SENATE DEMOCRATIC WRAP-UP FOR THE WEEK OF
April 3, 2006

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            House Bill 2054 would amend and codify Title 26 (Eminent Domain) to add provisions relating to eminent domain.  As amended by the Senate, HB 2054 will retain most portions of the existing Eminent Domain Code, but will make a number of significant modifications and updates to condemnation procedures that have remained nearly untouched since 1964.

            The bill would provide for the limitations on eminent domain and further address the use of eminent domain of agricultural property.  The bill would address the procedure to condemn.  It would also address the procedure for determining damages, make a condemnee entitled to compensation for the taking, injury or destruction of the condemnee’s property.  It would also provide that special damages for the loss of rentals due to condemnation may be collected by a property owner whose property is scheduled for condemnation

            The bill would also address special damages provisions related to displacement, including, addressing moving and related expenses of displaced persons, replacement housing for homeowners and tenants.

            The bill also amends title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) to add a section providing for faster appeals in eminent domain proceedings.  The bill would also make it law to appoint viewers to assess damages within six years.

            The bill amends Title 51 (Military Affairs) to state that the donation of land by political subdivisions will now be subject to eminent domain provisions.

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             The Senate voted 43-6 to approve Senate Bill 997, which would make it more difficult for the state Department of Public Welfare to adjust Medicaid payments to nursing homes. As part of last year’s budget agreement, the department is currently permitted to change its Medicaid reimbursement rates for nursing homes without going through procedures outlined in the Regulatory Review Act. This bill would undo that change.

             According to the department, this bill would add approximately $103 million in Medicaid spending to this year’s budget. The cost of Medicaid has traditionally been split with the federal government. However, the Bush administration has been cutting appropriations and shifting Medicaid’s financial burden onto the states. For example, the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 will reduce federal Medicaid spending by $11.5 billion over the next five years, and this year’s Bush budget proposal would cut an additional $14 billion over the next five years.

            Medicaid is the primary payer for about 70 percent of nursing home patients in Pennsylvania. According to the Pennsylvania Health Care Association, nursing home costs are expected to grow by around 8 percent this year, but the Rendell budget proposal only increases state funding for nursing homes 4 percent.

          The bill now heads to the House.

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            The Senate voted 41-8 to approve legislation that would increase state regulation of facilities that perform abortions.

            House Bill 1591 would require the Patient Safety Authority to oversee facilities that perform 100 or more abortion procedures annually. In 2002, the General Assembly created the authority in response to the state’s medical malpractice crisis to gather data on errors at hospitals, birthing centers, and ambulatory surgical centers. The authority is funded through assessments made on these facilities.

            Those facilities potentially impacted by this legislation had opposed the bill because they are already regulated by the Department of Health under the Abortion Control Act.

            The bill returns to the House for its approval of Senate amendments.

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            The Senate unanimously approved House Bill 893, which would remove the provisions of Title 66 (Public Utilities Code) and establish this as a freestanding act known as the Water Services Act.

           The bill would require Public Utility Commission and local approval for terminations or transfers by municipal authorities. Provisions of the bill apply only to the City of Lebanon (Third Class cities that have adopted a home rule charter and have a population of no more than 30,000).

            The bill now goes to the Governor.

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            The Senate voted 48-1 in favor of House Bill 1820.  This bill would provide a bonus to military veterans who served in the Persian Gulf Conflict, or their beneficiaries.

            Qualified veterans would receive $75 for each month of active duty service in the Persian Gulf Conflict, with a maximum limit of $525. Prisoners of war would receive an additional $5,000 bonus.  A beneficiary of a soldier who died in combat, or as a result of service-connected injuries, would also receive an additional $5,000.

            If the veteran has died, payment would be made first to the spouse, second to the children, and last to the parents. 

           The bill is now in the House.

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            The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 1007, which would allow insurance companies to exclude fire damage caused by terrorism from their commercial fire insurance policies.

            Commercial fire insurance policies have the following exemptions: enemy attack by armed forces; invasion; insurrection; rebellion; revolution; civil war; usurped power; order of any civil authority; neglect of insured to use all reasonable means to save and preserve property; or loss by theft.

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