State Government
Pennsylvania
Penn’s Woods
About PA
• Video Segment
PA Coat Of Arms
it features a shield crested by an American Bald Eagle, flanked by horses and
adorned with symbols of Pennsylvania's strengths - a ship carrying state commerce
to all parts of the world; a clay-red plough, signifying our rich natural resources; and
three golden sheaves of wheat, suggesting fertile fields and Pennsylvania's wealth of
human thought and action. An olive branch and cornstalk cross limbs beneath
State Flag
Seal Explained
• The plough, which was on Chester County's seal,
symbolizes the rich resources of the
Commonwealth.
• The ship under sail, which was on Philadelphia
County's seal, symbolizes the commercial network
across the state and around the world.
• The wheat symbolizes the harvest of not only
agriculture and minerals but also of creative minds.
• The Indian cornstalk of plenty and an olive branch of
peace are on either side of the shield.
• The crest of the shield is a Bald eagle with
outstretched wings symbolizing sovereignty with
hope and purity.
State Nickname
State Motto
• Virtue, Liberty, and Independence
State Fish
State Animal
State Dog
State Bird
State Insect
State Fossil
State Plant
State Beverage
State Flower
State Flagship
Eastern Hemlock
State Toy
Pennsylvania is 309 miles long, 174 miles wide and covers 29
million acres. We're dwarfed by Alaska (l/12th the size), but nearly 38
times larger than Rhode Island. Compared in size to our sister
states, Pennsylvania ranks 33rd.
Demographics
• Population
Ranked 6th in the US -
• Total----------------12,281,054
Population Distribution
Famous Pennsylvanians
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1. Marian Anderson Opera Singer
2. Pearl Buck Author
3. James Buchanan U.S. President
4. 5. Bill Cosby Entertainer
6. Stephen Foster Composer
7. Gene Kelly Dancer
8. Margaret Mead Anthropologist
9. Jimmy Stewart Actor
10. Jim Thorpe Olympic Athlete
Hurricane Agnes
Rainfall from 20-25 June over the Mid-Atlantic region ranged from 2-3 inches in
the extreme upper basins of the Potomac and North Branch Susquehanna
Rivers to 18 inches near Shamokin, Pennsylvania, in the Main Stem
Susquehanna River basin. An average of 6-10 inches of rain fell over the MidAtlantic region.
Hurricane Agnes
Shipoke
South 9th Street Harrisburg
Wilkes Barre
Governor’s Mansion in Agnes
• State Damage
– (1972 Dollars) $2,119,269,000
– (2005 Dollars) $9,666,215,099.30
– Deaths 48
The Only Town in PA
State Capital
York
• Considers itself to be the first US Capital
because it is where the draft of what would
later become the articles of the
confederation was signed.
Coal Industry
• Anthracite
• Bituminous
Glenburn Breaker
Breaker Boys
Culm Banks
Culm Banks
Strip Mining
Breaker
Shenandoah
Acid Mine Runoff
Acid Mine Runoff
Mining Disasters
Knox
Knox
Centralia
Lattimer Massacre
• Immigrant workers had been agitated for
some time for a variety of reasons. For
one, coal companies often adopted
paternalistic attitudes toward immigrantssome operators believed that the
company's wealth and power gave it the
right to use and treat workers as they
wished.
Lattimer Cont’d
When the demonstrators reached Lattimer, they were met again
by the Sheriff and a semi-circle of about sixty armed deputies.
The sheriff again ordered the crowd to disperse, but this only
served to raise the tension to a boiling point. The halted march
had resulted in confusion, compounded by the fact that many
of the marchers spoke different languages.
An unknown person yelled "Fire!" and "Give two or three
shots!" The sheriff was later accused of this, but the
accusations could not be confirmed by any evidence. The
posse opened fire. Fourteen Poles, four Slovaks, and one
Lithuanian were killed on the spot. About forty more were
wounded, at least six of whom later died of their wounds.
Molly McGuires
• This secret band of Irish Miners took
revenge against the Reading Railroad and
its mine bosses for the terrible conditions
at the mines.
Jack Kehoe
• One Molly was a chief of police.
Jack Kehoe
• in the days before Kehoe was to hang, his
wife, Maryanne, walked roughly 65 miles
from her home in Girardville to the state
capitol at Harrisburg to plead with
Governor John F. Hartranft to spare Black
Jack Kehoe's life. This was the same man
who only a few years earlier had claimed
victory in the election, thanks in small part,
perhaps, to the efforts of Black Jack
Kehoe.
Hand on the wall
Quecreek Mine Accident
Black Lung
Rescue workers secure Nathan Bowman to a rescue stretcher after he
survived a 500 foot fall into an inactive strip mine, Friday, April 25, 2008 in
Coaldale, Pa. Bowman tumbled down a jagged slope and then free-fell
several hundred feet, his descent broken by a rock ledge not far from the
bottom of the pit, said Coaldale Police Chief Timothy Delaney, who helped
direct the rescue effort. (Sarah Curran Smith / AP)
Pennsylvania Agriculture: PA's Leading Economic
Enterprise
• In 2000, Pennsylvania set an all-time high
for agricultural, food, and wood products,
with more than $1 billion in exports due in
part to the Pennsylvania Department of
Agriculture's marketing programs designed
to promote and provide agribusinesses the
opportunity to foster business relationships
throughout the world.
Pennsylvania is known as the
"Snack Food Capital of the World."
• With major producers of pretzels, potato
chips, confectioneries, and chocolate,
Pennsylvania's snack food and
confectionery industries generate more
than $5.1 billion in sales annually.
Hershey
Heinz
Heir to the Heinz fortune
Pretzels in PA
Tourism in PA
• PA Amish
Name that PA City
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#1 Johnstown (Flood City)
#2 Philadelphia (City of Brotherly
Love)
#3 Reading
#4 Pittsburgh (Steel City )
#5 Wilkes Barre
(The Diamond City)
#6 Williamsport (Billtown)
#7 Lancaster (Red Rose City)
#8 Harrisburg
Tourist Destinations
• Poconos
• Link
What is a commonwealth?
How many commonwealths are
there?
Has Harrisburg always been the
Capital of PA?
First Capital
• Tinicum Island
How can the location of the Capital
be changed?
What PA cities were once the
capital of the US?
PA State Government
• PA State Constitution
• How Many Branches?
• What are the Branches?
How can the Constitution be
amended?
How is the Constitution amended in
an emergency?
Has the emergency provision ever
been used?
How many Constitutions has PA
had?
Legislative Branch
The Pennsylvania General
Assembly
• Bicameral
– House of Representatives
• 203 members
• Broken down into 203 legislative districts
• You are in the 105th Legislative District
• Ronald Marsico is your rep.
– Senate
• 50 members
• Broken down into 50 senatorial Districts
• You are in the 15th
• Jeff Piccola is your Senator
Speaker Of The House
• Dennis M. O'Brien
(Republican)
Philadelphia County
House Leadership
LEADERSHIP
POSITION
Floor Leader
Whip
MAJORITY MINORITY
H. William
DeWeese
Sam H. Smith
Keith R.
McCall
David G. Argall
President of the Senate
Catherine Baker Knoll
Senate Leadership
President of the
Senate
Joseph B. Scarnati III
LEADERSHIP POSITION
Floor Leader
Whip
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MAJORITY
Dominic
Pileggi
Jane Clare
Orie
MINORITY
Robert J.
Mellow
Michael A.
O'Pake
Qualifications for Representative
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21 Years of age
Citizen of PA
No felonies
2 year term
Qualifications of Senator
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25 years
4 year term
Citizen of PA
No felonies
Vince Fumo
• PHILADELPHIA (AP) - February 7, 2007 -- Powerful state Sen.
Vincent J. Fumo used state workers and a nonprofit group to carry
out his personal and political agendas, defrauding taxpayers and
others of more than $2 million, a federal indictment charged
Tuesday.
• Fumo, 63, regularly deployed state workers to perform a litany of
personal chores, from overseeing construction at his 33-room
Philadelphia mansion to spying on his ex-wife to working his 100acre farm near Harrisburg, prosecutors charged.
• Fumo, one of the most powerful figures in Pennsylvania politics,
misused $1 million in state resources and another $1 million from
the nonprofit neighborhood group he controlled, U.S. Attorney
Patrick Meehan said.
• "Because he was delivering large amounts of money to his
Philadelphia constituents on one hand, Vincent Fumo felt entitled to
reach into the pockets of Pennsylvania taxpayers with the other,"
Meehan said at a news conference.
Old Capitol Building
New Capitol Building
• The capitol building is an Italian
Renaissance-style statehouse. It is an
example of outstanding architecture, with
collections of art and sculpture, including
large murals. On the floor of the main
hallway, tiles show Pennsylvania's history,
symbols, insects and animals.
Executive Branch of the State
Governor
Ed Rendell
PA First Lady
Judge Marjorie O. Rendell
Qualifications
• 30 Years of age
• 4 Year terms
• 2 term limit
Powers of the PA Governor
• Military
– Pa National Guard
• Legislative
– Veto (Line Item)
• Appointment
– Cabinet
Governor’s Residence
Lt. Governor
Catherine Baker Knoll
Attorney General
Tom Corbett
Attorney General shall be the chief law
enforcement officer of the Commonwealth
State Treasurer
Robin L. Wiessmann
The Treasurer is the chief financial officer of the Commonwealth.
The State Treasurer is elected to a term of four years
Auditor General
Jack Wagner
What does the Auditor General DO?
Auditor General serves as an independent fiscal
watchdog for Pennsylvania taxpayers.
Pennsylvania Judicial Branch
• Supreme Court
• Superior Court
• Commonwealth
Structure of the State Judicial
System
Misc. Judges
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Election of Justices, judges and justices
of the peace
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All justices or judges shall be elected at
municipal elections.
Tenure of justices
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Justices and Judges ---- 10 years
Justices of the Peace---- 6 years
State Spending
Education
5% 4%
Public Welfare
10%
Highways
44%
11%
Health and
Hospitals
26%
Interest on
Debt
Corrections
State Revenue
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State RevenueState Tax Comparisons
State Sales Tax Comparisons
Fuel Excise Tax Comparison
Cigarette Tax Comparison
Liquor Tax Comparison
Beer Tax Comparison
Johnstown Flood
Johnstown Flood Tax
State Government Agencies
PLCB
• Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board
The Pennsylvania State Police
Established 1905
Colonel Jeffrey Miller
State Police Commissioner
The Pennsylvania State Police
• The Pennsylvania State Police was created as an
executive department of state government by
legislation, Senate Bill 278, signed into law by
Governor Samuel W. Pennypacker on May 2, 1905.
• The department became the first uniformed police
organization of its kind in the United States and a
model for other state police agencies throughout the
nation.
• Opposition to the department's creation was strong
and persistent. Because of the fear, mostly by
organized labor, that the State Police would be used
as a private army, the original complement was
limited by law to only 228 men. They were to patrol
Pennsylvania's entire 45,000 square miles. The force
was divided into four Troops:
PennDOT
• Pennsylvania Department of
Transportation
• New online vehicle services
Secretary Of Transportation
Allen D. Biehler
PA Fish and Boat Commission
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State Parks
Big Spring State Park
Boyd Big Tree Conservation Area
Buchanan's Birthplace State Park
Caledonia State Park
Codorus State Park
Colonel Denning State Park
Cowans Gap State Park
Fowlers Hollow State Park
Gifford Pinchot State Park
Joseph E. Ibberson Conservation Area
Kings Gap Environmental Education and Training Center
Little Buffalo State Park
Memorial Lake State Park
Mont Alto State Park
Pine Grove Furnace State Park
Samuel S. Lewis State Park
Susquehannock State Park
Swatara State Park
Gifford Pinchot
World’s End
Ricketts Glen
Susquehannock State Park
The Pennsylvania Lottery
• Money goes to
Pharmaceutical
Assistance Contract
for the Elderly
(PACE):
Pa Gaming Control Board
• Act 71 of 2004 was designed to produce
tremendous benefits for its citizens through the
introduction of the slots gaming industry to
Pennsylvania. Legalized gaming in the
Commonwealth will produce thousands of new
living wage jobs, revenues that will improve the
quality of life in local communities, the
reinvigoration of our horse racing industry, and
property tax relief for all homeowners.
• For every dollar produced as net revenue from a
slot machine, 55¢ is returned to Pennsylvanians.
Breakdown of Taxes
Slot Machines in PA
Casino Controversy
• How the bill passed. As an
amendment to Bill # HB 2330--a 33 line bill to provide
background checks for people
who work at tracks. Those 33
lines were crossed out and 144
pages were added as an
amendment over July 4th
Weekend.
• Corruption----Louis DeNaples
Secretary Of Corrections
Jeffrey Beard
State Department of Corrections
Secretary Of Education
Gerald L. Zahorchak
Statewide School Districts
• Map
State System of Higher Education