SENATE DEMOCRATIC WRAP-UP FOR THE WEEK OF
NOVEMBER 18, 2002

HARRISBURG-- Pennsylvania’s drunk driving blood-alcohol threshold would drop from .10 to .08 percent under Senate Bill 709, which was unanimously approved by the Senate.

The measure would bring Pennsylvania into compliance with federal law. The state has until next October to enact the lower drunk driving threshold, or face losing an estimated $10 million in federal highway dollars.

Nearly half of Pennsylvania’s drunk driving fatalities last year were alcohol-related.

The bill now goes to the House.

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The Senate voted 46-3 in favor of Senate Bill 1421, also known as the “Religious Freedom Protection Act.” Absent a compelling state interest, the measure would allow a person to challenge in court any law that infringes upon their religious practice.

The bill now goes to the House.

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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 654, which would exempt a parent from criminal charges under most conditions if they leave their newborn at a hospital’s designated “safe haven.” The hospital would then take the child into protective custody.

The bill now returns to the House.

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The Senate unanimously approved House Bill 235, which would create a cause of action for the unauthorized publication or use of the name, portrait, voice, photograph or other likeness of a person for a commercial or advertising purpose for 30 years following the person’s death.

The bill now returns to the House.

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By a 46-3 vote, the Senate approved Senate Bill 413, which would establish the “Substance Abuse Education and Demand Reduction Fund.” The program would be funded by assessing drug and drunk driving offenders $100, or $200 if their blood-alcohol content was .15 percent or more.

The bill now goes to the House.

The Senate voted 48-1 in favor of Senate Bill 463, which would require people born after Jan. 1, 1982, to obtain a boater education certificate before being permitted to operate a motorboat. The measure would exempt people who already hold safety certificates, landowners operating boats on their own property, people temporarily visiting Pennsylvania and those who have boats with engines of 25 horsepower or less.

The bill now goes to the House.

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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 1053, which would allow jurors to take notes if the judge approves or if the court contestants agree. The measure would enable jurors to take notes during criminal or civil trials and use the notes during deliberation.

The bill now goes to the House.

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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 1554, which makes changes to the Independent Regulatory Review Commission. Among the many proposed changes, commission members would no longer have term limits, the 20-day comment period for standing committees would be removed, and statutory authority for agencies promulgating regulations would be further clarified.

The bill now goes to the House.

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By a unanimous vote, the Senate approved Senate Bill 1569, which provides for counterterrorism planning, preparedness and response. The bill clarifies agency responsibilities and allows for the organization of various response teams.

The bill now goes to the House.

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The Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 1505, creating a system for certifying and providing rules for athletic agents.  The bill sets standards for agents as well as agent contracts, and requires that an agent be certified in Pennsylvania before signing an athlete who lives in the state or attends a Pennsylvania school.  Schools could sue agents who do not comply with the regulations.

It now goes to the House for consideration.

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The Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 1515, which would create separate Crimes Code sections for harassment and stalking.  Under the revised definition, a person commits the offense of stalking when he engages in a course of conduct or repeatedly commits acts towards another person, including following them without authority, intentionally placing the person in reasonable fear of bodily injury or causing substantial emotional distress. Additionally, the offense may be committed if the person continually communicates to another person under circumstances that demonstrate an intent to place the person in reasonable fear of bodily injury or to cause substantial emotional distress.           

The bill goes to the House for consideration.

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The Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 1526, which would extend civil immunity protection from liability to a greater number of people who come to the aid of crime victims.  Previously, “Good Samaritans” were only granted immunity if they were responding to a shorter list of serious crimes, such as rape and robbery.  The bill expands the list to grant immunity to those who help in a longer list of less serious crimes, such as assault, stalking and drunk driving.

The bill now goes to the house.

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The Senate this week unanimously approved House Bill 152, an omnibus bill that would change and redefine numerous sections of vehicle law.

The measure generally addressed the issue of abandoned vehicles by providing for increased fines and registration fees; requiring vehicle titles bear new notations on the vehicles previous use; giving more authority to police to remove abandoned vehicles; and reducing the time a vehicle may sit abandoned on public roadways and private property.

Senate amendments expanded the scope of the bill by banning the issuance of a driver’s license to non-residents of Pennsylvania (except state or federal employees and their families); permitting the issuance of licenses to legal immigrants; authorizing a criminal record check of HAZMAT or tanker endorsement CDL drivers; adding stiffer penalties for drunk driving violations while driving a school bus; and lowering the maximum blood alcohol content for school bus drivers.

The bill now returns to the House.

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All Pennsylvania men age 18 to 26, who have not already done so, would be required to register with the federal Selective Service when applying for or renewing their driver’s license under Senate Bill 457, approved unanimously by the Senate. The bill would make a male’s signature on the license application or renewal a signed agreement to be forwarded to the federal Selective Service by PennDot.

The bill is now in the House.

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To improve safety, vehicles traveling in a funeral procession would be permitted to use flashing or revolving yellow or white lights under Senate Bill 1553, approved unanimously by the Senate. 

The bill is now in the House.

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By unanimous vote, the Senate this week approved Senate Bill 1365, which would amend the Liquor Code by adding definitions, amending the special occasion permit section, permitting state liquor stores to sell corkscrews and wine sleeves and makes various technical changes. 

The bill now goes to the House.

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The Senate this week unanimously approved House Bill 2207, which would amend the state's Engineer, Land Surveyor and Geologist Registration Law by requiring certain educational standards be met before an applicant may take the land surveyor license examination.

The bill awaits final action by the governor.

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Social Workers and Marriage or Family Therapists and professional counselors would be permitted to use practical experience in lieu of the minimum Master’s Degree requirement for state licensing under Senate Bill 1579, approved unanimously by the Senate. The bill would require that an applicant prove they have practiced for at least seven years prior to seeking a Pennsylvania license.

The bill is now in the House.

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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 514, which would amend the Third Class City Law to remove the one-year residency requirement for fire department job applicants.

The bill is now in the House.

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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 1478, which would amend existing law to designate up to 3,000 acres as sub-zones within each of the state’s 12 Keystone Opportunity Expansion Zones (KOEZs).  The bill would also permit altering boundaries of Keystone Opportunity Zones (KOZs) to accommodate certain qualified businesses.  Another provision would change the start-date for tax-exempt status and other deductions at the time a KOZ or KOEZ business goes into operation.  Currently, tax-exempt status starts when a KOZ or KOEZ is designated.

The bill is now in the state House.

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The Senate unanimously adopted Senate Bill 1552, which would amend existing law to give the “Next Generation Farmer Loan Program” statutory authorization within the Job Enhancement Act.  The loan program, established in 1999, provides beginning farmers with financial assistance to assist in land, farm equipment, farm buildings, and breeding livestock purchases.

The bill is now in the House.

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The Senate unanimously passed House Bill 1686, which clarifies provisions in the Library Code related to the maintenance of local financial effort.  By specifying that local libraries or a library system may not use state aid funds to reduce its financial effort for normal, recurring operating costs, the bill ensures that local financial effort does not include one-time revenues for capital or other non-recurring projects.

The bill goes back to the House for concurrence.

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The Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 1567, which would amend the Job Enhancement Act by repealing transitional loan provisions included in the original Act related to the processing of loan applications with respect to the Capital Loan Fund, the Air Quality Improvement Fund, the Storage Tank Loan Fund and the Recycling Incentive Development Account.  All the transitional loans have been processed so the provisions were no longer necessary.

The bill goes to the House for consideration.

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By a unanimous vote, the Senate approved Senate Bill 133, which would exempt boats that are part of a cavern operation from the definition of a "passenger-carrying boat."

The bill is now in the House.

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The Senate memorialized the late Rep. Italo S. Cappabianca by unanimously approving House Bill 2858, which names a portion of the Bay Front Parkway in Erie County after the Democratic lawmaker who died of cancer last year. 

The bill awaits signature by the governor.

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