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Senate of Pennsylvania
SENATE DEMOCRATIC WRAP-UP FOR
THE WEEK OF |
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By a vote of 49-1, the Senate approved a lean 2008-09 fiscal year spending plan that holds the line on taxes while making key investments in education, alternative energy development and economic stimulus. Senate Bill 1389 appropriates $28.2 billion while restraining increased spending to 3.8 percent – less than the rate of inflation. Key parts of the budget include:
The conference committee report was enacted as Act 38A of 2008.
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The Senate unanimously approved legislation that makes an increased investment education for the 2008-09 Fiscal Year. House Bill 1067 provides for $5.2 billion in the basic education subsidy, a 5.6 percent spending increase compared to last fiscal year, as part of a commitment by the state to provide funding to school districts so that all students can attain academic proficiency. Special education funding will receive $1 billion, a 1.7 percent increase over last year. The bill increases the reimbursements to school districts related to charter school costs to $226 million an increase of $65 million. All districts will receive the full 30 percent reimbursement. The bill also addresses numerous education issues, including the following provisions:
· Requires background checks for potential employees; · Requires the Department of Education to pay to each School District during the 2008-09 school years, an Accountability Grant equal to the amount paid during the 2007-08 school years; · Prohibits any regulation approved by the PA State Board of Education to change any high school graduation for 2008-09 fiscal year; · Provides parents the ability to request that their twins or children of higher multiple births be placed in the same or separate classrooms; · Authorizes the Office of Safe Schools Advocate to make targeted grants to schools to fund violence prevention programs; · Requires schools to adopt an anti-bullying policy; · Provides that funding for the Educational Assistance Program be available to each eligible school; · Requires day care centers to increase their quality star rating from a STAR 2 to STAR 3 in order to continue to be eligible in the Pre-K Counts program; · Establishes a commission to examine the possibility of creating a state-operated, Internet-based high school to be known as the PA Virtual High School; · Grants authority to the Commonwealth Partnership School District to dispose of unused and unnecessary lands and buildings in excess of 25 years old through certain provisions; · Provides community colleges with a calculated economic development stipend; · Makes improvements to Educational Improvement Tax Credits (EITC); · Makes state funding available for state libraries; · Requires that the School District of Philadelphia files a report with the Department of Education providing information with regard to the use of state funding for partnership schools by Sept. 1, 2008 and every Sept. 1; and · Makes several modifications for charter schools. The bill was signed into law as Act 61 of 2008.
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The Senate unanimously passed House Bill 377, a tax bill that was essentially gutted and replaced with language from a series of Senate-passed bills addressing business and income taxes. The provisions, and its Senate Bill origins are: (Senate Bill 1385) expands the cap on the Net Operating Loss provision of the Corporate Net Income Tax to $5 million or 20 percent of taxable income. The NOL cap is currently set at $3 million or 12.5 percent of taxable income. (Senate Bill 1386) increases the eligibility limits for tax forgiveness for low-income wage earners. The bill would increase claimant income eligibility limits by a total of $2,000 over three years and the dependent allowance by $500 over the same period. Under current law, a family of four with a combined income less than $32,000 pays no state tax. Senate Bill 1386 lowers the threshold for exemption to $27,000 and under. It also increases the claimant eligibility by $1,000 for each claimant in year one and by $500 for each claimant for years two and three for a total of $2,000. The dependent allowance is increased by $250 per dependent in years two and three for a total of $500. There will be a loss of revenue of $44 million in 2008-09. The loss in 2009-10 will be $71 million. When fully implemented, the cost will be $95 million annually. (Senate Bill 1387) doubles the amount that small businesses may deduct as Section 179 expenses on their income tax filings. Section 179 of the federal Internal Revenue Code provides for the deduction of all or part of the costs of machinery and equipment used for businesses. The bill increases the maximum annual deduction to $50,000. The bill would cost the Commonwealth an estimated $6.6 million. (Senate Bill 1388) amends the Corporate Net Income Tax to expand the sales factor to 85 percent. Most corporations that conduct business in more than one state use a three-factor apportionment to allocate business income among the states where they have activity. The three factors are: property, payroll, and sales factors. Currently, the sales factor accounts for 70 percent of the apportionment formula; property and payroll factors each account for 15 percent. Senate Bill 1388 raises the sales factor to 85 percent lowering the property and payroll factors to 7.5 percent each. The amendments were unanimously approved in the House and signed by the Governor as Act 66 of 2008.
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By a 49-1 vote, the Senate passed House Bill 1150, which provides unprecedented new protections for children and young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. By requiring private insurers to cover medically necessary treatments for individuals with autism up to age 21, the new law will improve access to essential services and treatments by building a stronger provider network for thousands of children and their families. Insurers will be responsible for the cost of treatment up to $36,000 per year. Advocates praised Pennsylvania’s new law as being among the nation’s best. Currently, many private insurance programs restrict coverage for certain services for individuals with autism. In Pennsylvania, the Department of Public Welfare provides health care coverage for children with disabilities through the Medical Assistance program without regard to family income and covers costs that private insurance does not pay.
Under the new law, treatments and services for autism, including psychiatric care, psychological care, rehabilitative care including applied behavioral analysis, therapeutic care and pharmacy care will be covered, as well as those services proven to prevent regression. The Governor signed the bill into law as Act 62 of 2008.
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By a vote of 47-3, the Senate passed the Clean Fuels and Energy Independent Act -- House Bill 1202 --establishing minimum content standards and timetables for the sale of bio-diesel and ethanol within Pennsylvania. The mandatory standards would require:
The House concurred in Senate amendments 149-54, and the Governor signed the bill into law as Act 78 of 2008.
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The Senate passed a series of bills designed to address pollution problems across the state. Pennsylvania’s aging water and sewer plants and pipelines are allowing millions of gallons of raw sewage to pollute streams, while inadequate flood controls threaten lives and property. Fixing the problems to the level of compliance with the federal Clean Water Act will eventually cost $4 billion according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency The Senate unanimously concurred in House amendments to Senate Bill 2 – The H2O Pa Act -- allowing the state to borrow $750 million to pay for grants and loans for local water and sewer projects. Payments on the bonds will be financed through casino revenue. The bill was signed into law as Act 63 of 2008. The Senate also unanimously approved Senate Bill 1341, the "Water and Sewer Systems Assistance Act." The bill will allow voters to approve in a referendum the borrowing of $400 million for additional improvements to drinking water and wastewater treatment systems. If approved by the voters, the bond money would be administered through the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PennVest). The Governor signed the bill into law as Act 64 of 2008. By a vote of 47-3, the Senate approved Senate Bill 356, creating the Pennsylvania Center for Environmental Education. Pennsylvania's "Environmental Education Act" was enacted in 1993, giving the Department of Education and the Department of Environmental Protection the obligation to develop environmental education programs. The act also created the Environmental Education Fund that receives 5 percent of the monies collected annually from environmental fines and penalties. The responsibilities of the center will include promoting partnerships with educators, businesses, and environmental organizations. The center will also be responsible for inventorying and disseminating environmental education materials and evaluating the effectiveness of existing environmental education programs. The center will be established within the State System of Higher Education. The act also creates a nine-member Center for Environmental Education Board. It was signed into law as Act 71 of 2008.
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By a unanimous vote, the Senate approved the first comprehensive update of Pennsylvania’s mine safety regulations since 1961. Senate Bill 949 creates a “Coal Mine Safety Board” to review and recommend new mine safety technologies, mandate emergency shelters in bituminous coal mines, require greater safety precautions, establish a more reliable mine mapping system, and institute tough new penalties against mining companies that fail to comply with the law. The bill incorporates key recommendations from the Governor’s Commission on Abandoned Mine Voids and Mine Safety, the Quecreek investigation team, and the Quecreek Grand Jury. The bill was amended in the House to strengthen safety provisions. The measure enables miners to accompany inspectors during mine safety inspections. The bill also mandates that tracks be located closer to where the miners are working to expedite possible evacuation. The Governor signed the bill into law as Act 55 of 2008.
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The Senate unanimously passed House Bill 5, which would detail the conditions that must be satisfied in order to transfer an inmate to a state correctional facility that is closer in proximity to the judicial proceeding. Conditions include a court order and finding by the court that the inmate’s presence is required at the proceeding. A transfer would also be accepted if the constitutional rights of the inmate do not permit participation in the judicial proceeding by video-conferencing technology. The legislation would authorize the Department of Corrections to establish regulations and temporary guidelines to implement this policy. The bill is now in the House.
* * * By a 49-1 vote, the Senate passed House Bill 6, which would authorize the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing to adopt guidelines, similar to current sentencing guidelines, for use in parole, probation or intermediate punishment decisions. Currently there are no standardized guidelines for parole or recommitment from parole. The legislation would authorize the Pennsylvania Sentencing Commission to propose recommendations to modify the provisions regarding the risk reduction incentive credit, qualified parole, rebuttable parole and state intermediate punishment; adopt guidelines for re-sentencing following revocation of probation, county intermediate punishment, or state intermediate punishment; and develop recommitment time ranges to determine the length of re-incarceration for those whose parole has been revoked. The bill is now in the House.
* * * The Senate passed House Bill 306 by a unanimous vote. This bill would remove the jurisdiction of the court of common pleas for appeals of determinations issued by the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board under the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Act (PLRA). The bill is now in the House.
* * * The Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 1147, which requires reviews and reports on child fatalities and near-fatalities resulting from child abuse. The bill establishes procedures for timely reviews and reports by the Department of Public Welfare (DPW) and county children and youth agencies regarding child fatalities and near-fatalities caused by child abuse. Previously, DPW and the counties conducted child death reviews, but were not permitted to release the information to the public regarding findings and recommendations. Under this new law, the reports will be made available to the public so that communities will have more insight as to how the system worked or failed. The Governor signed the bill into law as Act 33 of 2008.
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The Senate passed House Bill 1329 by a 50-0 vote. This bill changes the process for appealing an alleged defect in the enactment or adoption of a land use ordinance. The bill now requires that appeals related to these defects be taken directly to the court of common pleas, as are other defects in the process for establishing ordinances, resolutions, maps, etc. The legislation also allows optional public notice of municipal action in order to provide an opportunity to challenge the validity of an ordinance or decision on the basis that a defect in procedure resulted in a deprivation of constitutional rights. The public notice will be posted once each week for two consecutive weeks in a local newspaper. The Governor signed the bill into law as Act 39 of 2008.
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The Senate unanimously passed House Bill 1330, which creates a new process for appealing alleged defects in the process of, or procedure for, enactment or adoption of any ordinance, resolution, map or similar action of a political subdivision. This bill updates a law that was no longer enforceable under Glen-Gery Corporation v. Zoning Hearing Board of Dover Township, York County (907 A.2d 1033 (Pa. 2006). This bill allows for a 30-day appeals period after the enactment of an ordinance, resolution, map, or other similar actions for an appeal to be made based on an alleged defect in the process for its adoption. The Governor signed the bill into law as Act 40 of 2008.
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The Senate unanimously passed House Bill 2295. This bill allows a condominium association to adopt the Uniform Condominium Act as its governing law, if 67 percent of the association’s members agree to the change. The bill also states that unpaid common expense assessments due during the six months immediately preceding the date of a judicial sale are payable from the proceeds of the judicial sale of the unit. The Governor signed the bill into law as Act 49 of 2008.
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The Senate unanimously passed House Bill 1167. This bill adds a trend test calculation to the definition of Company Action Level Event for property and casualty insurers. The test is designed to give the Insurance Department more time to identify a problem and work with the company to prevent insolvency. The Governor signed the bill into law as Act 37 of 2008.
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The Senate unanimously passed House Bill 2428, which places limitations on the amount of insurance required to receive a loan for property. This legislation forbids a lender from requiring a borrower, as a condition of obtaining or maintaining a loan, to obtain insurance that exceeds the replacement value of the buildings and property that are on the land used to secure the loan. The Governor signed the bill into law as Act 51 of 2008.
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The Senate unanimously passed three bills that take steps towards protecting homeowners from predatory lenders. Senate Bill 483 amends the Usury Law to add interest-rate protections for consumers by increasing the maximum interest cap from $50,000 to $217,873 for residential mortgage loans. The cap is adjusted annually for inflation. The legislation also allows the Department of Banking to enforce the provisions of the act and assess fines of up to $10,000 for violations. Senate Bill 484 permits the Department of Banking to release information on pending and final enforcement actions and fines against mortgage lenders and other non-depository institutions. The bill also requires licensees to use a national electronic licensing system and obtain criminal history checks. Senate Bill 485 expands the Certified Real Estate Appraisers Board. The board is being enlarged from four to six certified real estate appraisers. The number of public members remains the same. The Governor signed the bills into law as Act 57, 58, and 59 of 2008 respectively.
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By a 48-2 vote, the Senate passed Senate Bill 1247. This bill would have limited the circumstances under which a taxing district may appeal an assessment. It would have limited appeals to periods of countywide reassessment, when a parcel of land is divided and conveyed away in smaller parcels, or when improvements are made to the property, or when existing improvements are removed from the property or are destroyed. The Senate then passed House Bill 1438 by a 46-4 vote. This bill contained the exact same language as Senate Bill 1247. Both bills were vetoed by the Governor because he felt these pieces of legislation would not have protected new property owners from a spot re-assessment process or provided reasonable protections to ensure that all homeowners carry their fair share of local property tax burden in the absence of countywide re-assessment.
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By a vote of 42-8, the Senate passed House Bill 2167, authorizing the city of Philadelphia to impose a Philadelphia hospitality promotion tax. Currently Philadelphia has a 6 percent hotel tax. This bill adds an excise tax to be collected by each hotel within Philadelphia from the transaction of renting a room or rooms. The tax will not exceed 1.5 percent and will go into a special Philadelphia hospitality promotion tax fund. The revenue will be used to promote tourist attractions and facilities in the area as well as promoting the use of the expanded Pennsylvania Convention Center, including attracting international markets. The bill was signed into law as Act 80 of 2008.
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By a vote of 49-1, the Senate passed House Bill 2231, raising the debt ceiling for redevelopment assistance (RCAP) by $750 million. The new limit is $3.4 billion. The last time the debt ceiling was raised was in 2005 when it went up by $500 million. RCAP funds require local matching funds and must be used for redevelopment, but cannot include highways, bridges or water infrastructure. The House concurred in Senate amendments and the Governor signed the bill into law as Act 48 of 2008.
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The Senate unanimously concurred House amendments to Senate Bill 1297, extending for another two years the authorization for the State Treasurer to use the “prudent person rule” to make investments. The rule was first established in 1998 and requires reauthorization every two years. “Prudent person” is an accounting standard for large investment funds that allows more options for investment, but still maintains a long-term, rather than speculative, standard. Before the standard was adopted, the Treasurer was limited to investing in funds named in the statute. The bill was signed into law as Act 53 of 2008.
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By a vote of 49-1, the Senate approved Senate Bill 1412, updating Pennsylvania’s Keystone Opportunity Zone authorization. Keystone Opportunity Zones were created by the General Assembly in 1998, allowing tax exemptions for certain areas that were in need of economic redevelopment. Some areas were still undeveloped and faced program expiration within two years. The bill would extend those authorizations. Democrats fought to amend the bill to make KOZ’s subject to prevailing wage standards and the Separations Act to ensure that the quality of the jobs provided were worth the cost of the tax breaks. However, immediate passage was required to save a deal that would bring 1,100 jobs – averaging more than $100,000 per year in salary – to Center City in Philadelphia. Democrats supported the bill after receiving assurances from Gov. Rendell that he would support other initiatives to preserve wages and benefits for working families. The Governor signed the bill into law as Act 79 of 2008
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The Senate unanimously passed House Bill 2302 creating the Tourism Promotion Act to provide financial assistance to agencies promoting tourism in Pennsylvania. It repeals Act 50 of 1961 known as the Tourist Promotion Law. The bill provides tourist promotion grants to tourist promotion agencies and regional marketing partnerships working in consultation with the Governor's Tourism Partnership. The new law merges the two programs currently in effect, namely, the Matching Funds program (TPA) which directs grants to local tourist promotion agencies and the Regional Marketing Initiative (RMI) program into a one line appropriation. In fiscal year 2008/09, the TPA portion will receive 63 percent and the RMI portion 37 percent; in fiscal year 2009/10 the TPA portion will receive 57 percent and the RMI portion 43 percent. In fiscal year 2010 and thereafter, each program will receive half of the total line-item appropriation. Eligibility guidelines will be established by DCED. The Governor signed the bill into law as Act 50 of 2008.
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The Senate unanimously passed House Bill 1705, entering Pennsylvania into the “Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact.” The waters and water-dependent natural resources of the basin are subject to regulation under the compact. Within, each party is required to develop a water resources inventory. The inventory must include the location, type, quantity, and use of water resources in the watershed of the Great Lakes and portions of the St. Lawrence River watershed. Each state, within its jurisdiction, will manage and regulate new or increased water withdrawals, consumptive uses and water diversions in accordance with the compact. New and increased diversions of water from the basin are prohibited except as allowed by the compact. Within two years, each state must commit to promoting measures for the efficient use of water. The Department of Environmental Protection has the power to enforce the compact as it applies to Pennsylvania consistent with regulations adopted by the Environmental Quality Board. The Governor signed the bill into law as Act 43 of 2008.
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The Senate passed two bills intended to address the emerging technology of Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone service. Senate Bill 385 assesses a $1 fee for each customer service line of VoIP telephone service providers. This fee will be distributed by PEMA to counties to assist with implementing their 911 plans. The fee will be stated separately on a customer's bill and collected separately from any other fee levied by the provider for 911 services. Customers with multiple VoIP access lines would pay a prorated fee for lines in excess of 25. For lines 26 through 100, each line would be billed at 75 percent of the approved contribution rate; for lines 101 through 250, 50 percent; for lines 251 through 500, 20 percent; and for lines 501 and more, 17.2 percent. VoIP providers would be permitted to retain up to 2 percent of the total fees collected as reimbursement for administrative costs. The Senate unanimously concurred in House amendments and the bill was signed into law as Act 72 of 2008. Senate Bill 1000 prohibits any state department or agency from enacting or enforcing any law, rule, regulation, or standard that regulates the rates, terms and conditions of VoIP service. The bill, however, preserves the authority of Pennsylvania and its local governments to require cable operators to obtain franchises to deliver cable service to customers. The Senate unanimously concurred in House amendments and the Governor signed the bill into law as Act 52 of 2008.
* * * The Senate voted unanimously in favor of Senate Bill 903, which would increase openness in consulting contracts. This legislation aims to eliminate conflicts of interest when state government enters into contracts with outside consultants. It will ensure that government gets unbiased professional advice when needed. A state agency would not be allowed to contract with outside individuals or firms for consulting work, unless the contract is reviewed by the Attorney General for legality and conflict of interest, or is opened up to public competitive bidding. This bill would apply to management consulting contracts designed to improve the effectiveness of management strategies, processes or operations, legal consulting services that provide legal opinions or assessments of agency conduct, other than those related to pending litigation, and the provision of legal services in connection with the sale or issuance of bonds. Additionally, the bill would require all those seeking to do consulting work to report their campaign contributions, and would prohibit any consultant from having a financial stake in the issue on which they are rendering an opinion. Under the measure, all information as to contracts awarded and campaign contributions by consultants must be made available for public inspection on the Internet. The bill will now go to the House.
* * * The Senate voted unanimously in favor of House Bill 1199, which changes the Physical Therapy Practice Act. The certification of athletic trainers no longer falls under this act. The State Board of Medicine will regulate them. A professional or public member of the Physical Therapy Board who misses three meetings in 18 months will have to give up their seat. A written request can be given to the commissioner and he or she can decide if the member can be excused from a meeting because of illness or death of a family member. A physical therapy assistant must be at least 20 years old. An applicant who completed their professional study of physical therapy after 2002 must have at least a master’s degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education. An applicant completing the professional study of physical therapy between January 1967 and 2002 must have at least a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education. The supervision requirement of the certified physical therapist assistant by a licensed physical therapist is also changed under this law. A licensee must have a minimum of $1 million of professional liability insurance coverage per occurrence or claims made. A licensed physical therapist and a certified physical therapist assistant must have 30 hours of continuing education every two years in order to renew their license. The bill was signed into law as Act 38 of 2008.
* * * The Senate voted unanimously in favor of House Bill 1612, which creates the Cigarette Fire Safety and Firefighter Protection Act. Cigarettes sold in Pennsylvania must be "fire-safe" starting Jan. 1, 2009 under this law. Cigarettes will now have to be made with layers of slow-burning paper that extinguish unless continuously smoked. This will make them less likely to cause fires if left unattended. It does not apply to cigars. Cigarettes or tobacco products will have to be tested in accordance with the American Society of Testing and Materials Standard for Measuring the Ignition Strength of Cigarettes before they are sold. A written certification will then have to be given to the Department of Revenue and all packages will be marked. In 2005, roughly one-in-four fire deaths were attributed to smoking materials and more than 82,000 smoking-material fires caused approximately 800 deaths and 1,660 injuries. These statistics do not include injuries or deaths among firefighters involved in responding to the scene. After July 1, 2009, outlets can be fined up to $500 for the first violation and up to $5,000 for an offense after the first, with a maximum fine of up to $25,000 in one month. The bill was signed into law as Act 42 of 2008.
* * * The Senate voted unanimously in favor of House Bill 1693, which changes the “Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors Act.” Under this law, a "social worker" is defined as someone who has a current license under the act or has received a bachelors degree or higher from an accredited school or program of social work or social welfare. It is against the law for any person to say they are a social worker if they do not fit this definition. Out-of-state Licensed Clinical Social workers, marriage and family therapists and professional counselors will be allowed to be licensed in Pennsylvania if they are licensed somewhere else. The license would be given without examination. A clinical social work license applicant will have to complete at least three years or 3,000 hours of supervised clinical experience after they have received a master’s degree in social work. The bill was signed into law as Act 68 of 2008.
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The Senate voted unanimously in favor of House Bill 1804, which changes the Medical Practice Act. A “respiratory care practitioner” will now be called a “respiratory therapist.” They must complete a continuing education requirement of 30 hours every two years for a new license. One credit hour will have to be taken in ethics and one credit hour in patient safety. A respiratory therapist will be able to become licensed by the State Board of Medicine and to obtain title protection, under this law. Under this legislation a physician assistant will be able to order durable medical equipment, issue verbal orders to the extent permitted by a health care facility’s bylaws, order physical therapy and dietitian referrals, order respiratory and occupational therapy referrals, perform disability assessments for TANF program, issue homebound schooling certifications, and perform and sign the initial assessment of methadone treatment evaluations. A licensed physician assistant will have to maintain a level of professional liability insurance coverage of at least $1 million per occurrence or claims made. The bill was signed into law as Act 45 of 2008.
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The Senate voted unanimously in favor of House Bill 2088, which changes the Osteopathic Medical Practice Act. A “respiratory care practitioner” will now be called a “respiratory therapist.” They must complete a continuing education requirement of 30 hours every two years for a new license. One credit hour will have to be taken in ethics and one credit hour in patient safety. A respiratory therapist will be able to become licensed by the State Board of Osteopathic Medicine and to obtain title protection, under this law. Under this legislation, a physician assistant will be able to order durable medical equipment, issue verbal orders to the extent permitted by a health care facility’s bylaws, order physical therapy and dietitian referrals, order respiratory and occupational therapy referrals, perform disability assessments for TANF program, issue homebound schooling certifications, and perform and sign the initial assessment of methadone treatment evaluations. A licensed physician assistant will have to maintain a level of professional liability insurance coverage of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence or claims made. The bill was signed into law as Act 46 of 2008.
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The Senate voted unanimously in favor of House Bill 69, which defines a "mounted specimen", makes new rules for buying and selling game and for safety zones. This legislation defines "mounted specimen" as any game or wildlife, or any portion of game or wildlife prepared, preserved, arranged, set up or posed in a lifelike position or some other form of display. This law allows game to be purchased or sold if it is raised following the laws of Pennsylvania. Game or wildlife can be captured and sold if a permit is received from the director of the commission and fees are paid. Tanned, cured or mounted heads, skins, or parts of any game or wildlife cannot be sold if it wasn’t killed in a wild state in Pennsylvania. Any inedible game or wildlife part thrown away by the original owner can be sold if it is within 90 days after the close of the season. A permit is not required for the sale or purchase of mounted specimens by any licensed auctioneer who sells 10 or more mounted specimens during one sale at a registered auction house. Sales must be given to the commission within 15 days. A safety zone for licensed bow and arrow, cross bow or falconry hunters is within 50 yards of an occupied building, camp, barn or stable. The safety zone around a playground of any school, nursery school or daycare center is 150 yards. The bill was signed into law as Act 65 of 2008.
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The Senate voted 48-2 in favor of Senate Bill 1424, which changes the Board of Vehicles Act. Under this law, a licensed dealer can charge a person buying a vehicle for fees associated with titling and registering a vehicle including messenger fees, notary fees and electronic transaction fees. A dealer who provides electronic transaction services can charge a maximum of $100 for the year 2008 and a maximum charge of $120 for the year 2009. A dealer who does not provide electronic transaction services for document preparation can charge a maximum of $80 for the year 2008 and a maximum charge of $100 for the year 2009. The bill was signed into law as Act 77 of 2008.
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The Senate voted unanimously in favor of Senate Bill 838, which changes the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Law. Under this law, the number of CPAs on the State Board of Accountancy is increased from eight to nine. The number of public accountants is decreased from two to one. The Board of Accountancy will now have the power to hire, fire and fix the compensation of people who work full time for the board as executive director, legal counsel and prosecutor. Examinations for certification will no longer be held at least twice a year. CPAs from other states will be allowed to practice public accounting in Pennsylvania without a reciprocal certificate if they meet "substantial equivalency" requirements. The bill was signed into law as Act 73 of 2008.
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The Senate voted unanimously in favor of House Bill 1116, which allows the Pennsylvania Game Commission to sell vouchers for hunting licenses and permits. Vouchers will be available for fishing licenses and permits purchased by a person for someone else. The person buying the voucher will have to pay the license or permit fee and the issuing agent’s fee. The voucher can then be redeemed for the type of license or permit indicated and must be honored by an issuing agent when presented for redemption, regardless of where it was purchased. The bill was signed into law as Act 67 of 2008.
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The Senate voted 48-2 in favor of House Bill 2648, which would extend the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) and create a Health Care Cost Containment Council Act Review Committee. Since the bill wasn’t passed by June 30, resulting in the council’s legal expiration, Gov. Ed Rendell signed an executive order to keep the PHC4 operating until November. The Legislature will take up the bill again when they come back into session to reauthorize the council for a longer period of time. The council is known nationally for its pioneering work in the analysis and investigation of health-care costs and medical care issues. The bill is in the House Rules Committee.
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The Senate voted unanimously in favor of House Bill 1788, which makes new rules for the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW). DPW was behind on inspections of personal care homes. This new law requires DPW to submit a report to the governor and the General Assembly every year by March 1. The report will include:
The following applies to patients readmitted to a hospital within 14 days of the date of discharge:
It also brings DPW's pharmacy and therapeutics committee, as well as its drug utilization review board meetings, under the sunshine law. The bill was signed into law as Act 44 of 2008.
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The Senate voted 48-2 in favor of House Bill 883, which expands Pennsylvania’s Newborn Screening and Follow-up Program. The new law enables the Department of Health to continue to provide for screening and follow-up services for six mandated genetic and metabolic conditions for babies born in Pennsylvania and adds follow-up services for 22 more genetic and metabolic conditions. Newborn screening provides early identification and treatment for infants affected by certain metabolic, hormonal, genetic or functional disorders. Before this law, Pennsylvania only provided for services, referrals, and confirmatory testing for only a fraction of the metabolic conditions as well as hearing. The bill was signed into law as Act 36 of 2008.
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The Senate voted unanimously in favor of Senate Bill 1499, which would create rules for using state-owned vehicles. The rules are:
The bill is in the House State Government Committee. * * * The Senate voted unanimously in favor of Senate Bill 1511, which would change the Public Welfare Code by not requiring two-thirds of the Senate to appoint a member for the County Board of Assistance. Under this bill, the governor can appoint a member to a County Board of Assistance as long as the senator of his or her district endorses them. The County Board of Assistance is composed of people engaged or interested in business, social welfare, labor, industry, education or public administration. The members do not get paid and cannot hold any political office. The bill is in the House Health and Human Services Committee.
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The Senate voted unanimously in favor of Senate Bill 1497, which would require the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare to consider pharmaceutical services as a covered benefit. Under this bill, pharmaceutical services would be a covered benefit under both mandatory managed care and voluntary managed care, which would be provided and continued under contracts with managed care contractors. The bill is in the House Health and Human Services Committee.
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The Senate passed House Bill 4 by a 49-1 vote. This bill would address sentencing, re-sentencing, incarceration, probation and parole of certain offenders.
The legislation would authorize the Sentencing Commission to provide information on re-sentencing decisions as well as parole revocations. The commission would be authorized to adopt guidelines and circulate forms for the courts to consider and use when re-sentencing an offender following revocation of probation, county intermediate punishment or state intermediate punishment and requires the courts to consider these guidelines.
Further, the Commission would be responsible for adopting guidelines for parole that must be used by the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole as well as any other paroling entity.
This bill would also create guidelines for reimbursement for confinement— that would begin three years after the effective date of this act: · DOC required to reimburse counties for reasonable costs of confinement of persons committed to county for work release classified as level 4 or 5 offenders. Program may spend up to $2.5 million. · Counties may require payment from other counties for the incarceration of their prisoners with mutually agreeable rates.
This bill was amended to add the language from Senate Bill 397. The legislation would also establish a central or regional booking fee, following the adoption of a countywide Booking Center Plan. In addition to any other fines, penalties, costs or fees authorized by law, a person may be required by the court to pay a central or regional booking fee of no more than $200.
The House passed an amended version of this bill by a 202-1 vote and returned it to the Senate.
* * * The Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 1203. This bill contains a series of technical amendments that would update and clarify provisions of the probate law. The recommended changes include proposed amendments to repeal of the rule against perpetuities; the enforcement of the contribution or exoneration of Federal estate tax; provisions addressing death during a divorce proceeding and powers of attorney. The Joint State Government Commission, Decedents, Estates and Fiduciaries Task Force recommended the changes to the law. The bill is now in the House.
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By a vote of 49 to 1, the Senate approved House Bill 1589, the capital budget projects for 2007-08. Under the bill, a total of $10.4 billion is authorized for projects. Of that amount, $9 billion can be financed by the sale of bonds. The bill was signed into law as Act 41 of 2008. The capital projects breakdown is as follows:
TOTAL $10,461,483,000
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The Senate approved House Bill 2522, the state’s capital budget for fiscal 2008-09 by a vote of 49-1. The measure authorizes $1.225 billion in debt for projects ranging from transportation to public improvement. The bill was enacted as Act 54 of 2008.
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By a 46-4 vote, the Senate approved House Bill 2458, which makes appropriations totaling $34.7 million from the State Gaming Fund to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, the Department of Revenue, the Pennsylvania State Police and the Attorney General for their gaming-related oversight/regulatory activities for fiscal year 2008-09. The bill was enacted as Act 36A of 2008.
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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 1348, which appropriates $52.162 million from the Restricted Revenue Account within the General Fund to augment the operation and administration of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and its Commissioners. The bill was enacted as Act 37A.
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On concurrence, the Senate approved the following non-preferred appropriations bills for fiscal 2008-09 (percentage change in parenthesis). All of the bills are now in the Governor’s hands: The vote on the following bills was 49-1
The vote on the following was 47-3
The vote on the following was 48-2
House Bill 2336 (Act 30A) – Whitaker Center, Harrisburg -- $141,000 (0)
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