We rarely wade into the shark-infested waters of the political side of manufacturing, however a recent post on the blog of the National Association of Manufacturers pointed us to Pennsylvania’s "Keystone Manufacturing Initiative." This initiative contains sixteen pieces of legislation aimed at supporting manufacturing in the Keystone State. A detailed summary of the various bills is here, and includes the following:
Business Tax Structure Reform
- Career Development Credit (CDC) (House Bill 220) – Rep. Dave Reed (R-Indiana)
- Net Operating Loss Carry-Forward (House Bill 650) – Rep. Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny)
- Corporate Net Income Tax Reduction (House Bill 797) – Rep. Dave Reed (R-Indiana)
- Single Sales Factor (House Bill 515) – Rep. Dave Reed (R-Indiana)
- Capital Stock and Franchise Tax Phase-Out (House Bill 1312) – Rep. Mark Mustio (R-Allegheny)
Affordable Health Care
- Health Care Savings Accounts (House Bill 107) – Rep. John Payne (R-Dauphin)
- Health Care-Mandated Benefit Moratorium (House Bill 738) – Rep. Scott Boyd (R-Lancaster)
- Small-Business Health Care Tax Credit (House Bill 734) – Rep. Scott Boyd (R-Lancaster)
Tort Reform
- Statute of Repose (House Bill 1182) – Rep. Gordon Denlinger (R-Lancaster)
- Protecting Innocent Product Sellers (House Bill 735) – Rep. Scott Boyd (R-Lancaster)
Regulatory Reform
- Regulatory Flexibility for Small Business (House Bill 236) – Rep. Tina Pickett (R-Bradford/Sullivan/Susquehanna)
Unemployment Compensation Reform
- Unemployment Compensation Comprehensive Bill (House Bill 458) – Rep. Stan Saylor (R-York)
- Willful Misconduct (House Bill 781) – Rep. Gibson C. Armstrong (R-Lancaster)
- Failure to Appear (House Bill 862) – Rep. Scott Hutchinson (R-Venango/Butler)
Workers’ Compensation Reform
- Workers’ Compensation Reform (House Bill 668) – Rep. Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny)
- Workers’ Compensation Medical Captive Period (House Bill 961) – Rep. Dave Hickernell (R-Lancaster)
Take a look at the details here. This set of bills is unique in that it protects and promotes the interests of both business and workers, which creates a better environment for manufacturing. Perhaps a model that other states could use.