It’s your agenda, not ours, not theirs.
The agenda for The Majority Party PA is determined exclusively by high-quality public opinion research. To be considered for The Majority Party PA’s agenda, a poll must pass three tests:
- Does it meet the standards of the American Association for Public Opinion Research? If not, the poll has no influence on The Majority Party PA Agenda.
- Are the questions and the way they are presented as free of bias as possible? If not, the poll has no influence on The Majority Party PA agenda.
- Do the results of the poll, taken together with previous polls, indicate that public opinion on a given issue is settled? Issues on which public opinion is not settled will not be part of The Majority Party PA agenda.
Summary of the 2013 Agenda for the General Assembly.
Issues are grouped below into categories. Click on the category for the majority position on issues, including links to the supporting public opinion research.
- Tax Marcellus Shale.
- Tax smokeless tobacco and cigars.
- Reduce the number of state employees.
- Do not raise the state income tax, the state sales tax, or tolls on highways.
- Do not raise the gasoline tax 10 cents per gallon to pay for road and bridge repairs.
- Do not cut funding for environmental and conservation programs.
- Restore funding for public schools that was reduced in the current year.
- Do not cut state funding for local public schools.
- Do not cut funding for public universities.
- Legalize marijuana for medical use by adults upon a doctor’s recommendation.
- Enact a tax or fee.
- Disclose chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing regardless of trade secret claims.
- Allow local governments to have primary decision-making power in the siting of natural gas wells.
- There is no longer majority support for privatizing the state liquor stores. Nor do other privatization proposals have majority support. However, several items are pending.
- Muhlenberg College conducted a survey on public health issues in May 2013. Questions included whether to regulate food, whether hydraulic fracking poses health risks, and other matters. Since this is the first such survey since 2009, none of the responses can be part of the Majority Mandate until further research confirms or refutes these findings.
- Reform how political campaigns are financed.
- Reform the operation and structure of the General Assembly by reducing the size of the legislature and establishing term limits.
- Authorize the referendum for a Constitution convention.
- Change how state and local governments are financed.
- Do not raise the gasoline tax 10 cents per gallon to pay for road and bridge repairs.
- Do not raise tolls on highways as a way to balance the state budget.
