September 30, 2016

Weekly Wrap:

For the first time since the passage of the 2016-2017 general appropriations bill, both the Pennsylvania House and Senate were in session this week. With the session winding down and the general election approaching, members of both chambers are working to tackle some outstanding issues before wrapping up the 2015-2016 legislative session.

On Monday, the House Education Committee held a joint public hearing with the House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness committee on H.B. 1858 (Kortz, D-Allegheny). The bill would require high school students or students seeking a GED to take and receive a passing grade on a civics exam. While many school organizations spoke against the bill, former First Lady of Pennsylvania Marjorie Rendell supported the legislation. As President of the Rendell Center for Civics and Civic Engagement stated that “H.B. 1858 is one way we can focus on the central mission of our schools – citizenship education and highlighting the importance of this education.”

Two transportation-related bills were reported out of committees on Monday. H.B. 2196 (Sankey, R-Clearfield), which restricts the use of data collected from automated license plate reader systems, was reported from House Transportation Committee, and S.B. 385 (Pileggi, Res. 1/3/16), which reforms and modernizes the Transit Revitalization Investment District (TRID) Act, was reported out of Senate Rules Committee.

Also on Monday, the Senate Appropriations Committee favorably voted out S.B. 16 (Yudichak, D-Luzerne), which creates a task force to study the effects of lead on public health, and S.B. 1324 (Williams, D-Philadelphia), which would give the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board authority over fantasy sports betting. The Senate Appropriations Committee also reported out S.B. 1235 (Baker, R-Luzerne), which would extend the sunset for the PA One Call Law for five more years and  move enforcement of PA One Call from the Department of Labor and Industry to the Public Utility Commission, which was passed by the full Senate by a vote of 34-14 on Tuesday.

The “money” committees were busy on Tuesday. The House Finance Committee reported out H.B. 2213 (Mustio, R-Allegheny), which increases the amount of approved Neighborhood Assistance Tax Credits from $18 million to $36 million. In the Senate Finance Committee, members voted to grant vape shops an additional ninety days to pay the electronic cigarette and vaping floor tax. S.B. 1362 (Killion, R-Delaware) is now set on the Senate Calendar for October.

Further, the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee considered a whole host of issues on Tuesday. First, the committee  received a demonstration on telemedicine before they voted favorably on H.B. 946 (Baker, R-Tioga), requiring pharmacy benefit managers to register with the Department of Health and provide a maximum allowable cost list to pharmacies, and S.B. 668 (Alloway, R-Franklin), which creates a Pharmacy Audit Integrity Act to protect pharmacies from unfair audits. The committee also sent H.B. 850 (Mackenzie, R-Lehigh), which updates and modernizes Pennsylvania’s Money Transmitter Act, to the full floor for consideration.

And, speaking of transmission of money, the House Labor and Industry Committee voted out S.B. 1265 (White, R-Indiana), allowing employers to pay wages with debit card.

Moving to the energy and utilities sectors, on Tuesday, the House Appropriations Committee voted on the House version of a bill to reauthorize the PA One Call Law;  H.B. 2308 (Godshall, R-Montgomery) would extend the effective date for one year, until December 31, 2017. S.B. 1313 (White, R-Indiana), which clarifies language and changes in definition of operating costs in the Guaranteed Energy Savings Act (GESA), was reported as committed from Senate Appropriations Committee. GESA allows entities to enter into guaranteed energy savings contracts to offset the cost of infrastructure improvements. The Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee approved S.R. 385 (Brooks, R-Erie), directing the Joint State Government Commission to conduct a study to analyze and identify which state environmental laws and regulations have more stringent standards than Federal law requires. In addition, House Rules Committee reported as amended H.B. 568 (Evankovich, R-Westmoreland), which amends the PA Construction Code Act by revising provisions dealing with the Uniform Construction Code Review Advisory Council. The following day, after a lengthy debate, the House concurred in the Senate amendments as amended by a vote of 107 to 86. H.B. 568 now goes back to the Senate for their concurrence.

On Wednesday, the House Appropriations Committee held a public hearing on funding intellectual disabilities in the state budget. The House Children and Youth Committee held a public hearing on the impact the opioid epidemic has on infants and children. On the Senate side, H.B. 1104 (Godshall, R-Montgomery) and H.B. 1785 (Corbin, R-Chester) were reported out of Public Health and Welfare Committee. H.B. 1104 allows eligible patients with terminal illnesses to use investigational drugs, and H.B. 1785 would require assisted living residences and personal care homes to post and disseminate information about the flu vaccine.

However, most of the attention on Wednesday was on a special joint session of the General Assembly, convened by Gov. Wolf to address memmbers on addressing the Commonwealth’s opioid epidemic.

Read more about the Joint Session in our previous blog: https://www.buchanangovernmentrelations.com/worth-another-look-joint-session-opioid-addiction/

Acting in concert with the Governor’s speech the Senate took action on some opioid related legislation: S.B. 1212 (Wozniak, D-Cambria), S.B. 1367 (Yaw, R-Lycoming) and S.B. 1368 (Killion, R-Delaware) were reported as committed from the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday and passed finally by a unanimous vote on Wednesday. S.B. 1212 provides for the School Aged Children Opioid Awareness Education Program; S.B. 1367 requires health care professionals to receive written consent from a minor’s parent or legal guardian in order to prescribe a medical treatment containing opioids, as well as discuss the risks and dangers; and S.B. 1368 requires the state’s health care related licensing boards to implement curricula on controlled substances.

And finally, some news from the bench this week. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court made two important rulings on Wednesday. First, the court ruled provisions in Act 13, the state’s law governing oil and gas drilling, were unconstitutional. Second, the court struck down the “local share assessment” requirement that forced casinos to pay municipalities a portion of taxes on slot machines.

http://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/09/pa_supreme_court_says_act_13_g.html

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/tourism_casinos/Pa-Supreme-Court-says-local-slots-tax-violates-constitution.html

A Look Ahead:

The House Democratic Policy Committee will hold a public hearing on Monday in Erie on H.B. 1113 (Bizzarro, D-Erie). The bill would direct the Department of Health to promulgate regulations for the certification and practice of community paramedicine providers. On Tuesday, the House State Government Committee will hear an update on preparations for the November election. Also, the House Republican Policy Committee is hosting a public hearing on jobs, the economy and manufactured homes. The House Finance Committee is meeting Wednesday for a public hearing wage taxes in the city of Philadelphia.

For a full list of committee meetings, go to: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/session.cfm

When the House returns in October, they are expected to take up legislation extending statute of limitations for child sexual abuse crimes.

Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20160928_Pa__House_to_take_up_sex-abuse_law_to_expand_victims__rights.html

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