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During a recent appearance on Comcast Newsmakers, PA Chamber Vice President of Government Affairs Sam Denisco highlighted a number of the business community’s legislative initiatives for 2012.

Denisco referenced last year’s signing of the Fair Share Act, a legal reform goal realized through the work of the PA Chamber, a coalition of business, health-care and insurance groups, pro-business lawmakers and the Corbett administration, as a significant step toward increasing opportunities for private sector investment and economic growth in Pennsylvania. To continue this positive trend, Denisco said that additional legal reforms need to be enacted that will bring equality and fairness to the state’s judicial system. Specifically, the PA Chamber wants action on House Bill 1976, a venue reform measure that would require trial lawyers to file lawsuits in jurisdictions that have a direct relationship to the plaintiff or the cause giving rise to the action; and House Bill 495, “apology” legislation that would allow medical professionals to speak directly with patients following an unforeseen medical outcome without fear of litigation based solely on their conversation.

Denisco also stressed that commonsense reforms to Pennsylvania’s liberal Unemployment Compensation system is another PA Chamber priority. While he acknowledged that strides were made last year through the signing of Act 6, which slowed the growth of the UC Trust Fund, Denisco stressed that additional reforms are needed in order to tighten eligibility and restore the UC system to its intended purpose as a financial safety net for the involuntary unemployed. Denisco also noted that Pennsylvania’s $4 billion deficit to the federal government – the second highest state debt in the nation for continued UC Trust Fund payouts - must be addressed. He expressed PA Chamber support for structural changes included in Senate Bill 1310, which would bond the UC debt to pay the federal amount in full, improve the fund’s cash flow and reduce employer burdens. 

Other pro-business policies, including another fiscally responsible, on-time state budget; an affordable, effective public education system; and modern, safe transportation infrastructure also comprise the PA Chamber’s member-driven legislative priority list in 2012.

Comcast Newsmakers airs on the Headline News channel on Comcast cable.

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Founded in 1916, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry is the state's largest broad-based business association, with its membership comprising businesses of all sizes and across all industry sectors. The PA Chamber is The Statewide Voice of Business.