October 2, 2015

Weekly Wrap:

Having both the House and Senate in Harrisburg made for a busy week, and there’s news to report on a number of fronts. The headliner this week, once again, was the state budget. By the end of last week, the General Assembly had sent a stop-gap spending plan to the Governor’s desk, but by Tuesday, the Governor had vetoed it. In his veto message, the Governor urged the legislature to come to the table to negotiate a long-term spending plan, stating that the people of Pennsylvania “want more than half measures and deserve better than the status quo.” In response to the veto, Senate Republican leadership stated that they are “deeply troubled that the Governor has elected to hold vital services hostage,” but that they remain ready to “talk further and ultimately pass a fiscally responsible budget…”

To read the Governor’s remarks, go to:

http://wallaby.telicon.com/PA/library/2015/2015092984.HTM

For Senate GOP leadership’s remarks, go to:

http://wallaby.telicon.com/PA/library/2015/2015092977.HTM

Meanwhile, the gravity of the failure to reach a budget agreement was underscored by Auditor General Eugene DePasquale. On Tuesday, DePasquale stated that 28 school districts are expected to borrow nearly $122 million in October, in addition to the 17 school districts that already borrowed $346 million. As if the borrowing isn’t bad enough, fees on the loans are going to cost taxpayers millions, DePasquale warned, looking to November first as the day that school districts will reach “the point of no return”.

To read more from the Auditor General, go to: http://wallaby.telicon.com/PA/library/2015/2015092991.HTM

We also saw some legislative activity outside the budget this week. On Monday, the Senate Appropriations committee met to consider two pieces of legislation relating to county-wide tax assessments. The first, S.B. 877 (Argall, R-Schuylkill), eliminates spot appeals of property assessments in Pennsylvania. The second, S.B. 899 (Hutchinson, R-Venango), requires that each tax must be made revenue neutral after a county-wide reassessment.

Also on Monday, the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs committee heard testimony from the Secretary of Agriculture and industry officials on a proposed overhaul of the Race Horse Industry Reform Act. S.B. 352 (Vogel, R-Beaver) would combine the State Racing and Harness Racing Commissions into one new commission that will have regulatory oversight over the horse racing industry.

Finally, the legislature sent H.B. 75 (Kauffman, R-Franklin) to the Governor’s desk, which would require pharmacies outside Pennsylvania to register in-state if they fill prescriptions for Pennsylvania residents.

On Tuesday, the Senate Finance committee unanimously voted in favor of H.B. 1319 (Marshall, R-Beaver), which allows disabled individuals the opportunity to obtain an ABLE savings account. These tax-free savings accounts can be used to cover expenses such as education, housing and transportation.

In addition, the House Commerce committee met to discuss H.B. 850 (Mackenzie, R-Lehigh). The bill amends the Pennsylvania Money Transmitters Act by improving licensing procedures, updating bond amounts and excluding business-to-business transactions from the Act’s jurisdiction.

The legislature also sent S.B. 875 (Bartolotta, R-Beaver) to the Governor’s desk. The bill would promote the beneficial use of treated mine water in oil and gas operations

Wednesday was a busy day for both Senate and House members. The Senate Republican and Democratic Policy Committees held a joint meeting on S.B. 282 (Vulakovich, R-Allegheny), which establishes a Waterfront Development Tax Credit. Also in the Senate, the Banking and Insurance committee reported H.B. 837 (Brown, R., R-Monroe) out of committee. Rep. Brown’s legislation authorizes the regulation of “savings promotion raffles” (chances offered by banks and credit unions to win prizes) in the Commonwealth.

In the House, the Judiciary committee moved H.B. 323 (Grove, R-York) through committee. The bill, which has support of the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC), establishes a Commerce Division of the Superior Court. The newly created division would have appellate jurisdiction over business cases. Furthermore, the House Aging and Older Adult Services heard testimony from PACE/PACENET Program Director, Thomas Snedden. Snedden described the program as a “comprehensive drug benefit for qualified older Pennsylvanians” and gave an outline of the benefits of PACE as well as how it coincides with Medicare Part D.

Finally, this week the Senate confirmed the nomination of Andrew Place as Public Utility Commissioner. A Greene County native, Place most recently served as the corporate director for energy and environmental policy at EQT Corporation. He replaces Commissioner Jim Cawley, whose term expired on March 31 of this year. BIR extends our warm congratulations to Commissioner Place, and our sincere thanks to Commissioner Cawley for his service.

A Look Ahead:

Only the House of Representatives will return for session next week; the Senate is expected to return on Tuesday, October 13.

Expect a lot of debate on the House floor next week: House Republican leadership has stated that it is their intention to bring the Governor’s budget proposals to raise the sales and personal income taxes to the full House for a vote on Wednesday. With 84 democrats and 119 republicans in the state house, the odds are stacked against the measures, but anything can happen. Stay tuned.

Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20151001_Skeptical_GOP_leaders_plan_vote_on_Wolf_budget.html

For further expected floor activity, check out The Week Ahead: http://wallaby.telicon.com/PA/library/2015/2015100169.PDF

Committee activity next week includes a House Transportation Committee meeting on Monday, to consider a number of bills, including S.B. 385 (Pileggi,R-Chester), which would modernize the Transit Revitalization Investment District Act.

Read S.B. 385 here: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=S&type=B&bn=0385

Also, expect a House Health Committee meeting on Wednesday to consider H.B. 946 (Baker, R-Bradford), providing for pharmacy audit procedures, and H.B. 947 (Fabrizio, D-Erie), providing for registration and transparency measures for pharmacy benefits managers.

Read H.B. 946 here: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=H&type=B&bn=0946

And H.B. 947 here: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=H&type=B&bn=0947

A full list of committee meetings can be found at: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/CMS/index.cfm?Chamber=H

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