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Clarifying
the Historical Significance of House Bill 2
HARRISBURG -- Earlier
today, Governor Rendell signed House Bill 2 into law. House Bill 2
authorizes a ballot question for the 2005 municipal primary asking voters if
they support borrowing up to $625 million for increased government spending on
the environment.
Governor Rendell’s press release
today declared that “the Growing Greener II bond issue will represent the
largest investment in environmental programs in Pennsylvania history.”
Some items to consider when
evaluating the governor’s claim:
In 1967, under Gov. Raymond P.
Shafer, voters approved a $500 million bond for environmental spending (known as
Project 500 and implemented as Act 443 of 1967). Adjusted for inflation, this
would equate to approximately $2.7 billion today -- more than $2 billion
greater than the amount contained in the ballot question signed into law today.
In 1999, under Gov. Tom Ridge,
the General Assembly passed the original Growing Greener statute which
authorized environmental spending totaling $645 million (Act 68 of 1999).
In 2002, the original Growing
Greener was restructured into a $1.24 billion program under Gov. Mark
Schweiker (Act 90 of 2002).
Given these facts, some would
argue that Gov. Rendell’s program is “the fourth-largest investment in
environmental programs in Pennsylvania history.”
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