Disorder At State Senate Soda Tax Hearing
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Pennsylvania Senate's Local Government Committee came to Philadelphia on Friday for a hearing on the city's sweetened beverage tax.
Things didn't go according to plan.
The Committee borrowed city council chambers and invited tax opponents to testify, but a late-night email blast from advocacy groups to their members drew dozens of tax supporters, including pre-K teacher Latonya Bernard Gowers.
"Our children really depend on the funding for early childhood education, so we wanted to make sure we came out. We believe if you invest in children's education today, you'll spend less on incarceration tomorrow," she said.
She brought along her students, who took over council members' desks and held up signs, adding to the confusion created by union members, parks advocates, and others, to the frustration of committee chairman Scott Wagner.
"We're gonna cancel the meeting and we'll hold it in Harrisburg," he said.
Wagner called the hearing at the request of senator Anthony Williams. Williams says part of his goal was to show his fellow senators the need to fund programs like pre-K.
"We need to find revenues that can support it that are sustainable and not put the burden on people who need it," Williams said.