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Senate of Pennsylvania
SENATE DEMOCRATIC WRAP-UP FOR
THE WEEK OF |
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The Senate passed Senate Bill 1149 by a vote of 47-3. The bill would give added protections to mass transit employees who are assaulted while on the job. Under this legislation it would be a felony if a mass transit employee were assaulted, causing bodily injury. The felony would either be first or second degree depending on the severity of the bodily injury suffered as a result of the assault. The maximum punishment for a felony of the first degree is a term of imprisonment not exceeding 20 years imprisonment and a fine of $25,000. The maximum punishment for a felony of the second degree is a term of imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of $25,000. The bill is now in the House.
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The Senate voted 45-4 in favor of House Bill 501, which would make changes to the Osteopathic Medical Practice Act to further provide for perfusionist licensing, qualifications, supervision and scope of practice, regulations and exemptions. Professional perfusionists are health care workers who play a critical role during open-heart surgery by operating the heart-lung machine, cardiac and pulmonary support devices, and blood salvaging equipment. This bill would outline licensing requirements, continuing education, licensure fees, and the issuing of a temporary license for an individual who has graduated from an educational program that complies with the education requirements of the act. A licensed perfusionist practicing in Pennsylvania would have to have professional liability insurance coverage of at least $1 million per occurrence or claims made. House Bill 500 is part of a two-bill package (HB 500 and HB 501). This legislation was introduced last year as Senate Bills 1105 and 1106 but the bills never got out of committee. The Senate made changes to the bill so it will now go back to the House.
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The Senate voted 46-4 in favor of House Bill 500, which would make changes to the Medical Practice Act to further provide for perfusionist licensing, qualifications, supervision and scope of practice, regulations and exemptions. This bill would outline licensing requirements, continuing education, licensure fees, and the issuing of a temporary license for an individual who has graduated from an educational program that complies with the education requirements of the act. A licensed perfusionist practicing in Pennsylvania would have to have professional liability insurance coverage of at least $1 million per occurrence or claims made. The bill now returns to the House.
* * * The Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 684 which would establish the Public Health Child Death Review Act. Under the legislation, a Public Health Child Death Review Program would be created to facilitate state and local multiagency, multidisciplinary teams to examine the circumstances surrounding deaths in Pennsylvania for the purpose of promoting safety and reducing child fatalities. Each county of Pennsylvania or two or more counties would establish a local public health child death review team on a regional basis to satisfy the requirements of the bill. The bill is now in the House.
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The Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 731, which would require that schools develop written policy for possession and self-administration of an epinephrine auto-injector (epi-pen) by a child in a school setting, transportation, activity or program. The Public School Code currently provides for the possession and use of asthma inhalers and prescribed medication by the school. This bill would also require that the school develop a system to verify a child’s capability to use the epi-pen. The bill is now in the House.
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