By Sharon Smith
A
promise made on the campaign trail is a promise kept as governor -- at
least that's the way Gov. Ed Rendell presents his case.
The
former Philadelphia mayor promised in 2002 that he would bring slot
machines to Pennsylvania, boost environmental programs, increase state
funding of public schools, expand programs such as full-day
kindergarten, and lower property taxes.
After
three years in office, Rendell accomplished much of his agenda. But
educators and homeowners say it's premature for the Democratic
governor, who is up for re-election this year, to mark all of his 2002
promises as complete.
Here's a look of how Rendell fared on his key issues.
Gambling:
Two
years after Rendell promised to bring slot machines to Pennsylvania,
the Republican-controlled Legislature passed a gambling bill and
property tax cut measure known as Act 72.
In 2004, Rendell signed the law authorizing 61,000 slot machines at 14 sites.
The
Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is sifting through the gambling
license applications. The board is expected to issue some licenses as
early as this summer. Penn National Gaming Inc. is expected to get one
of those licenses for its racetrack in East Hanover Twp.
Last week, Rendell said he can cross gambling off his to-do list.
"It's happening," he said. "That's a fait accompli. That's done."
Property tax cuts:
With
those slots, Rendell promised a windfall of cash would come, resulting
in $1 billion dollars in tax cuts for homeowners in 2007 or 2008.
When Act 72 crossed his desk in 2004, it seemed property tax cuts had arrived.
When
four out of five of the state's 501 school districts opted out of Act
72, it became clear that property tax cuts had stood the governor up.
Rendell called for a special session of the Legislature in September in the hope of delivering property tax cuts.
But
the year ended without a plan that lawmakers could agree on. The
governor said property tax cuts would be completed in January.
"I think there's a consensus on the points," he said.
Rendell
said he favors broadening the sales tax to replace the money lost from
property taxes, which is one of the solutions proposed by lawmakers.
He's also shown reluctant support for raising the state's personal
income tax.
Property
tax cuts can't come soon enough for Patricia Burns, 62. The retired
state employee has a hard time paying the taxes on the home she's owned
since 1973. She said she often has to pay her tax bill late so she can
meet other expenses.
A
break on property taxes would be nice, she said, but she isn't banking
on it. "He can only deliver so much," she said. "He makes a lot of
promises. He has to have the cooperation of the House and Senate. It
would be nice if he could."
Education:
Bolstering
state spending on education and bringing full-day kindergarten to more
students is one promise that Rendell has, for the most part, delivered
on, educators say.
"I
generally think of him as a pro-education governor," said Thomas
Gentzel, executive director of the Pennsylvania School Board
Association.
Gentzel noted that Rendell delivered $200 million in the form of accountability block grants to public schools.
Money
earmarked for basic education, the largest state subsidy to public
schools, rose from $4.2 billion in the 2003-04 budget to $4.4 billion
in the 2005-2006 budget. That's a 4.7 percent increase.
Gentzel
said his group would prefer to see more money put into basic education.
The promise that the state would pick up a greater share of public
education funding hasn't been realized, he said.
"Figure
that inflation is around 2 to 3 percent," Gentzel said, "you're not
really increasing the state's share of the cost of education by much."
The
increases in local property taxes over the years, he said, is
symptomatic of the overall problem. But Act 72, he said, was not the
answer.
"Act 72 was the most complicated and confusing piece of legislation I've ever read," Gentzel said
Rendell
wasn't able to deliver on the state paying a larger share of public
education, but he was able to increase the number of schoolchildren
attending full-day kindergarten.
More than 300 school districts offer the program, according to the state Department of Education.
For
the most part, Gentzel gives the governor high marks for pushing his
education agenda. "He's tried to follow through with the major issues
of the campaign," Gentzel said.
Environment:
While
the governor still might have work to do when it comes to property
taxes and education, he came through on his promise to better pay for
environmental programs.
Last
summer, the governor signed Growing Greener II into law. The measure is
a $625 million plan that voters approved last spring that invests in
cleaning up waterways, protecting open spaces and providing money for
other environmental programs.
Rendell
listed the passage of Growing Greener II as one of his accomplishments
for the year. "Growing Greener II, I think, will affect every man,
woman and child to their benefit," he said.
Environmental groups mark Growing Greener II's passage as another campaign promise met.
"I
think, far and away, we saw that as an enormous victory for the
environment," said David Masur, executive director of the
Philadelphia-based group PennEnvironment.
Last
week, Rendell suggested what some of his promises might be on this
year's campaign trail: dealing with health care and raising the minimum
wage.
"We will get that done," he said.
