State Rep. Mike Turzai must be a patient man.
The House Majority Leader was in the area this week urging the rest of us to do likewise.
Turzai, a Republican from the 28th District outside Pittsburgh, traversed the state on something of a goodwill mission. He started in Philadelphia, where he tried to reassure city school district officials that the first thing on his agenda when the House reconvenes in September will be that cigarette tax the district desperately needs to balance its books.
Even with that promise, Superintendent William Hite Jr. - who drew high praise from Turzai - says he's not sure schools will open on time.
Tuesday afternoon he hit Delco, sitting down with our regional Digital First Media editorial board. He made it pretty clear he didn't put much stock in the Hite's warning.
"The schools will open," he reassured us.
He pointed out that while the House passed the cigarette tax, when it went over to the Senate, it got loaded up with a lot of "pork," including a hotel tax and perks to push economic recovery zones across the state. That's when it bogged down in the House.
He also was preaching patience on the state's pension crisis. He says that's No. 2 on the House's fall agenda, right after the cigarette tax is passed.
He's one of the few pols I've heard from who believes an amendment being pushed by Rep. Mike Tobash, R-25, that would create a hybrid pension system and move workers into a defined contribution plan more like private sector 401K plans once they hit the $50,000 salary threshold actually will help pay off the state's whopping $50 billion unfunded liability.
Almost every pol I've talked to, including Gov. Tom Corbett, Delco state Rep. Bill Adolph, R-165, and Sen. Dominic Pileggi, R-9, say that while the Tobash plan is a start to fix the problem in the future, it does little or nothing to address that massive deficit.
Turzai disagrees, noting you have to start somewhere.
All agree on one thing. This problem wasn't created overnight and it's not going to be fixed in one. Or in one election cycle either for that matter.
Turzai bristles when reminded that Gov. Corbett seems to have trouble getting things done, despite controlling the governor's mansion, as well as having majorities in both the House and Senate.
Turzai is quick to run down a list of things the Legislature has accomplished, including that controversial $2 billion transportation package that many critics branded a massive tax hike.
All of which is nice, but it's really not the real reason I was anxiously awaiting a chance to sit down with the Majority Leader.
Mike Turzai happens to be one of the foremost proponents in Harrisburg of getting Pennsylvania out of the booze business by blowing up the state Liquor Control Board and selling off licenses to private enterprise.
He came to the right place yesterday. I am an unabashed champion of doing exactly that, and have been for some time.
Now, I am quick to admit I don't know the numbers on this issue, or how it will affect jobs.
This is all about convenience. I want to be able to do what people in so many other states do, that is grab a six-pack or case of beer or maybe a bottle of wine all while doing the weekly grocery shopping.
I don't want to have to go to a separate part of the store, pay for it there, then proceed to do groceries.
Even more specifically, I no longer want to go one place for a six-pack, one for a case of suds, and still one more - our lovely state stores - for a bottle of wine and booze.
I want the state out of the booze business, too.
This does not win me any points with Wendell Young IV, the head of the powerful Food and Commercial Workers Union that represents state store clerks.
I'd love to get him and Turzai in the same room to talk about this issue.
Turzai noted the House did something in the last session that has never been done before. They actually passed a liquor privatization bill.
Unfortunately, that's as far as it went.
The latest version making the rounds has ticked off the state's distillers and again seems more like a watered-down version of privatization.
At some point, I would like to think this is going to happen. Turzai thinks so, too. I'm equally convinced Young will fight this with every breath in his body. He wields a lot of clout - and union votes. That scares a lot of politicians.
Be patient, Turai pleads.
It's enough to drive a man to drink.
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