State Rep. Jim Christiana says 10 years will be enough if re-elected
If elected to a fifth term in November, state Rep. Jim Christiana said Wednesday that he would keep a promise to serve only 10 years in the House and not run again in 2018.
“I can’t see any reason to break my term limit pledge,” said Christiana, R-15, Brighton Township, who recently became a father when his wife, Jayann, delivered the couple’s first child in late December.
Christiana, 32, upset then-Democratic state Rep. Vince Biancucci in 2008 to capture the seat, the map for which has since been redrawn to include a large portion of Washington County. Prior to entering the state House, Christiana was a Beaver councilman.
“I’ve never taken any election or re-election for granted,” Christiana said, who has constituents in Beaver and Washington counties. “I’m going to work just as hard this time as I did the first four times.”
Christiana, a charter school supporter, said he is proud that there are more education options in the state than when he started and that state government is more transparent. One of his signature achievements is the legislation that led to the creation of PennWATCH, a publicly accessible website where state spending and financial information is available.
Looking ahead, Christiana said he will work to stop the “outrageous” and “punitive” tax increases proposed by Gov. Tom Wolf as the Legislature continues to debate the current partially approved budget even as Wolf prepares a 2016-17 budget.
An opponent of a severance tax on drilling in the past, Christiana has surprised some by proposing an initial 3 percent tax that could increase to as much as 5 percent depending on natural gas prices.
“What I’m trying to solve is an issue that has been front and center, and is going to remain front and center, in a responsible way,” he said. “I want to be able to reach across the aisle and solve these issues. However, it has to be done in a reasonable fashion.”
Christiana’s proposal would replace the impact fee with the severance tax while Wolf has proposed keeping the impact fee and adding a 3.5 percent severance tax and 4.7 cents per thousand cubic feet charge. In 2015, the state distributed $223.5 million under Act 13, which created the impact fee.
Christiana has said the first $175 million received through the severance tax would be distributed like this: $10 million to the Environmental Stewardship Fund; $40 million to the Marcellus Legacy Fund; and $125 million to counties affected by drilling.
Of remaining revenue, one-third would be returned to communities and two-thirds to the state’s general fund.