigh Valley, 1/15/13

Good morning, and happy Tuesday Lehigh Valley. We're halfway through January already, if you can believe that!

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett announced on January 11 his plan to award the state's $3.5 billion lottery will be awarded to a private company, Camelot Global Services PA, LLC. This is not a binding contract, but will allow for the disclosure of procurement details during the Finance Committee Hearing. State Revenue Secretary Dan Meuser supported the Governor's plan to privatize the lottery, with the goal of increasing profits from the system.

The House will vote on Hurricane Sandy disaster aid in the next few days, as the multi-billion dollar plan will be put in front of lawmakers this morning. New Jersey and New York lawmakers have been especially adamant in regards to making sure the $51 billion package passed the House.

President Obama recently announced that his administration would unveil a "sensible, common sense" proposal to gun violence this week. The plan would include improved background checks, limits on the sale of high-capacity magazines and a meaningful assault weapons ban.

NJ State Senator Michael Dougherty drafted legislation that would redirect revenue generated from red light cameras tickets into New Jersey's Highway Safety Fund. The potential "hundreds of thousands" in revenue is now directed toward municipal budgets, not for driver safety.




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