Public Health & Welfare 2015-2016
The Senate Public Health & Welfare Committee met on Tuesday, October 18, 2016 and took the following action:
Reported As Amended:
HB 1699 (Brown) – This legislation prohibits emergency providers from prescribing long-acting opioid painkillers in emergency rooms and places a limit on discharge prescriptions. The amendment added and clarified definitions. The amendment also placed limitations on patients who are under observations status. The amended bill passed unanimously.
The Senate Public Health & Welfare Committee met on Wednesday, September 28, 2016 and took the following action:
Reported As Committed:
HB 1785 (Corbin) – This legislation will require each assisted living residence and personal care home in the Commonwealth to post and disseminate information about the flu vaccine.
Reported As Amended:
SB 1269 (Bartolotta) – This legislation will include postpartum depression as an “at risk category” for early intervention tracking under Act 212 of 1990 (Early Intervention Services System Act).
HB 162 (Benninghoff) – This legislation will allow Pennsylvania adult adoptees access to their original birth certificates.
HB 1104 (Godshall) – This legislation would allow eligible patients with a terminal illness to use investigational drugs, biological products and devices not yet approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The Senate Public Health & Welfare Committee met on Monday, June 27, 2016 and took the following action:
Reported As Committed:
SB 613 (Vance) – This legislation amends the Human Services Code to permit the Human Services Block Grant to be utilized by all counties.
SR 275 (Reschenthaler) – This resolution urges Congress to pass HR 2646 – the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act.
Reported As Amended:
SB 18 (Kitchen) – Amends the Human Services Code to require lead testing in children’s institutions and child care facilities. Amendment A09089 was adopted in committee the amendment is technical in nature.
HB 1062 (Killion) – This legislation amends the Human Services Code to eliminate the responsibility of certain counties to pay a share of medical assistance costs for individuals receiving care in county nursing facilities. Amendment A09003 was adopted in committee the amendment phases out the elimination of the county share and implements budget related provisions.
The Senate Public Health & Welfare Committee met on Wednesday, June 22, 2016 and took the following action:
Reported As Committed:
SB 1218 (Vance) – This legislation would set statewide training standards for county mental health and intellectual disability administrators and for those to whom they delegate their responsibilities under the Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities Act.
Reported As Amended:
SB 16 (Yudichak) – This legislation creates a Task Force on Lead to study the scope of the lead issue throughout this Commonwealth. Amendment A08354 was adopted in committee, the amendment clarifies that the commission will schedule the meetings of the Task Force.
HB 1351 (Baker) – This legislation permits entities such as summer camps, colleges and universities, restaurants, amusement parks, sport facilities, daycares and other facilities to have non-patient specific epinephrine auto-injectors in their facilities. Amendment A08504 was adopted in committee, the amendment clarifies standards for authorized entities and prescribing health care practitioners.
The Senate Public Health & Welfare Committee met on Monday, April 4, 2016 and took the following action:
Reported As Committed:
SB 1156 (Sabatina) – This legislation would update the Child Protective Services Law (CPSL) to include background check requirements for hospital personnel and doctors. The bill was committed unanimously from committee.
The Senate Public Health & Welfare Committee met on Wednesday, March 16, 2016 and took the following action:
Reported As Committed:
HB 59 (Baker) – This legislation will require individuals born between 1945 and 1965 to be offered Hepatitis C testing when receiving health services as an inpatient in a hospital or when receiving primary care services in an outpatient department of a hospital, health care facility or physician’s office.
Reported As Amended:
SR 267 (Schwank) – This resolution establish an advisory task force within the Joint State Government Commission on issues relating to drug-addiction treatment and requiring a study and report by the Commission on them. The adopted amendment A06111, is technical in nature and removes duplicative language.
HB 264 (Mustio) – Under this legislation, care facilities including long-term care nursing facilities, personal care homes and assisted living residences who utilize fossil fuel heating sources which emit carbon monoxide as a byproduct of combustion must install alarms in their facilities. Amendment A05929 was adopted in committee. The amendment requires an emergency response team to respond to a facility when an alarm is set off. It does not require immediate evacuation of the facility.
The Senate Public Health & Welfare Committee met on Tuesday, December 8, 2015 and took the following action:
Reported as Amended:
HB 1322 (Kaufer) – Amends the Public Welfare Code to require general assistance applicants to establish they are not receiving public assistance in any other state. Amendment A04854 was adopted in committee. The amendment codifies the KEYS program, extends certain payments to nursing homes for another year, modifies the hospital and managed care organization assessments, provides for payments for child welfare services, expands subsidized child care and makes changes to comply with federal law.
The Senate Public Health & Welfare Committee met on Saturday, December 5, 2015 and took the following action:
Reported as Committed:
HB 1322 (Kaufer) – This legislation amends the Public Welfare Code by requiring the Department of Human Services to notify other states which were previously providing assistance to an individual or family once an application is made and approved here in the Commonwealth.
The Senate Public Health & Welfare Committee met on Friday, June 26, 2015 and took the following action.
Reported As Amended:
HB 934 (Christiana) – This bill amends the Public Welfare Code by redesigning the Keystone Education Yields Success Program (KEYS), allowing students the ability to graduate with Associate Degrees from Pennsylvania’s 14 community colleges.
HB 1276 (Watson) – This bill amends Title 23 (Domestic Relations) this legislation will clarify and make more explicit provisions in the statute enacted last session which requires employees and adult volunteers who work with children to obtain criminal background check clearances and child abuse clearances.