Although Tim Potts is chairman of The Majority Party PA, his work opposing Justice Ron Castille is purely personal. He is not getting paid for it and is not raising money for it. His comments are entirely his own opinion and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Majority Party PA or anyone associated with The Majority Party PA.

During his tenure, both as a justice and as chief justice, Ron Castille has distinguished himself for poor judgment, legal sleight-of-hand, intemperance, double-standards of conduct, and allowing corruption in our courts to flourish. He has proven beyond any reasonable doubt that he does not belong on the Supreme Court, either now or in the future.

Ron Castille has been on the PA Supreme Court since January 1994. He has been chief justice since January 2008. This year the 69-year-old Castille seeks another 10-year term on the court, even though the PA Constitution mandates that judges must retire at age 70. Barring a change to the Constitution (or a Supreme Court ruling that declares the Constitution unconstitutional), Castille must retire on December 31, 2014. Being able to serve one year of a 10-year term is just part of the overwhelming evidence that should convince voters to say “No!” to re-electing Castille.

Here’s another important reason: If Castille wins this retention election, he becomes eligible to be appointed as a “senior judge” after his mandatory retirement. However, if he loses, he cannot be appointed as a senior judge. Although senior judges are supposed to be appointed on a temporary basis, Castille has presided over one senior judge serving for a decade.

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Former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin’s campaign corruption conviction will cost her not only three years on house arrest but also nearly $128,000 in fines, restitution and court costs.

As part of the penalties imposed at her resentencing Tuesday before Allegheny County Judge Lester Nauhaus, Melvin agreed to pay nearly $6,600 in restitution owed by her sister and former aide, Janine Orie. The sisters were convicted in February of conspiring to use Melvin’s former Superior Court staff and the state-paid staff of a third sister, former state Sen. Jane Orie, to work on Melvin’s 2003 and 2009 Supreme Court campaigns.

Melvin and her attorney declined to comment, but Janine Orie’s attorney, James DePasquale, said Melvin assumed her debt because she’s broke.

“She lives with her father; she no longer has a job,” DePasquale said. “She has nothing.”

Melvin and her 58-year-old sister were originally sentenced last week but were brought back primarily so the judge could ensure that Melvin’s house arrest was served as part of the county’s intermediate punishment program, under which she’ll be confined to her home with an electronic ankle bracelet.

Nauhaus originally sentenced Melvin to three concurrent three-year terms of house arrest but reconsidered because, under Pennsylvania law, any sentence for a single crime that carries more than two years’ confinement is considered to be a sentence overseen by the state. Nauhaus adjusted Melvin’s sentence so she’s now serving three consecutive one-year terms, which means she’ll still spend three years confined to her home, albeit clearly under county supervision.

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State senators will continue exploring the liberalization of Pennsylvania’s wine, beer and liquor laws in a second hearing that’ll focus on groups that make and sell alcoholic beverages.

The Senate hearing Tuesday afternoon is the second of three planned hearings, as Gov. Tom Corbett pushes his fellow Republicans who control the Legislature to expand the sale of alcohol to more outlets.

A bill passed the House in March that would create 1,200 new private wine and liquor store licenses and allow thousands of bars, restaurants and grocery stores to begin selling bottles of wine.

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Former state Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin and her sister, Janine Orie, were sentenced to house arrest and probation on Tuesday, and they must apologize to various people who have been affected by their criminal case.

Allegheny County Judge Lester Nauhaus decided not to put the women behind bars like their other sister, former state Sen. Jane Orie, even as he criticized both of them in his courtroom during the sentencing hearing.

“The most important job I ever had was my five daughters and one son,” Orie Melvin told the judge. “I always pride myself on being a role model. I’m sorry for all the loss, pain and suffering everyone endured.”

“What kind of role model are you?” Nauhaus asked her. “These are felonies, this isn’t a parking ticket, and your children’s mother is a convicted felon.”

Orie Melvin’s daughter broke down in tears and begged the judge to spare her mother from serving a jail term. The Rev. Scott Seethaler, a well-known Pittsburgh priest, also spoke on her behalf.

“I don’t believe that Joan Melvin is an evil person, I’ve never believed that,” Nauhaus told the courtroom. “But I do believe that her arrogance is stunning.” He continued, “I honestly believe in your heart of hearts you don’t believe you did anything wrong, which is more the pity.”

Orie Melvin got three years of house arrest and two years of probation, while Janine Orie got one year of house arrest and one year of probation. Both sisters will be allowed to leave their homes to attend church on Sundays.

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On April 30, Sen. Chuck McIlhinney, a Bucks County Republican, will hold court as chairman over a much-anticipated Senate Law and Justice Committee hearing, one of three scheduled this spring on the topic of liquor privatization.

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Sen. Chuck McIlhinney, a Republican from Bucks County.

Many Republicans, including Gov. Tom Corbett, are pushing to end the state’s more than 80-year-old liquor monopoly. And McIlhinney hasn’t always stuck to party lines.

Earlier this year, he proposed legislation that would modernize the state liquor system and keep the state-run stores. He spoke out against Corbett’s liquor privatization proposal, and in March flat out said he wouldn’t have supported the House bill designed to privatize liquor.

But in a surprise move earlier this week, McIlhinney told Philadelphia radio show host Dom Giordano he favors the idea of selling off the state’s liquor stores. In addition, he said he supports a freer retail market than the version passed in the House.

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Despite widespread state spending cuts, the General Assembly ended fiscal 2011-12 with an uncommitted surplus of $140 million, according to an audit report approved Wednesday by a state commission.

The report, approved by the Legislative Audit Advisory Commission, also shows that 80 percent of the $306 million spent by the legislative branch that fiscal year went for salaries and benefits of lawmakers and staff.

The surplus was reduced last year by $43 million from a $183 million surplus in fiscal 2010-11, and is nearing an appropriate level, said Rep. Gordon Denlinger, R-Ephrata, the commission chairman.

The General Assembly spends about $30 million each month and needs to be able to operate independently in case of a prolonged state budget stalemate as happened in 2009 with former Gov. Ed Rendell, Denlinger said. Stalemates are more likely to occur when state government is under divided political control, he explained.

Lawmakers had openly discussed reducing the surplus to $120 million last year, but the audit report indicates that goal wasn’t reached, said Capitol activist Tim Potts.

Another activist leveled a broader criticism of the legislative surplus which has developed over decades. “The slush fund is justified as an emergency reserve to protect the balance of power should the budget not be done June 30, 2012,” said Eric Epstein, co-founder of RocktheCapital.com. “Surplus money has been used in ways over the years that have nothing to do with a budget impasse.”

The Legislature has ignored previous recommendations from an auditor to adopt a policy to cap the surplus and monitor it, Epstein said.

The report by the Philadelphia firm of Mitchell & Titus finds the House keeps several dozen committee and leadership checking accounts for expenses, down from a peak of 100.

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Gov. Tom Corbett said Friday he wants the state Senate to pass a liquor privatization bill before the end of June and reaffirmed that he wants the proceeds from the sale of the state-owned wine and spirit stores to go to school districts.

Addressing a crowd of conservative activists at the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference in this suburb of Harrisburg, Corbett asked if there were any state Senators in the crowd and delivered a straightforward request.

“We’re asking the Senate to act,” Corbett said. “Get something to my desk by June 30.”

The state House passed a liquor privatization bill in March, without the support of a single Democratic member. The fate of the privatization bill in the state Senate likely hinges on the votes of a handful of Republicans – the GOP holds a narrow 27-23 edge in the chamber – mostly in the southeastern part of the state.

Should privatization be successful, it is expected to produce a one-time windfall of $800 million for the state from the sale of licenses to private businesses.

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A month after a grand jury report documented corruption, bribery and influence peddling at the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, a group of lawmakers unveiled legislation Wednesday that would abolish the agency.

State Rep. Donna Oberlander, R-Clarion, said the commission is “an outdated, well-documented corruption-infested” haven. Her plan, outlined in House Bill 1197, would turn over all Turnpike roads, maintenance, construction and toll operations to the state Department of Transportation.

Oberlander’s bill calls for all unionized commission employees to transfer to PennDOT, which would honor existing collective bargaining agreements. At the same time, Oberlander said, her legislation would create a Bureau of Toll Administration at PennDOT, staffed by a licensed civil engineer, to end the commission’s long-standing practice of hiring inexperienced, unqualified political appointees run toll operations.

“There is absolutely no reason why Pennsylvania taxpayers should be forced to foot the bill to have two government organizations dealing with transportation issues,” Oberlander said.

PennDOT spokesman Steve Chizmar said “logistical and practical” concerns would need to be addressed before the agencies could merge under the bill. But, he said, PennDOT and the commission have been working more closely in recent months than previously to cut down on waste and redundancy.

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A plan by state Representative Jerry Knowles (R-Berks/Schuylkill) on how to spend money earned by privatization of the state’s liquor stores emerged Monday afternoon.

“The governor has a good idea, but I have a great idea, a better idea,” Knowles said to laughter at a Capitol news conference.

Knowles’s big idea is to take profit from the sale of liquor stores and pour them into Pennsylvania’s crumbling roads and bridges.

“We can fix a safety hazard, or begin to fix a safety hazard, that we all know exists and we can put people back to work fixing those roads and bridges,” Knowles said.

Senator David Argall (R-Berks/Schuylkill), whose chamber has yet to pass or introduce a privatization bill, supports Knowles’s plan.

“We either have to figure out a way to fix our roads and bridges or sit back and watch them fall apart,” Argall said. “I think we would all agree that’s simply unacceptable.”

Of course, this creates a bit of conflict with Governor Tom Corbett, who called for liquor money to be spent on education. House Republicans criticized the concept because they fear it would become another federal stimulus whereby schools create programs that would have to be funded long after booze bucks dried up.

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• Allyson Schwartz files to run for Pa. governor, The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 8.
• www.allysonschwartz.com.

She begins with $3.1 million that she transferred from her Congressional campaign account into a gubernatorial campaign account. That makes her the second-best-funded Democratic candidate so far, behind only Tom Wolf from York, who has said he will devote $10 million of his own money to the primary race next year.Schwartz is the first woman from either party to join the race, but that’s not her only “first.” She is the first announced candidate to run with a taxpayer subsidy since she is continuing to serve in Congress while running for governor.