June 05, 2015

Weekly Wrap:

Monday marked one month until a state budget must be passed. While it’s hard to say whether we’re any closer to enactment of a balanced state spending plan, there was some budget-related activity in the state legislature this week.

On Monday, the House amended H.B. 1192 (Adolph, R-Delaware), voted it on second consideration and re-referred it to the Appropriations Committee. The bill, a general appropriation bill that reflects last year’s spending plan, was successfully amended by Rep. DiGirolamo, Rep. Tallman and Rep. Millard. It’s too soon to say if this bill will be the vehicle for this year’s budget. Also on Monday, the House called up H.B. 283 (Keller, R-Perry) for a vote. This bill would amend the Tax Reform Code and had dozens of amendments posted to it, some of which reflected Gov. Wolf’s tax initiatives. When all was said and done, the only amendment brought up for consideration was sponsored by Rep. Grove and included the governor’s tax plan in its entirety. The amendment failed unanimously. This maneuver, decried as a “stunt” by democratic leadership, sent a strong message to the governor nonetheless.

Read more about budget debate here:

http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/8481354-74/wolf-tax-vote#axzz3bnvmiQay

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20150602_Wolf__GOP_ramp_up_budget_rhetoric.html

House committees were also busy this week. The House State Government Committee held two public hearings on S.B. 1 (Corman, R-Centre), the Senate Republican leadership comprehensive pension overhaul bill. The House Children and Youth Committee also met with newly anointed Secretary of Human Services, Ted Dallas, to discuss his vision for the department, with much of the discussion focused on streamlining the child abuse clearance process. Finally, the House Democratic Policy Committee held a hearing on Gov. Wolf’s Energy Investment Initiative.

Meanwhile, the Senate was busy dealing with more of Gov. Wolf’s cabinet nominations. Nominees to head up the Insurance Department (Teresa Miller), Department of Corrections (John Wetzel), Department of Revenue (Eileen McNulty), DEP (John Quigley), the Office of Physician General (Dr. Rachel Levine) and the Pennsylvania State Police(Colonel Marcus Brown) all appeared before standing committees for their nomination hearings. Additionally, the full Senate gave the nod to the following nominees, making them full-fledged cabinet secretaries: Cindy Dunn (DCNR), Ted Dallas (DHS), Pedro Cortes (Department of State), Teresa Miller (Insurance Department), Pedro Rivera (Department of Education), Robin Weissmann (Banking and Securities) and John Quigley (DEP).

 

Many Senate committees also met this week. The Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee held a joint hearing with the Senate Finance Committee on proposals implementing a shale extraction tax. Much of Gov. Wolf’s budget hinges on the imposition of this tax.

To view the hearing, go to: http://environmental.pasenategop.com/2015/05/27/a-proposed-severance-tax-on-natural-gas/

Senate Appropriations Committee also met and sent a slew of bills to the floor. Among them, S.B. 305 (McGarrgile, R-Chester), which would amend the Pharmacy Act to allow pharmacists to administer flu vaccines to children over nine years old, S.B. 329 (Ward, R-Westmoreland), which would establish the Ready to Succeed Scholarship program, S.B. 352 (Vogel, R-Beaver), which would modernize the Race Horse Industry Reform Act, and S.B. 396 (Vance, R-Cumberland), which would extend the sunset date on the Health Care Cost Containment Council.  Also, the Senate Education Committee sent S.B. 862 (Smucker, R-Lancaster) to the floor for a vote; this bill would clarify the frequency of required background checks for school employees, similar to changes made to the Child Protective Services Law last session. Finally, the Senate Finance Committee unanimously voted to send S.B. 282 (Vulakovich, R-Allegheny) to the floor for a vote; the bill would establish a Waterfront Development Tax Credit.

Also this week, Gov. Wolf and the state Insurance Department submitted an application to the federal government to set up a state-based insurance marketplace. The filing is in response to an anticipated Supreme Court ruling later this month, where it is argued that in states where the federal government runs their health insurance marketplaces, people are not eligible for subsidies to help them afford insurance coverage.

For more, go to: http://wallaby.telicon.com/PA/library/2015/2015060298.HTM

 

A Look Ahead:

Next week is likely to bring more action in each chamber. On Monday, the House Children and Youth Committee will meet to consider H.B. 1276 (Watson), which would clarify some of the changes made last year to the Child Protective Services Law.

To read H.B. 1276, go to:

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=H&type=B&bn=1276

The House Finance Committee will meet on Tuesday to consider a number of bills that amend the Tax Reform Code, any of which could end up as vehicles for tax proposals that are part of budget negotiations. Also on Tuesday, the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee will hold a joint hearing with the Senate Transportation Committee on the safe transportation of crude oil by rail in the Commonwealth.

To see the House Finance Committee agenda, go to: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/cteeInfo/Index.cfm?CteeBody=H&Code=16

For more about the joint hearing, go to: http://www.senatorgeneyaw.com/2015/06/04/senate-panels-to-hold-joint-hearing-on-improving-rail-transportation-safety/

 

The House Health Committee will hold a hearing on reinstating the certificate of need program for hospitals on Wednesday, and the House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee will hold an informational hearing on a number of bills that would amend the Older Adult Protective Services Act. Finally, on Wednesday, the Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on proposals that would increase the PA sales tax and personal income tax, and the Senate Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee will hold a public hearing on gaming issues, including internet gaming.

For more on the House Aging Committee hearing, go to: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/cteeInfo/Index.cfm?CteeBody=H&Code=32

For more on the Senate Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee, go to: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/cteeInfo/Index.cfm?CteeBody=S&Code=31

Also of note, on Thursday, the House Consumer Affairs Committee will hold a public hearing on H.B. 1065 (Killion, R-Delaware), which would regulate transportation network companies in the Commonwealth, like Uber and Lyft.

To read H.B. 1065, go to: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=H&type=B&bn=1065

While there’s not a lot of information available about next week’s Senate floor activities, the House has scheduled H.B. 854  (DeLuca, D-Allegheny), which would require pharmacy technicians to register with the State Board of Pharmacy, for final consideration on Monday, and H.B. 1099 (Maher, R-Allegheny), which would require legal counsel for the Environmental Quality Board for a final vote on Tuesday.

For more about what’s happening on the House Floor, check out the Week Ahead: http://wallaby.telicon.com/PA/library/2015/2015060482.PDF

To see what the Senate might consider on the floor, go to: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/SessionCalendars/index.cfm?Chamber=S

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