PRINTER'S NO. 1406
No. 248 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY CALTAGIRONE, DALEY, BAKER, BEYER, BIANCUCCI,
BLACKWELL, BRENNAN, BUXTON, CAPPELLI, COHEN, COSTA, CRUZ,
DENLINGER, DePASQUALE, DeWEESE, DiGIROLAMO, DONATUCCI, FLECK,
FRANKEL, FREEMAN, GEORGE, GIBBONS, GODSHALL, GRUCELA, HARHAI,
JAMES, KENNEY, KILLION, KORTZ, LENTZ, LEVDANSKY, LONGIETTI,
MAHER, MAHONEY, MAJOR, MANTZ, MARKOSEK, McCALL, MELIO,
MILLARD, PALLONE, PAYNE, PICKETT, QUIGLEY, READSHAW, REED,
SAINATO, SCAVELLO, SIPTROTH, SOLOBAY, TANGRETTI, R. TAYLOR,
THOMAS, TRUE, VEREB, WATSON AND YOUNGBLOOD, APRIL 24, 2007
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
APRIL 24, 2007
A RESOLUTION
1 Commemorating the 75th anniversary of the birth of the Honorable
2 James J. Manderino, former Speaker of the House of
3 Representatives, on May 6, 2007.
4 WHEREAS, The Hon. James J. Manderino was born on May 6, 1932,
5 in Monessen, Westmoreland County, and, along with his five
6 brothers and sisters, was raised in this small city along the
7 Monongahela River; and
8 WHEREAS, Following law school graduation in 1956,
9 Representative Manderino and his wife, Constance, whom he
10 married in 1955, returned to Monessen to raise their family,
11 which grew to include five children, as he practiced law; and
12 WHEREAS, Rep. Manderino was first elected to the House of
13 Representatives in 1966 as the representative of the 58th
14 Legislative District; and
1 WHEREAS, Rep. Manderino was elected as the Majority Whip in
2 1975 and as the Majority Leader in 1977 and again in 1982, 1984
3 and 1986; and
4 WHEREAS, On January 3, 1989, Rep. Manderino was elected
5 Speaker of the House of Representatives, a post he held until
6 his death on December 25, 1989; and
7 WHEREAS, Rep. Manderino was an eloquent and fearsome orator
8 and floor leader and was widely recognized as the driving force
9 behind job development legislation and programs that won
10 nationwide acclaim; and
11 WHEREAS, Under Rep. Manderino's leadership, the State enacted
12 the $190 million Pennsylvania Economic Recovery Fund, in which
13 eight separate programs address job development and training
14 concerns, including employee business ownership, business
15 infrastructure loans, youth training and incubators for small
16 business, and he played a key role in the creation of the Sunny
17 Day Fund to attract new industry to Pennsylvania and in the
18 passage of new business tax laws to make Pennsylvania
19 competitive with other states; and
20 WHEREAS, Rep. Manderino also led the way during 1985 in the
21 passage of a new formula for customized job training that
22 targets high unemployment areas, an emergency medical services
23 law that set standards for the training and licensing of
24 ambulances and emergency personnel, a $5.5 million "bridge
25 housing" program for the homeless in Pennsylvania, and a major
26 compromise hammered out with Governor Thornburg that led to a $4
27 billion expansion of the Pennsylvania Turnpike; and
28 WHEREAS, In 1983, Rep. Manderino was principal architect of
29 an economic development package known as PennPRIDE, the
30 Pennsylvania Program for Recovery, Investment, Development and
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1 Education, which was hailed nationally as one of the most
2 ambitious state economic development programs ever proposed by a
3 state legislature, and he oversaw passage of legislation to
4 provide for a senior citizen Co-Pay Prescription Compensation
5 Fund, a package to improve efficiency of the Crime Victims
6 Compensation Program, a bill to do away with automatic cost
7 increases by gas utilities, a $100 million low-interest mortgage
8 program for Vietnam-era veterans and a program for in-home
9 services as an alternative to hospitals and nursing homes for
10 senior citizens; and
11 WHEREAS, Rep. Manderino was the chief architect of numerous
12 landmark laws which directly affect Pennsylvania workers,
13 including the enactment of the 1984 "Right-to-Know" law
14 protecting workers from hazardous chemicals in the workplace, a
15 far-reaching health care cost containment law enacted in 1986
16 and legislation enacted during the 1987-1988 session aimed at
17 seriously easing the Commonwealth's acute solid waste crisis and
18 eliminating numerous toxic waste sites in the State through the
19 establishment of a State "superfund"; and
20 WHEREAS, May 6, 2007, marks the 75th anniversary of the birth
21 of this outstanding former member, whose premature death robbed
22 this Commonwealth of a great favorite son; therefore be it
23 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives commemorate the
24 75th anniversary of the birth of the Hon. James J. Manderino,
25 former Speaker of the House of Representatives, on May 6, 2007,
26 and remember his many contributions to our welfare.
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