We must empower people in the workplace. Providing safe and equal working conditions is the first step. We will not stand for a person’s job or promotion to be leveraged for sex. We will not stand for a person’s livelihood to be taken away from them because they reported workplace harassment.

Under our plans the state will provide programs and training to improve the income and
conditions of workers. Customized job training, connecting community colleges and technical schools with employers, improving worker investment board resources, creating career readiness councils are at the top of our agenda. With unemployment at all-time lows, it is time for all Pennsylvanian’s to benefit from the improving economy. Bettering paychecks, benefits, and working environment is at the heart of the Senate Democrats priorities.

→ Providing access to high quality child care will go a long way to providing parents job opportunities that may be unmanageable otherwise. Our caucus is advocating for $77 million to be added to the state appropriation for highquality child care services to provide access to 5,000 additional eligible infants and toddlers.

→ Availability of high-quality public transit provides access to hirer paying jobs, increases worker productivity, and protects family budgets by reducing vehicle and transportation costs. When coupled with transit-oriented development (development occurring within a ½ miles of transit access) transit reduces traffic, infrastructure costs, and improves local efficiency. The Senate Democrats are ardent supporters of state funding for regional mass transit systems.

Healthy employees are productive employees. We need to ensure that people
are earning time off to take care of themselves and their families. Choosing between a paycheck and going to the doctor shouldn’t be a choice at all. In addition to the benefits for employees, paid sick leave leads to less sick days for the overall workforce, less turnover, better use of preventive care, and higher workplace productivity.

Many of our cities and larger municipalities are continuing to struggle with budget deficits and debt, aging infrastructure, and stagnant economies. The Senate Democrats plans for the larger economy will go a long way toward turning these trends around. We will also help these communities fight blight by investing in demolition, rehabilitation, and rebuilding, providing technical assistance for budgeting and financing, providing local tax relief through property tax reform, and strengthen local school districts.

The Pennsylvania Senate Democrat have consistently stood for the creation of affordable and accessible housing. We’ve successfully fought for the creation and increase of funding to the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability Trust Fund. Additionally, we are pushing for a state low-income housing tax credit to improve the impact of the existing and successful federal credit. In Pennsylvania, for every $10 million in affordable housing construction, it will generate $19.6 million in total economic impact and support 110 jobs. With an economic multiplier effect of nearly 2 and the jobs supported, the impact of building and renovating affordable housing is important to the Pennsylvania economy. Nobody likes paying taxes, but they reflect the public investments we have chosen to make through the democratic process. That doesn’t mean we can’t improve the tax environment in the state and at the local level. At the top of that list are property taxes. But opportunities for improvement exist throughout the tax code to make the business climate better, lessen the burden on working people, and provide families with more money in their pockets

Unlike the PIT, at 9.99%, Pennsylvania has one of the highest corporate tax rates in the country. But our tax code is riddled with loopholes, exemptions, tax credits, and deductions that could all be used to reduce the tax rate and provide a level playing field for all businesses, rather than just those that have the lobbying strength to get special treatment. Plans exist to cut the rate by 30 or 40 percent but not reduce state revenue, including closing the so-called “Delaware Loophole”. This is a fair path forward that the business community should embrace.