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Senate of Pennsylvania
SENATE DEMOCRATIC WRAP-UP FOR
THE WEEK OF |
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The Senate this week unanimously passed Senate Bill 1, which would strictly regulate the practice of lobbying in Pennsylvania. The bill, known as the Lobbying Accountability Act, would provide for the registration, regulation and disclosure of all lobbying activities, including, registering with the Department of State, filing quarterly expense reports with the Department of State, and forbidding lobbyists from switching clients to work the opposite side of the same issue. The measure would also prohibit lobbyists from simultaneously working for clients whose interests are adverse to one another. The bill was strengthened by a Democratic amendment that included the conflict of interest provision and a list of prohibited acts. The Supreme Court struck down the state’s 1998 lobbyist disclosure law on constitutional grounds. Currently, an institutional rule is the only lobbying control in the state Senate, and the state House has no rule or regulation at all. The bill now goes to the House for consideration. * * * By a 47-0 vote, the Senate approved Senate Bill 300. The legislation would create the Health Savings Account Act, authorizing the establishment and maintenance of health savings accounts as a coverage alternative for Pennsylvanians with high-deductible health insurance plans. Under the bill’s special tax provisions, the following health savings account payments would be exempt from state personal income tax: contributions by an account beneficiary or the beneficiary’s employer, income from a health savings account, amounts paid or distributed out of an account used exclusively to pay qualified medical expenses, and reimbursements to a beneficiary. The bill now goes to the House. * * * The Senate voted 46 to 1 in favor of Senate Bill 507, which would establish specific reporting requirements for organizations approved under the educational improvement tax credit program. The program allows businesses to receive state tax credits for contributions made to nonprofit scholarship organizations, pre-kindergarten scholarship organizations and educational improvement organizations. Previously, there was little information available on the activities of scholarship organizations. Under the bill, reports with information ranging from the number of scholarships to the names of schools receiving grants would be annually on September 1. A Democratic amendment that was aimed at strengthening accountability by requiring additional reporting was voted down. The bill now goes to the House. * * * In other action:
The Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 86, which would allow for the opening of a child abuse investigation in the child’s county of residence even if the alleged abuse took place outside of Pennsylvania. This bill would also require that the home county be provided a copy of any child abuse report submitted to another state’s child protective services bureau. The information would be shared within seven days of the completion of the investigation. The bill now goes to the House for consideration. * * * By a unanimous vote, the Senate approved Senate Bill 151, which would require schools to provide more specific information on their annual school report cards. Under the bill, additional information would be required concerning the performance of students who have been enrolled for less than two years, students who are classified as “Limited English Proficient,” and students with disabilities. The report cards are used under the federal “No Child Left Behind” law to assess the academic progress of schools. Supporters of the legislation claim that the more specific detail would provide greater context and give a clearer picture of a school’s true progress. The Bill now goes to the House. * * * By a unanimous vote, the Senate approved Senate Bill 124, which would correct a Divorce law (Act 175 of 2004) oversight concerning the equitable division of pension/retirement property. The measure would apply the provisions of Act 175 to cases that were pending prior to the law’s effective date. The bill now goes to the House. * * * The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 248, which would extend the application of Act 69 of 1967 from 1997 to 2005. Reauthorized periodically, the original act validates conveyances and other instruments that have acknowledgements containing technical errors. When an acknowledgement has a technical error, it makes subsequent transfers of property difficult unless the error is corrected by the act. The bill would validate such acknowledgements for deeds and mortgages that fall between 1996 and 2005. The bill now goes to the House. * * * The Senate unanimously approved a number of annual appropriations bills and sent them on to the House for consideration. All appropriations were at the level called for in Gov. Ed Rendell’s budget proposal. They include: · Senate Bill 608 would appropriate $24.187 million from the State Employees’ Retirement Fund to provide for expenses of the State Employees’ Retirement Board. · Senate Bill 609 would appropriate $39.539 million from the Public School Employees’ Retirement Fund to provide for expenses of the Public School Employees’ Retirement Board. · Senate Bill 610 would provide $24.187 million to the Department of State to operate the various professional licensure boards administered by the department’s Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs. · Senate Bill 611 would transfer funds from the Workmen's Compensation Administration Fund to the Department of Labor and Industry to provide $57.525 million for administrative expenses for fiscal 2005-06. The bill would also appropriate $184,000 to the Department of Community and Economic Development to fund workers' compensation activities by the Small Business Advocate. · Senate Bill 612 would appropriate $50.369 million from the General Fund and $1.720 million from federal funds to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. · Senate Bill 613 would appropriate $4.846 million from a restricted revenue account within the General Fund to the Office of Consumer Advocate in the Office of Attorney General. · Senate Bill 614 would appropriate $975,000 from a restricted revenue account within the General Fund to the Office of Small Business Advocate in the Department of Community & Economic Development.
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