HARRISBURG -- It's like deja vu when Chamber of Commerce officials and Republican legislators talk about the business climate in Pennsylvania.

The climate was lousy in the past, and it's still lousy, and something's got to be done about it quickly.

The Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, joined by state Sen. Jeffrey Piccola and Rep. Mike Turzai, said it again yesterday -- factors such as the corporate tax burden, overhead costs, health-care expenses and a "hostile legal system" must be remedied if firms are to remain here and grow and add more "family sustaining jobs."

Piccola, R-Dauphin, who is a GOP candidate for governor, and Turzai, R-Bradford Woods, joined state chamber officials Henry Fader and Kirk Liddell at the Capitol yesterday to complain that the General Assembly had put too many taxes on business, the taxes are too high, the tax load prevents companies from investing in plants or hiring workers, and health care for workers is too expensive. "Lawsuit abuse" against companies remains rampant, and other states are doing more to lure Pennsylvania companies.

"Without employers we will not have jobs, so we need to create an environment that reduces their overhead costs," said Turzai, who has spent months pushing a Republican-backed program to lower business taxes, so far without success.

One thing he wants is to eliminate the current $2 million cap on a company's "net loss carry forward." That's a complicated way of saying a company would be permitted to use a loss of more than $2 million in 2004 to offset its profits in 2005, thus cutting its taxes.

Turzai said Pennsylvania was one of only two states that put a limit on losses that can be carried forward from one fiscal year to the next.

Chamber officials released the results of a survey of 439 of their member companies (15 percent of the total), showing that while the improving national economy had improved their bottom line, there had been an increase -- from 16 percent in 2001 to 39 percent in 2005 -- in firms that would consider moving out of Pennsylvania.

The number of Chamber members that thought Pennsylvania's atmosphere for creating jobs was "poor" rose to 38 percent this year vs. 9 percent in 2001, the survey said.

Turzai said companies in Western Pennsylvania were more pessimistic, on the whole, than firms in other parts of the state. He said Ohio officials were making a concerted effort to lure companies from Western Pennsylvania by offering lower taxes and other ways to reduce their cost of doing business.

Turzai and Piccola called for new laws limiting noneconomic damages, also called "pain and suffering" damages, in suits against doctors, hospitals and product manufacturers.

They also called for lowering the state's corporate net income tax from 9.9 percent, the third highest in the nation.

Piccola opposed an increase in the state's minimum wage, from $5.15 an hour to $7.15 an hour, as proposed by Gov. Ed Rendell. Piccola said that would just increase an employer's costs and force him to lay off people.