SENATE DEMOCRATIC WRAP-UP FOR THE WEEK OF
OCTOBER 27, 2003

Pennsylvania’s senior citizens moved another step closer toward long-awaited relief on prescription drug costs when the Senate unanimously approved House Bill 888.

The vote comes three years after Senate Democrats first introduced legislation aimed at making prescription drugs more affordable and accessible for senior citizens. Many components of House Bill 888 can be directly attributed to previous bills introduced by Senate Democrats.

The measure, which would enhance and expand benefits of the state’s PACE and PACENET programs, would effectively add another 110,000 lower-income residents 65 or older to the programs’ rolls.

Under the bill, PACE income eligibility limits would increase by $500, to $14,500 for singles and $17,700 for couples, while PACENET limits would increase to $23,500 for singles and $31,500 for couples. PACENET participants, who currently pay a $500 annual deductible, now would pay a $40 monthly deductible.  PACE co-pays would remain at $6 for generic drugs but would increase from $6 to $9 for brand-name medications.

Another provision would raise from 17 percent to 22 percent the rebate pharmaceutical companies give PACE.  The 22 percent would match the Medicaid “best-price” rebate figure.  The bill would also establish a Pharmacy Best Practices and Cost Control Program and a Pharmaceutical Assistance Clearinghouse.

Because the Senate amended House Bill 888, the bill now returns to the House for concurrence.

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In other action:

The Senate unanimously amended and approved House Bill 1222, which would amend the Judicial Code to provide for multiple summary offenses involving vehicles.  The bill would permit a police officer, in certain cases, to file a citation with the issuing authority on all offenses within 30 days after the officer receives verification of a driver’s license suspension or revocation from the Department of Transportation.

Currently, the law does not specify when the officer must submit a request for verification of license suspension to the department; nor does it specify how quickly the department must respond to the officer’s request for verification of license suspension.

The bill now returns to the House. 

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The Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 877, which would prohibit law enforcement officers from law enforcement work if they are charged or convicted of certain serious crimes.

The bill now goes to the House.

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Municipal police education and training classes would be established through Senate Bill 145, which was unanimously approved by the Senate.

The bill also calls for certification and reimbursement of the classes. The measure now goes to the House for consideration.

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By a unanimous vote, the Senate passed House Bill 106, which would amend the “Engineer, Land Surveyor and Geologist Registration Law” by providing a credit toward the four-year engineering experience requirement for licensure. Under the bill, a year of engineering experience would be credited for each post-graduate degree obtained in engineering, up to a maximum of two years. The bill now returns to the House for consideration of Senate amendments.