Dear Friend,

Below is some information from across the district and across the state that I hope you’ll find of interest. 

Please check out my Constituent Survey below and let me know your thoughts.

If you find this e-newsletter useful, I invite you to visit my website www.senatormensch.com for more information about your state government. If you do not wish to receive these e-newsletters, please click the "unsubscribe" button at the bottom of the page.

Sincerely,
Bob Mensch

In this issue...

Please Join Me for Coffee
The Mensch Report
2015 Adult Trout Stocking Schedules Available
Help Prevent Breast Cancer – A Message from PA Breast Cancer Coalition
Property Tax/Rent Rebate Forms Available
Tax Form Reminder
PA Revenue Department Issues Statement on Suspected Identity Theft, Fraudulent Personal Income Tax Refund Claims 
Utility Imposter Awareness Information
Montgomery County Recycling Event Schedule
Constituent Survey

Please Join Me for Coffee

Please join me Wednesday, April 8 for coffee and discussion of state topics. Bring a friend and any questions you may have. 

The gathering will take place from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at the Skippack Township Municipal Building located at 4089 Heckler Road in Skippack. 

The event is free. For more information and to RSVP, please call our Pennsburg office at 215-541-2388.  To view the event flyer, click here.

The Mensch Report

This edition of The Mensch Report features my discussion with Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman.  Senator Corman and I focused on the Senate’s legislative priorities, which include pension reform.  I invite you to watch our discussion as we identify our goals for the 2015-2016 session calendar.

2015 Adult Trout Stocking Schedules Available

It is that time of year again! 2015 Adult Trout Stocking Schedules are now available. Anglers can easily search the trout stocking schedules for locations and dates of interest. 

The search results will provide each body of water within a county that is scheduled for stocking, the section of water, the date, the species of trout, the meeting place and time, the hatchery stocking the section, the regulations that apply and the latitude/longitude number. 

The PFBC annually stocks approximately 3.2 million adult trout in more than 700 streams and 120 lakes open to public angling. These figures include approximately 2.01 million rainbow trout, 641,000 brown trout, and 525,000 brook trout. As with past practice, the average size of the trout produced for stocking is 11 inches in length.

Help Prevent Breast Cancer – A Message from PA Breast Cancer Coalition

When Dr. Wendie Berg found out she had cancer, she wasn't that surprised. She knew she had dense breast tissue and a family history of breast cancer. Now, she says she is even more motivated to inform every woman in Pennsylvania of the risks associated with having dense breast tissue. Watch her story here. 

The PA Breast Density Notification Act, which I sponsored, requires all women who receive mammograms to be notified of their tissue density.  Dense tissue complicates early detection of breast cancer. Women who have extremely dense tissue are at a 4 to 6x greater risk of developing breast cancer. 

If you have questions, contact the PA Breast Cancer Coalition.  Also, to help ensure women are getting the information they need, the PBCC offers a five-minute survey to women who have had a mammogram this year.  You can take the survey here.

Property Tax/Rent Rebate Forms Available

Application forms for the Department of Revenue’s Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program are now available for eligible residents to begin claiming rebates on property taxes or rent paid in 2014.

Each resident who prepared or filed a paper rebate form last year not utilizing computer software should have received a 2014 application by now.  Renters who prepared or filed claims last year using computer software rather than the PA-1000 booklet received letters by mail reminding them to apply for 2014 rebates and providing copies of the PA-1000 Rent Certificate. 

It costs nothing to apply for a rebate, and the department reminds residents that applications and free filing help are available at no cost from Department of Revenue district offices, local Area Agencies on Aging, senior centers and state legislators’ offices. 

Applications are also available online or by calling 1-888-222-9190.  

More than $276 million in property tax and rent rebates have been sent to more than 578,000 homeowners and renters across the state for taxes and rent paid in 2013. 

The rebate program benefits eligible Pennsylvanians age 65 and older; widows and widowers age 50 and older; and people with disabilities age 18 and older. The income limit is $35,000 a year for homeowners and $15,000 annually for renters, and half of Social Security income is excluded. 

Forms are available online. Members of my staff are available to help you complete the form.  If you need assistance or have any questions, call 215-541-2388.  

Tax Form Reminder

Taxes are due on April 15, and my district offices have some state tax forms available. To obtain forms, please call any of my district offices to request the items you need. Forms can be picked up at my district offices or mailed to your home. In addition, PA Department of Revenue forms can be found here, and IRS forms can be found here.

Some federal tax forms will be made available at my office in the near future. Due to federal budget cuts, the IRS is unable to provide instruction booklets for Forms 1040, 1040A, and 1040EZ to my offices. Constituents can obtains copies of the instructions through:

• IRS.gov/Forms – to view and download
• IRS.gov/orderforms – to order tax products to be delivered by mail
• 1-800-829-3676 – to order tax products to be delivered by mail

PA Revenue Department Issues Statement on Suspected Identity Theft, Fraudulent Personal Income Tax Refund Claims

As suspected identity theft and fraudulent personal income tax claims in other states gain attention, the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue is working to ensure personal income tax refunds are paid to their rightful owners.

Last year, the department instituted additional security measures to identify and intercept fraudulent refund filings and require additional identity validation steps before issuing refunds. In light of an emerging increase in suspicious filings in other states, the department is taking the following actions: 

• It will delay the payment of direct deposit refunds temporarily, while the potential impact of the situation in Pennsylvania is assessed.
• Additional refund evaluation criteria are being built into the department’s identity validation program based on elements common among cases confirmed as fraud in other states.
• To facilitate diagnosis of fraud techniques currently in use, the department is participating in an information share among U.S. taxing agencies and Intuit, the company whose product has been used to transmit the recent fraudulent refund claims.

The department encourages taxpayers who used Internet-based tax filing programs last year to access their online accounts and determine whether returns they did not file are shown as filed under their Social Security numbers.  If a taxpayer discovers he or she is a victim of identity theft impacting a Pennsylvania tax return, he or she should take all of the following steps:

• Report the incident to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue at 717-787-8201.
• Report the incident to the Federal Trade Commission at www.consumer.gov/idtheft or by calling 1-877-438-4338.
• File a report with the local police.
• Report the incident to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection by calling 1-800-441-2555.
• File an Identity Theft Affidavit (Form 14039) with the Internal Revenue Service.
• >Contact the fraud departments of the three major credit bureaus:
• Equifax: www.equifax.com, 1-800-525-6285
• Experian: www.experian.com, 1-888-397-3742
• TransUnion: www.transunion.com, 1-800-680-7289
• Close any accounts that have been affected.

If a taxpayer suspects a notice or call concerning tax records is a scam, he or she may call the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue (717-787-8201) or IRS (1-800-829-1040) to validate the contact.

Utility Imposter Awareness Information

You hear about it all too often in the news: An unsuspecting homeowner victimized by thieves posing as utility company workers to gain entry and rob the house. You can prevent utility imposters from targeting you by taking precautions to protect yourself. 

Individuals claiming to represent the “water company” or another utility will approach the resident and use a variety of excuses to enter the home. For example, they are supposedly investigating a “dirty water” complaint by a neighbor or checking water pressure due to a main break nearby. Once inside the home, the imposters typically divert the resident’s attention by sending him/her to the basement or kitchen to run a faucet while they or an accomplice robs another area of the home. 

First, it is extremely rare for utility company personnel to show up at a customer’s home without an appointment. However, if a utility worker comes to your door and you are not expecting them, DO NOT let them inside without proper identification. All utility personnel wear uniforms, drive company-branded vehicles and wear photo ID badges with the company’s logo. (IMPORTANT: Company employees will never ask for nor accept payment at a customer’s home or business.) 

Don’t be afraid to ask for photo ID, and take the time to examine the ID badge whenever someone from a utility company arrives at your home. If you are still unsure and have any suspicions about the individual’s identity, call 9-1-1 immediately. Also, contact your utility provider to ensure that the visit is legitimate before allowing them into your home.

Montgomery County Recycling Event Schedule

You can review Montgomery County’s 2015 Community Recycling events by clicking here.  Events include household hazardous waste events, paper shredding events, and tire collection events. 

Constituent Survey

Your thoughts are important to me, and I encourage you to complete my Jan.- March survey here if you haven’t already. Please be assured your survey submission will be reviewed and your opinions noted. If you have additional questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Twitter and Facebook: I post regular updates on legislative action, committee developments, useful state-related information, happenings in the 24th Senatorial District and more on Twitter @SenatorMensch and on my Facebook page.
 

Harrisburg Office
Senate Box 203024
Harrisburg, PA 17120-3024
Phone (717) 787-3110
FAX (717) 787-8004

Red Hill Office
56 West 4th Street
Floor 2
Red Hill, PA 18076
Phone (215) 541-2388
Toll Free 1-855-247-9020
FAX (215) 541-2387
Monday - Friday
9-4:30 pm

Lansdale District Office
645 W. 9th Street
Lansdale, PA 19446
Phone (215) 368-3117
FAX (215) 541-2387
Monday, Wednesday and Friday
9-4:30 pm

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