Convention Center
- Rep. Evans helped lead the effort to fund the Pennsylvania Convention Center in 1986. He sponsored Act 3-2004, reenacting the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority (PCCA), located in center city Philadelphia. The bill passed unanimously in both the state Senate and
House and reconstituted the board, including guaranteed
representation from the hospitality industry. It also
established in statute a requirement that before the
Commonwealth releases any money for the expansion, the PCCA
must complete a managerial audit and establish a code of
conduct, a customer service dispute resolution mechanism,
and a customer satisfaction measuring system. More
importantly, Act 3 ratified the Customer Satisfaction
Agreement between PCCA and labor.
Ogontz Avenue Revitalization Corporation
- In 1983, Rep. Evans created the Ogontz Avenue
Revitalization Corporation (OARC), a community development
corporation in West Oak Lane, whose mission is to create and
stimulate economic development and improve the quality of
life in the West Oak Lane community. OARC led the rebuilding
and regeneration of Ogontz Avenue,
considered a model neighborhood redevelopment project.
Taxicab Service
- Evans co-sponsored H.B. 2654 (Act 94 of 2004) transferring
responsibility of taxicab regulation from the state Public
Utility Commission (PUC) to the Philadelphia Parking
Authority (PPA). Included in this legislation is a $2
million initiative sponsored by Rep. Evans to make taxicab
service more consumer friendly. Taxicabs often provide
tourists with the first impressions of the city. The PUC,
which was established to regulate large monopolies, such as
electric, gas, and telephone companies, had proved to be
cumbersome in regulating taxicabs, and it is believed that
PPA will do a better job.
Transit
- As Democratic Chair of the
House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Evans successfully
increased funds for transit in the current year’s budget. A
clean and efficient transit system not only helps tourists
but also helps workers get to and from work, and students
get to and from school. The Mass Transportation Assistance
appropriation received a 6.6 percent increase for 2004/05,
nearly doubling the increase requested by the Governor and
bringing the total appropriation to $287.8 million. Most
recently, Rep. Evans has introduced legislation which will
provide long-term, dedicated funding of $110 million a year
for all the state’s 22 urban, 19 rural and more than 50
community transit systems.
Economic Stimulus
- Rep. Evans played a key role in finalizing the
Commonwealth’s comprehensive Economic Stimulus Program to
“jumpstart” the state economy. His main contribution
successfully included supermarket development in the final
package of the bills. Generally, the Stimulus program will
support private sector development and increase the number
of projects being undertaken throughout the Commonwealth.
When all components are fully implemented, Stimulus will
invest over $2 billion to leverage at least $5 billion in
private investment in the following target areas: community
revitalization, site preparation, infrastructure
improvement, and construction business investment.
Fresh Food Financing Initiative
- Under the leadership of Rep. Evans, the Commonwealth has
appropriated $10 million for the Pennsylvania Fresh Food
Financing Initiative. This innovative new program will
increase the number of supermarkets or other grocery stores
in underserved communities across the state. Together with
The Food Trust and the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs
Coalition, The Reinvestment Fund (TRF) formed a
public-private partnership to support the initiative. TRF
will leverage state funds into a $40 million multi-faceted
pool, which will be a one-stop-shop for financing
supermarkets and other grocery retailers.
Helping Working Families
- Rep. Dwight Evans initiated an idea for ways to help working families in
tight budget times. Gov. Rendell used Rep. Evans’ idea to
form a Working Families Task Force, which is about to
release recommendations that will connect working families
to quality financial education; move working families beyond
living “paycheck to paycheck;” help working families create
their own jobs and security; and make sure that working
families are treated fairly by financial institutions.
Hospitality Industry Promotion and Training
- Over the years, Rep. Evans has been
leading efforts to provide job training for the hospitality
industry in both the Philadelphia School District and the
Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC). He also led
the charge for the Multicultural Affairs Congress (MAC) as
an arm of the Pennsylvania Convention and Visitors Bureau in
developing plans to attract African-Americans, Latino,
Asian-American, and Native American tourists and
conventioneers to Philadelphia.
Charter School Law
- Rep. Evans was instrumental in securing the passage of
Pennsylvania’s Charter School Law (1997). There are now 52
charter schools serving the students and families of
Philadelphia, including the West Oak Lane Charter School,
begun by Rep. Evans in 1998. In 2004, Rep. Evans, in
conjunction with the Black Alliance for Educational Option
and the Lotus Academy, opened the doors to New Media
Technology Charter School, a digital project-based learning
high school.
Philadelphia School District
- Rep. Evans was
instrumental in securing passage of Act 46-1998, the
legislation that stopped a threatened shutdown of the Philadelphia School District. In 2001, Rep. Evans led the
passage of Act 83, the legislation that provided for the
takeover of the Philadelphia School District by the School
Reform Commission, chaired by James Nevels, and the
appointment of Chief Education Officer Paul Vallas.
Wage Tax
- A long-time champion of reducing
wage taxes in Philadelphia, Rep. Evans helped shepherd
legislation through the General Assembly to do just that.
Under Act 72-2004, state funding from gaming revenues will
be used to reduce wage taxes for both residents and
commuters. It also requires the City to implement already
approved wage tax cuts before receiving gaming revenue. This
historic tax relief plan will have a positive economic
impact on Philadelphia and the entire region.
Predatory Lending
- Under the leadership of Rep. Evans, Pennsylvania enacted
legislation which established uniform standards to regulate
mortgage lending practices in the Commonwealth. Act 55-2001
limits various predatory lending practices, including loan
flipping, balloon payments, prepayment fees, increased
interest rates on loan defaults, negative amortization (in
which the loan balance actually increases), and call
provisions (that accelerate loan payments without cause).
The statute provides unprecedented enforcement authority to
the state Department of Banking.
Blueprint for a Safer Philadelphia
- On April 21, 2004, Rep. Evans convened an historic meeting of
state legislative leaders, top law enforcement officials
from the federal, state and local level and community
leaders to discuss strategies to stop the violence that has
taken the lives of too many city youth. The following 30
days were spent putting together a legislative action plan
with an emphasis on action to curb violence. The result was
a document produced by the Philadelphia District Attorney’s
office, called a “Blueprint for a Safer Philadelphia.” Of
the ten points listed in the document, seven have been or
are in progress of being accomplished.
Boot Camps
- Rep. Evans was the prime sponsor of legislation which
brought into existence Pennsylvania’s first and only
motivational boot camp for adult offenders not yet 35 years
of age and who had received a minimum sentence of not more
than two years and a maximum sentence of five years or less.
The bill passed unanimously both the House and Senate and
was signed into law (Act 215-1990) by Gov. Casey. Program
evaluations have documented that the Pennsylvania boot camp
has lower recidivism rates and is less costly than
traditional imprisonment. The boot camp provides an
important alternative to incarceration that, for some
offenders, is a more successful rehabilitative approach.
Fighting Crime
- Rep. Evans has been active in finding ways to reduce the
level of violence in our communities. In 1994, he co-chaired
the Pennsylvania Anti-Violence Education Initiative (PAVE),
and in 1997, he organized the “Gang of Five,” a bipartisan
group of legislative leaders interested in improving public
safety in Philadelphia. The Gang sponsored a comprehensive
series of public safety town meetings throughout
Philadelphia’s neighborhoods. Rep. Evans organized the
Common Sense Firearms Safety Caucus in the spring of 1999 to
respond to the need to better prioritize what the General
Assembly can and should do to promote the enactment of
appropriate and effective state legislation. Evans also has
been a supporter of common sense gun policies such as “One
Handgun a Month” and mandatory sentencing for violent
criminals who possess firearms.
Neighborhood Improvements
- Rep. Evans has been involved in many efforts to improve life in
our neighborhoods. Rep. Evans is one of four members of the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives who adopted a
legislative strategy for pursuing new and updated laws to
help improve processes to remove and ameliorate vacant and
blighted properties. Rep. Evans gained statewide attention
in his efforts to eradicate blight in his legislative
district, which includes inventorying abandoned properties.
The fourth edition of the “Welcome to West Oak Lane Housing
Book” is now available on this Web site. Similarly, Rep.
Evans successfully leveraged changes in law and
administrative procedures to assist in the removal of
abandoned vehicles, which has greatly improved since he took
office.
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