Weekly Wrap

This was the last week of scheduled budget hearings for FY 2019-20. Over the last few weeks, the Appropriations Committees reviewed a wide range of subjects across state agencies so that they can make informed decisions when enacting a 2019-20 state spending plan. Though members posed plenty of questions to all of the agencies, it seems that members in both chambers and on both sides of the aisle are looking for more details on two of the Governor’s key initiatives: increasing the minimum wage and the per capita fee on municipalities for State Police coverage. We expect those details to be rolled out as budget discussions continue over next few months. As for this week, here are some of the highlights of what was discussed in each hearing:

Monday, March 4

House

  • Department of Education
    • Career and technical education
    • Teacher salaries and evaluations
    • PlanCon
    • School safety

Senate

  • Department of Drug & Alcohol Programs
    • Opioid crisis
    • Medication-assisted treatment
    • Halfway/recovery houses
  • Life Sciences Greenhouse/Life Sciences PA
    • Prescription drug pricing
    • Capital investments
    • Employment
  • Department of Conservation & Natural Resources
    • Special fund transfers
    • Oil and gas leasing on state land

Tuesday, March 5

House

  • Department of Environmental Protection
    • Permitting
    • Flood control
    • Water systems
  • Department of Agriculture
    • PA Farm Bill
    • Industrial hemp
  • PSERS/SERS
    • Public Pension Management and Asset Investment Review Commission’s report
    • Rate of return
    • Investment fees

Senate

  • Department of Education
    • Teacher salary
    • Cyber charter schools
    • Distressed school funding and programs
  • Department of Aging
    • Area agencies on aging
    • PACE program

Wednesday, March 6

House

  • Budget Secretary
    • Minimum wage
    • Education funding
    • Voting machines
  • Department of Military & Veterans Affairs
    • Education and workforce opportunities
    • Health and mental health services for veterans

Senate

  • Department of Military & Veterans Affairs
    • PA GI Bill
    • State veterans homes
    • Veteran long-term care
  • Department of Agriculture
    • Industrial hemp
    • Dog Law
  • Ben Franklin Technology Partners
    • Access to capital
    • Investing in start-ups

Thursday, March 7

Senate

  • Gaming Control Board
    • Horse racing industry
    • Video gaming terminal (VGT) implementation
    • iGaming
  • Department of Community & Economic Development
    • Film tax credit
    • Workforce development
    • Loan and grant programs
  • Budget Secretary
    • Performance-based budgeting
    • Special fund transfers
    • Revenue projections

The Week Ahead

Now that budget hearings are over, the legislature can get back to regular session days. Just the House of Representatives will be in Harrisburg next week, with three session days on the calendar.

On Monday, the House Liquor Control Committee will consider H.B. 327 (Warren, D-Bucks), which would clarify the process for placing a liquor referendum on the ballot in an election. Also, the House Education Committee will consider a host of career and technical education (CTE) and workforce development legislation, including:

  • H.B. 265 (Staats, R-Bucks) Requires all public schools to submit their articulation agreements to be included in an established database.
  • H.B. 297 (Mako, R-Northampton) Requires the Department of Education to develop materials outlining workforce needs.
  • H.B. 393 (Harkins, D-Erie) Requires the state to create an online career resource center for Career and Technical Education resources and information.
  • H.B. 394 (Mullery, D-Luzerne) Requires the Departments of Education and Labor & Industry to conduct a complete inventory of existing workforce development programs.

In addition to the voting meetings, there will be two informational meetings with PJM Interconnection. PJM manages our electric grid and coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity to 13 states and Washington, D.C. The House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee will receive an overview on PJM responsibilities and mission, while the House Consumer Affairs Committee will hear about the role PJM has in interstate energy markets and their entire territory.

The House Judiciary Committee will hold a voting meeting to consider bills, including H.B. 82 (Kauffman, R-Franklin), which would make it unlawful to retain a check received for payment of healthcare services, and H.B. 97 (Rapp, R-Warren), which would make it illegal to sell vaping products to minors.

Two public hearings will take place on Tuesday. First, the House Human Services Committee will hold a public hearing on legislation relating to bed registry and warm handoff for addiction treatment. Secondly, the House Health Committee will hold a public hearing on barriers to employment in the healthcare industry.

On Wednesday, the House Professional Licensure Committee will consider H.B. 64 (Readshaw, D-Allegheny), which would allow professionals under the Bureau of Professional and Occupations Affairs Act to accrue continuing education credits in excess of any credits required for biennial renewal. The rest of the day’s meetings include:

  • House Gaming Oversight Committee: Informational meeting where the Gaming Control Board will provide a general overview of gaming expansion.
  • House Tourism and Recreational Development Committee: Informational meeting with a presentation from the Philadelphia Orchestra.
  • House Health Committee: Public hearing to get an overview of the report on pharmacy benefit managers.

A full list of committee meetings can be found here:

In Other News

  • The participants in the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model were announced.
  • Pennsylvania Treasurer Joe Torsella authorized a $650M short-term loan.
  • REAL ID’s are now available in Pennsylvania.
  • Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was down to 4.1 percent in January.