U.S. Rep.

Jason Altmire, D-4th, on Tuesday voted for legislation he said would improve communication between the Internal Revenue Service and taxpayers about potential identity theft, unclaimed refunds, and eligibility for the earned income tax credit."The complexity of the tax code causes confusion among all of us,"Altmire said. "By requiring the IRS to inform taxpayers about identity theft, unclaimed refunds and eligibility for the earned income tax credit, we are taking important steps toward reforming how the IRS operates."The Taxpayer Protection Act of 2007 would require the IRS during a tax fraud investigation to notify a taxpayer that the taxpayer's identity may have been stolen, Altmire said.He said the information would allow a taxpayer the opportunity to take the necessary steps to protect his or her identity and to limit the damage caused by identity theft.———Businesses would be better able to recover costs from writers of bad checks under legislation approved Tuesday by the state House of Representatives, according to the bill's sponsor, Rep.

Dick Stevenson, R-8th.When a business or organization deposits or cashes a bad check, its account is charged the bank's processing fee. Under the legislation, they would be able to recoup the loss by raising their service fee from $20 to $50.The measure, which passed 194 to 1, allows individuals, organizations and businesses to charge a service fee of $50 when a bad check has been passed to them.If the actual amount of service charges incurred by the payee is more than $50, then the actual amount will be assessed against the bad check writer. The legislation now moves to the state Senate for consideration.———The state Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee this week approved legislation introduced by state Sen.

Don White, R-41st, that seeks to provide incentives to encourage partnerships between volunteer emergency service organizations.The measure would create the Volunteer Emergency Service Partnership Grant Program, which would include volunteer fire, EMS and other emergency service providers.White stressed the measure does not include any mandates and would not force any mergers or consolidations.Funding for the program is initially proposed as a five-year, $25 million allocation.———State Sen.

Bob Robbins, R-50th, this week was appointed vice chairman of the Pennsylvania Athletic Oversight Committee.The committee is charged with ensuring that the PIAA continues to comply with the 13 reforms put in place by Act 91 of 2000.The PIAA was formed by high school principals to "eliminate abuses, establish uniform rules and place interscholastic athletics in the overall context of secondary education."