Exposed: Pennsylvania Act 13 Overturned by Supreme Court, Originally an ALEC Model Bill

[marmar]

Published on Friday, July 27, 2012 by DeSmog Blog
Exposed: Pennsylvania Act 13 Overturned by Supreme Court, Originally an ALEC Model Bill

by Steve Horn


On July 26, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled PA Act 13 unconstitutional. The bill would have stripped away local zoning laws, eliminated the legal concept of a Home Rule Charter, limited private property rights, and in the process, completely disempowered town, city, municipal and county governments, particularly when it comes to shale gas development.

The Court ruled that Act 13 "…violates substantive due process because it does not protect the interests of neighboring property owners from harm, alters the character of neighborhoods and makes irrational classifications – irrational because it requires municipalities to allow all zones, drilling operations and impoundments, gas compressor stations, storage and use of explosives in all zoning districts, and applies industrial criteria to restrictions on height of structures, screening and fencing, lighting and noise."

Act 13 — pejoratively referred to as "the Nation's Worst Corporate Giveaway" by AlterNet reporter Steven Rosenfeld — would have ended local democracy as we know it in Pennsylvania.

"It’s absolutely crushing of local self-government," Ben Price, project director for the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF), told Rosenfeld. "It’s a complete capitulation of the rights of the people and their right to self-government. They are handing it over to the industry to let them govern us. It is the corporate state. That is how we look at it." ................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/07/27-3

[Scuba]

1. ALEC is a terrorist organization.

[atreides1]

3. You could have a valid point.

"Terrorism is often motivated by religious, political, or other ideological beliefs and committed in the pursuit of goals that are usually political."

[BumRushDaShow]

2. The rethugs took over both branches of the legislature

only 2 years ago and haven't had as much time as other states to put the fascist ALEC agenda in place. What did move forward was elucidated with much vim and vigor, by the cocky ass Leader of the state assembly in a well-televised fundraiser speech, and included mention of the passage of their voter suppression law.

Glad that some of the stuff that didn't make the news is being thrown out. Ironically, one big initiative to privatize the state liquor stores threw them for a complete loop, as they ran into the expected opposition from their own no-drinking or card-playing Pennsyltucky social rethugs (regardless of how much they want to blame the union and the Democrats, who are in the minority in the legislature).

[life long demo]

4. Holy Moly

This bill is unbelievable. And they only found part of it unconstitutional? And concerns about clean water wasn't even considered?

[malthaussen]

6. The stuff going on in PA is abominable

... and yet threads in DU about it seem to fall off the radar quickly.

PA is a model of what the GOP has in store for us. The complete package: drug testing for welfare, mandatory trans-uterine ultrasounds for women, gerrymandered districts and repressive voter ID laws (being challenged in court as I type), and fracking bills that are unbelievable. Our legislature has, for example, virtually signed over the entire Susquehanna river to the frackers. And the cherry on top is voting machine fraud, with entire districts and counties registering suspicious results. PA is the USA in miniature.

-- Mal

[freshwest]

5. Isn't this very similar to what has been done in Michigan? Call it what it is, fascism. Any doubts,

Check out this transcript quickly. Thom Hartmann is the true Paul Revere of our age, but it's not the British coming:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1017&pid=44227

We can ignore ALEC and the Koch brothers and lose our nation and they are not stopping. We already knew this long ago (sorry I kept posting this over and over again) and it's all happening now, just as it did in the thirties and forties:

"The really dangerous American fascist... is the man who wants to do in the United States in an American way what Hitler did in Germany in a Prussian way. The American fascist would prefer not to use violence.

His method is to poison the channels of public information. With a fascist the problem is never how best to present the truth to the public but how best to use the news to deceive the public into giving the fascist and his group more money or more power...

They claim to be super-patriots, but they would destroy every liberty guaranteed by the Constitution. They demand free enterprise, but are the spokesmen for monopoly and vested interest.

Their final objective, toward which all their deceit is directed, is to capture political power so that, using the power of the state and the power of the market simultaneously, they may keep the common man in eternal subjection." -- U.S. Vice President Henry A. Wallace, quoted in the New York Times, April 9, 1944

They have dumbed us down so far this is the response of the right wing nuts and tea baggers. This is how ignorant they are:

Fascist just simply means a shadow government. That shadow government is obviously hidden because those behind it know its not popular and since they dont have complete control over a nation they choose to remain hidden. The reason its not popular is because it infringes on freedom and liberty and therefore it falls into the category of "the left", i.e. socialism, communism, etc. Since the Koch Bros. are capitalists, you cant hardly call them fascists (and be credible at least). megamaniac76 2 hours ago

Note all the buzzwords from the media, the skewed logic.

[lindysalsagal]

11. When it's one state, it's a rumor. When it's 2 states, it's an event.

When it gets to 3 or 4 states, people may finally wake up from the lattes and baseball games and reality tv shows and catch on that america is over.

I hope.

[grntuscarora]

7. I believe the Commondreams article has an error.

The ruling came from a PA appellate court, but not from the PA Supreme court. Our Governor Corporate has said the decision will be appealed. Unfortunately, this issue is not over.

http://shale.sites.post-gazette.com/index.php/news/archives/24715-pa-court-overturns-act-13-zoning-rules :
"HARRISBURG -- A dispute over Pennsylvania's attempt to establish statewide zoning for Marcellus Shale drilling likely is headed to the state's top court, after an appellate panel on Thursday overturned the new rules. "

The Guv's response to the ruling:

"We are disappointed in today's ruling and will likely appeal. Act 13 is clearly constitutional and received significant input and ultimate support from Pennsylvania's local government associations and their legal counsel. We will vigorously defend this law, which better protects the environment, provides revenue to local communities and regulatory certainty to both landowners and job creators." http://shale.sites.post-gazette.com/index.php/news/archives/24714

[HiPointDem]

9. fuck those parasites and fascists.

[blue neen]

12. Yes.

I'm glad you caught that. It was Commonwealth Court.

Tom Corbett will only "vigorously defend this law" because it protects the drillers and the oil/gas corporations.

[malthaussen]

13. Correct, it was Commonwealth Court

The battle will go on, but the ruling provides basis for injunction while the appeals process goes forward. I think.

-- Mal

[HiPointDem]

8. k&r. very important.

[HiPointDem]

10. i'll kick this again because it's so important. a hell of a lot more important than romney's trip

to england or obama's cute kids.

[MadrasT]

14. K&R for more visibility

I am appalled by what is going on in my state.

Thanks for posting.

[CANDO]

15. An appelate court ruled.

This was in the paper saying it would be appealed to the State Supreme Court. There is a 3 to 3 tie D vs R on the bench. A tie would uphold any lower court ruling.

[limpyhobbler]

16. du rec nt