JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Sen. Wayne Langerholc Jr., R-Richland Township, described Pennsylvania’s state government as “asleep” in his opinion when he addressed the Cambria Regional Chamber Wednesday morning.
“I say that because I think we can do so much more,” Langerholc said during the annual State of the Commonwealth address at the University of Pittsburgh’s Living-Learning Center in Johnstown.
Pennsylvania is currently the only state in the country with a split legislature, as Republicans control the Senate and Democrats hold a majority in the House. Langerholc, who represents the 35th District, said he wants to find a “spirit of compromise” because “so many people just want to stall or hold up or stop progress because they’re not getting what they want.”
“It’s sad,” he said.
Lawmakers Langerholc and Burns fight over how school safety funding was obtained
Personal political tensions, election year drama and the question of who gets credit for providing school safety funding were unexpectedly the topics of the Cambria Regional Chamber’s annual State of the Commonwealth address on Wednesday.
Still, Langerholc and State Rep. Jim Rigby (R-Ferndale) spoke optimistically about local developments, noting education, technology, transportation and other sectors.
“There’s a lot of good things happening in the area. … I’m just really happy with the direction the district is going,” Rigby said. “I see a lot of positive things happening within the 71st (District).”
Train effort on the track
Langerholc, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, pointed to the progress being made with trains and drones.
He announced that a second daily train route to Pittsburgh is expected to be added in 2026 after years of work and lobbying. That would include a stop in Johnstown, where a major upgrade to the train station is planned, paid for by multiple funding sources, including federal Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity dollars.
“It’s going to be possible to go back and forth to Pittsburgh and Harrisburg in one day. … That’s going to be a great, great opportunity,” Langerholc said. “That’s going to do great things in combination with what we’re doing with the RAISE grant.”
Langerholc said he recently attended the Global Autonomous Systems Conference in Alaska, where drones were one of the topics discussed.
“This is going to be awesome because we’re going to be the leader (in drone technology),” Langerholc said. “Johnstown Airport is going to be the leader.”
Budget, population loss
Pennsylvania recently passed a $47.6 billion general budget for 2024-25, which included a $2.7 billion (or 6 percent) increase over the previous budget year.
Langerholc supported the spending plan.
Rigby voted no.
“The question I had then – and I still have now – is how are we going to sustain this?” Rigby asked. “How are we going to sustain this? We’re going to deplete the reserves, so that within two years, all that money is gone. When that happens, we’re going to go after our contingency fund, which is money that’s put back for disasters, infrastructure problems, whatever.
“We saw a bridge collapse in Philadelphia. They rebuilt it in two weeks. Amazing. But they were able to do that because the funds were available.”
Rigby said the budget included “historic investments in all levels of Pennsylvania’s education system,” including an additional $1.3 billion in spending for kindergarten through 12th grade.
He also said a change in the state’s tax policy could help the region address its ongoing population decline.
“We need to create a more friendly business environment – we’ve talked about this – by cutting corporate taxes,” said Rigby, who felt this would improve the economy and therefore help attract people to the region.
Address ‘Constituency’ Cambria Regional Chamber invited Rigby, Langerholc, state Reps. Frank Burns, D-East Taylor Township; and Dallas Kephart, R-Clearfield, to participate.
“I think it’s important that they provide an update on the recent budget that was passed, the key initiatives that are coming forward that will hopefully support the area, and also that they can answer questions from the public about what’s important to their constituency in Cambria County, their legislative districts,” said Greg Winger, chairman of the chamber’s political action committee.
Wessel & Co. sponsored the event.
“It’s a great opportunity for business leaders to hear directly from state legislators about what’s happening and what they’re doing to bring commerce back to the region,” said Joel Valentine, Wessel CEO.
Valentine added: “I think overall the most important thing is to get everyone working together, with compromises.
“The ability to get things done is the single most important thing for government, especially at the Commonwealth level.”
Burns and Kephart were not there.
