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Senate of Pennsylvania
SENATE DEMOCRATIC WRAP-UP FOR
THE WEEK OF |
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The Senate unanimously passed a slew of amendments to Pennsylvania’s Gaming Law that would provide stiffer ethical standards aimed at deterring organized crime or political favoritism. Passed unanimously, Senate Bill 862 would will establish a strong ethics code for the state Gaming Control Board, and require members of the board to recuse themselves when they have a conflict of interest. The bill’s ethics code would: require establishment of an "interested party" registration list for anyone who appears before the board on behalf of an applicant or licensed entity; prohibit all ex parte communications; prohibit accepting gifts from any applicant or licensee; and ban board members from engaging in political activity. The bill also mandates the recusal of board members who have a conflict of interest. It also permits the substitution of an alternate board member under such circumstances. The amended bill also changes the 1 percent limitation on public official ownership in a casino license to an absolute prohibition of any ownership interest; establish a Gaming Enforcement Unit within the State Attorney General’s Office; and clarify that the Right to Know Law, the State Adverse Interest Act, the Open Meetings Law, the Commonwealth Attorney’s Act and the Commonwealth Documents Law all apply to the board. The bill now goes to the House.
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Senate Democrats spearheaded the effort to amend House Bill 1539, which would repeal the pay raises enacted for executive branch officials, judges, and legislators this summer. While Republicans were prepared to introduce an amendment rescinding just the unvouchered expenses portion of the pay hike, Democrats introduced an amendment that went further -- completely eliminating the pay raise. The Democratic amendment was unanimously approved. The House amended the Senate version of the bill to add language that could potentially imperil the pay raise repeal. With a Constitutional question lingering over reducing judges’ salaries during their terms of office, the House amended the bill to make it non-severable. Thus, if the courts overturn this section of the bill, the entire bill would be null and void under the House version. On concurrence, the Senate voted to remove the House amendment, and the bill now awaits further consideration by the House. The bill would also establish an emergency energy assistance fund.
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The Senate debated legislation this week to improve the state’s business climate and lower the personal income tax rate. Senate Democrats offered an amendment to House Bill 515 that would have gone much further than the Republicans in cutting business tax rates and rewarding start-up businesses that create jobs for Pennsylvanians. Democrats wanted to slash the corporate net income tax rate by 20 percent, institute a system of tax assessment to benefit companies that employ large numbers of Pennsylvanians, and eliminate a tax provision that hurts start-up and cyclical businesses, like the steel industry. The proposal also sought to close the “Delaware holding company loophole,” a provision that helps mega-corporations avoid paying any state taxes at all. Republicans defeated the Democratic amendment, which would have leveled the playing field between small businesses and large corporations and stimulated the creation of new businesses in Pennsylvania. Despite Democrats calling the final bill fiscally irresponsible, the Senate voted 31-19 to pass the Republicans’ tax proposal that would cut the personal income tax rate from 3.07 percent to 3.03 percent in 2007, and then lower it to 2.98 percent in 2008. The bill would also cut the tax on business profits from 9.99 to 9.59 percent in 2007. The Republican plan was criticized for cutting tax revenues while offering no spending cuts to balance the budget. The Democratic proposal would have been revenue neutral by lowering overall business tax rates and requiring all businesses operating in Pennsylvania to pay state taxes. The bill now heads to the House Rules committee.
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The Senate voted 48-2 in favor of House Bill 1579, which would give foster/resource parents more rights and input concerning the children they care for. Under the proposed Resource Family Care Act, county and private agencies would be required to:
The amended bill, which was endorsed by the Pennsylvania Foster Parent Association, now goes back to the House.
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The Senate unanimously approved House Bill 127, which would give foster/resource parents greater standing if a child they care for becomes available for adoption. Under the bill, county agencies would be required to interview a child’s resource parents as prospective adoptive parents if that child has lived with those resource parents for at least six months and the child’s goal has been changed from placement in foster care to adoption. While foster/resource parents must be considered for the adoption, there would be no presumption in favor of the foster parents over other individuals. The amended bill now returns to the House.
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The Senate voted unanimously in favor of Senate Bill 869, which would extend health insurance benefits for certain military personnel who were covered under their parent’s insurance and were full-time students at the time of deployment. To qualify, the student must be a member of the Pennsylvania National Guard or the Reserve who are called to active duty or active State duty, other than for training, for a period of 30 or more consecutive days. Coverage would be extended for a period equal to how long the student was on active duty or until they are no longer a full-time student. The bill now goes to the House of Representatives.
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In other action: By a unanimous vote, the Senate approved Senate Bill 759, which would amend the Domestic Relations Code to protect the State Employee Retirement System, Pubic School Employee Retirement System or Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System from paying duplicative death benefits if the retirement system has already paid another designated beneficiary prior to receiving a divorce decree or equitable distribution order that entitles the former spouse to such payments. The bill now goes to the House.
The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 583, which would amend the Crimes Code to prohibit any person convicted of arson from serving as a member of a volunteer firefighter company, and from being certified as a firefighter under the State Fire Commissioner Act. The Democratic-sponsored bill now goes to the House.
By a unanimous vote, the Senate amended the latest version of House Bill 761, which would outlaw voyeuristic video “upskirting” and “downblousing.” Under the legislation, it would be illegal to secretly photograph or videotape a person’s intimate parts. The measure also makes it illegal to transmit such images electronically or over the Internet. First-time offenders could face a year in jail and/or a fine of up to $2,500. The amended bill now returns to the House.
The Senate voted 39 to 11 in favor of Senate Bill 595, which would authorize non-profit corporations to appoint minors, who are at least 16-years-old, to their board of directors if provided in the articles of incorporation of the non-profit corporation. Currently, the minimum age is 18. The bill now goes to the House.
The Senate voted unanimously in favor of Senate Bill 940, which would provide further funds for agricultural land conservation. Under the bill, the Land Trust Reimbursement Program would give up to $200,000 to land trusts used for conservation. The program would also provide the Department of Agriculture proceeds from sales for conservation, and authorize the department to give grants of up to $750,000 to counties for land conservation. The bill now goes to the House.
The Senate voted unanimously to extend the Community Services Block Grant program until December 31, 2011. This federally funded program helps community action agencies and other non-profits reduce poverty and assist low-income individuals. House Bill 1361 now heads to the governor.
The Senate voted unanimously for House Bill 1606, which would establish the Pennsylvania Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Screening Act. The measure would expand free breast and cervical cancer screening services to low-income underinsured and uninsured women who are in their 40s. The bill now heads to the House Rules committee.
The Senate voted unanimously to approve House Bill 1743, which would prevent Allegheny County from collecting tax windfalls generated from property reassessments. While windfalls are already capped at 5 percent by state law, this bill would require the county to lower millage rates after a countywide reassessment so that revenues remain neutral. The county would then take a separate vote to raise the new millage rate and generate additional revenues. This bill would also explicitly allow appeals of assessments. The bill now heads to the House Rules committee.
The Senate voted unanimously to approve Senate Bill 384, which would require the state Public School Employee’s Retirement Board (PSERS) to provide active employee associations and annuitant associations with information from its member records. Members will be notified and allowed to protect their personal information if they choose. The bill now heads to the House.
The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 665, which would authorize the granting of letters of administration to a Redevelopment Authority. The bill was introduced to address instances where the owner of property has died leaving no heirs to dispose of the property, to correct errors or satisfy delinquencies. Under the bill, letters of administration would be granted to the Redevelopment Authority for the purposes of disposing of the property described in the petition of the authority. The bill now goes to the House.
The Senate voted unanimously to approve Senate Bill 925, which would extend the Pennsylvania Cancer Control, Prevention and Research Act until June 30, 2016. The bill now heads to the House.
The Senate unanimously approved a bill requiring continuing education for licensed nurses in Pennsylvania. Under Senate Bill 235 licensees would be required to attend and complete 30 hours of mandatory continuing education during each two-year license period. The bill now goes to the House. The Senate took action to crack down on musical groups advertising dubious connections to well-known bands. Senate Bill 929, or the Truth in Music Advertising Act, would allow the Attorney General to impose penalties on original musical groups and any performing tribute groups that try to falsely cash in on famous names. The bill now goes to the House.
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