You’ve heard the saying, “Watch what they do, not what they say”. Let’s review a couple of Rep. Moul’s votes and actions to see how they compare to what he says. Moul recently voted against the Digital Ad Tax (HB 1678), which would help seniors by extending the State’s 5% sales tax to online advertising. Moul said on his Facebook page that the tax would “hurt all small business who advertise digitally.” The sponsors of the bill, however, state that “The legislation would require multinational corporations to pay their fair share without raising taxes on consumers or small businesses.” It is part of a Tax Billionaires package.
HB 1678 passed the House without Moul’s support by a vote of 139-63, with 35 Republicans voting for the legislation. It remains pending in the Senate. Kathleen Pratt, who is running against Moul, supports the tax, which would provide property tax rebates to seniors. Most of the tax would be paid by companies like Google, Meta and Amazon. The tax would have a significant impact on the State’s budget, potentially raising $500 million annually. The bill requires tech companies to pay the tax without passing it on to customers.
Moul also used to support mail-in voting. He voted to expand mail-in voting to all Pennsylvania voters back in 2019. After the 2020 election, as a newly-minted election-denier, he was one of only 11 Republicans who joined a lawsuit supporting President Trump’s baseless attacks on the constitutionality of mail-in voting. At the time, Moul said “We pass bills all the time. Do we go back and check every single one to make sure it stays within the confines of the constitution? We’d never get anything done if we did that.” Really?
Legislators like Moul take an oath to follow the U.S. and Pennsylvania Constitutions. That should include a duty by Moul and his staff to review bills for constitutionality.
The mail-in voting lawsuit was ultimately denied by the PA Supreme Court. Kathleen Pratt supports voting by mail. I like voting by mail. It’s safe, secure and gives me the time to intelligently research the candidates and issues on the ballot. The County notifies me when they have mailed my ballot and when they receive it back.
Moul used to be in favor of term limits. Not anymore. He has now had 20 years in office. During that time he has held only one public Town Hall. Kathleen Pratt has committed to having multiple public Town Halls each year, so she can hear from her constituents. That makes sense to me. Legislators need to hear from all their constituents from both parties. I’m voting for Kathleen Pratt this year. It’s time for a change.
