SENATE DEMOCRATIC WRAP-UP FOR THE WEEK OF
March 27, 2006

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            The Senate voted unanimously this week in favor of Senate Bill 1043, which would waive college tuition costs and fees for children and spouses of National Guard soldiers killed in the line of duty.

            The waiver would apply to all Pennsylvania State-owned colleges, universities, trade schools, state-related institutions of higher learning or community colleges.  

            A spouse would be eligible for the waiver for up to 10 years after their spouse was killed in the line of duty, or until they remarry, whichever occurs first.

            In order to be eligible for a waiver, the National Guardsman must have been a Pennsylvania resident at the time of their death; and their spouse or children must also be Pennsylvania residents.

             The bill now goes to the House.

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            The Senate unanimously approved House Bill 58, which would provide a $500 bonus to Pennsylvanians who served in the U. S. Merchant Marines during World War II.

            The bonus would not be subject to any attachment or tax.  Anyone who collects or attempts to collect a fee for helping a veteran obtain this benefit could be fined or imprisoned. 

            The amended bill now goes back to the House.

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            The Senate unanimously approved House Bill 2157, which would enable the Governor to place the Pennsylvania National Guard on active duty when an emergency in Pennsylvania occurs or is threatened.

            For emergency duty under compact, the Governor may place the Pennsylvania National Guard on State active duty when a Governor of another state has declared an emergency and has requested the assistance of the Pennsylvania National Guard. 

            The bill now goes to the Governor.

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            By a unanimous vote, the Senate approved Senate Bill 866, which would give deployed military personnel a 90-day extension on their a license to carry a firearm.

            Under the Democratic-sponsored bill, the extension would be granted if the permit were scheduled to expire while the soldier was deployed overseas.

            The bill now goes to the House.

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            By a unanimous vote, the Senate approved an amended version of Senate Bill 386, which would assure that sentencing courts could impose the toughest possible penalties for burglary and home invasion.

            The Democrat-sponsored bill would correct an inconsistency in how the state’s burglary and “Three Strikes” laws treat burglary in instances such as a home invasion when the victim is present. The burglary law currently grades the crime as a first-degree felony regardless of whether or not the victim is present. The “Three Strikes” law only applies to burglary when a victim is present at the time the crime is committed. This discrepancy can shield a repeat offender from the additional 22 years in prison that a repeat offense would bring under the “Three Strikes” law.

          The change to the burglary statute would also preserve heightened penalties under the sentencing guidelines that are now routinely utilized by courts when the crime is committed and a victim is present.

          The bill now returns to the House for concurrence in Senate amendments.

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            The Senate also unanimously to approve Democratic-sponsored bills that would memorialize the heroes of Flight 93 and a state trooper who was gunned down in the line of duty last year.

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