The Senate unanimously approved House Bill 411, which would increase bingo prize limits.

The Bingo Law places certain restrictions on charitable bingo.  The measure increases the prize limitations by doubling the current maximum amount allowed per game.  Only licensed associations are authorized to run charitable bingo.

The bill also allows this associations to run additional bingo game variations and removes limitation of only running bingo two days a week.

The bill was enacted as Act 66 of 2017.

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The Senate unanimously approved House Bill 561, which eliminates the sunset provision of administrative subpoenas in investigations involving child sexual exploitation or abuse circumstances.  The provision was previously set to expire at the end of 2017.

The bill was enacted as Act 67 of 2017.

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The Senate unanimously approved House Bill 1139, which amends the Newborn Protection Act to allow a parent to leave a newborn child in the custody of an emergency services provider.

Previously, parents were only authorized to leave a newborn with a police officer at a police station or in the care of a hospital. The law is aimed those who plan on abandoning their newborn alternatives aimed at keeping the child safe.

This measure also allows a parent to also leave their newborn in the custody of an emergency services provider facility.  An emergency services provider would be responsible for ensuring the newborn is taken to a hospital or placed in the care of a health care provider.

The bill adds provisions for a newborn to be left in an incubator.  This incubator would need to be able to be accessed within 30 seconds of a parent leaving their child there by the police or health care personnel.

The bill was enacted as Act 68 of 2017.

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Senate unanimously approved House Bill 1175, which would require lobbyists to electronically file reports with the state.

Currently lobbyists may submit reports by mail. However, this method can often delay the posting of the information to the public.  This legislation would allow the reports to filed and placed online electronically. The bill would also require the Department of General Services to post these reports under a certain timeframe.

Under this legislation, lobbyist failing to meet the requirements of the Lobbyist Disclosure Law would face increased penalties.  The Ethics issue a fine of up to $4,000, and lobbyists failing to register or report their files would face increasing daily fines.

The bill now goes to the House Rules Committee.

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The Senate unanimously approved House Bill 1231, which establishes a veterans’ registry to provide information on veteran programs and outreach.

The registry program enables veterans to grant permission to have their names given to the local county director of Veterans Affairs to be added to the veterans’ registry program. The Department of Military and Veterans Affairs is authorized to coordinate their efforts with other state agencies to help veterans join the registry.  The department is required to report on the success of the program to the General Assembly.

The bill was enacted as Act 69 of 2017.

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The Senate voted 43-6 in favor of House Bill 1388, which Reauthorizes the Pennsylvania Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) through 2019.

This bill amends The Insurance Company Law to extend the Pennsylvania Children’s Health Insurance Program to December 31, 2019.  The program was previously set to expire on December 31, 2017.  The measure also ensures that funding does not expire for at least 90days after federal funding for the program ends. A federal budget dispute threatened the program’s funding in early 2018.

The bill previously contained controversial amendments that prohibit the reimbursement of funds for gender or sex reassignment surgery or gender or sex transition services.  Those provisions were amended out of the enacted legislation.

The bill was enacted as Act 58 of 2017.

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The Senate unanimously approved House Bill 1420, which amends the Solicitation of Funds for Charitable Purposes Act to alter audit requirements for annual contributions to charitable organizations.

Annual thresholds are adjusted to require charities that receive $750,000 or more, rather than the current $300,000, to be audited by an independent certified public accountant.  Charities receiving any amount between $250,000 and $750,000 will have their audit or their financial statements reviewed by an independent certified public accountant.  Any charity receiving donations between $100,000 and $250,000 will need to have a compilation, audit or their financial statements reviewed by an indecent certified public accountant. Lastly, a charity receiving less than $100,000 annually is not required to prepare a compilation, audit or review.

The bill was enacted as Act 71 of 2017.

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 The Senate unanimously approved House Bill 1421, which amends the Solicitation of Funds for Charitable Purposes Act to make changes to statutory timeframes for submission and review of registration statements.

The measure gives additional time to the Department of State when reviewing charitable organizations, professional fundraising counsels and professional solicitor’s registration statements.

The bill clarifies that charitable organizations must annually have their fiscal statements filed and postmarked by May 15.  The Department of State has 15 days to notify an organization if their registration statement is not satisfactory.  Organizations will then have 15 days to request a review hearing.

The bill was enacted as Act 72 of 2017.

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 The Senate unanimously approved House Bill 1902, which amends the Liquor Code to extend uncover compliance checks for underage drinking and expands the list of authorized businesses that can manufacture interlocking devices.

This legislation extends until 2022 the program that allows individuals between the age of 18 and 21 to work with the State Police to act as underage buyers for conducting compliance checks. Individuals are also authorized to assist the State Police if they are an officer, employee or intern of the Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement and have completed the appropriate training.  The individual must be under the supervision of a bureau member and over 21 to participate in this program.

The bill amends provisions limiting interlocking businesses by repealing some of the restrictions on the interactions between manufacturers, distributors and retailers.  The new law adds various business types to the list of authorized interlocking businesses.

The bill also updates regulations on out-of-state contract breweries to allow for some situations where direct beer shipments are being made from out-of-state breweries to in-state brew pubs.

The bill was enacted as Act 75 of 2017.

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The Senate voted 43-5 in favor of House Bill 1915, which provides an additional $115.2 million to the Service and Infrastructure Improvement Fund.

This legislation provides for $30.2 million of this total to go towards technological upgrades to the Unemployment Compensation (UC) delivery system.   These funds will be dispersed between 2017 and 2021. The bill places additional requirements on the Department of Labor and Industry and requires it to create an annual report detailing the UC upgrade progress.

The legislation also creates the Benefit Modernization Advisory Committee, which is designed to monitor and advise the Department of Labor and Industry on the UC delivery system upgrades.

The bill was enacted as Act 60 of 2017.

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 The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 196, which would allow a judge to require a defendant to wear an electronic monitoring device if he or she is a risk for violating a protection from abuse (PFA) order. The bill would allow a judge to also place location restrictions and distance restrictions on an individual who is required to wear the monitoring device.

The bill now goes to the House Judiciary Committee.

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 The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 354, which would require individuals with licenses, certificates or registrations issued by the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs to report previous arrests and convictions to the appropriate licensing board.

The bill would also allow a licensing board to suspend licenses, certificates or registrations in cases where public health or safety is at risk. A hearing must be conducted within 30 days prior to temporary suspension.  The bill would also provide for circumstances where licenses can be immediately suspended.

In addition, the bill would allow the commissioner of the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs to expunge the disciplinary records of a licensee if the violation was related to the failure to complete continuing education requirements.

The bill now goes to the House Rules Committee.

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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 446, which amends the Administrative Code regulating licensure of Drug and Alcohol programs.

The bill requires the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) to license drug and alcohol recovery houses. Only licensed recovery houses are eligible to receive federal or state funding.

DDAP will be authorized to promote regulations to ensure that Drug and Alcohol recovery houses provide a safe environment for residents. A drug or alcohol recovery house can be considered licensed if documentation proving compliance is provided within 180 days.

DDAP may collect a fee from houses to carry out its legal responsibilities. Houses must obtain a two-year license. Failure to maintain licensure is subject to a fine of $1,000 per violation.

The bill was enacted as Act 59 of 2017.

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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 458, which amends the Public Utilities Code to add additional penalties for transporting property between homes, for compensation, without the appropriate licensure.

The legislation adds stricter penalties to illegal household goods movers.  Individuals who move household items are required to register and obtain a permit with the Public Utility Commission, which will oversee enforcement of the law.

The tougher penalties will result in a $5,000 fine for the first offense.  Additional penalties could result in forfeiture of the offender’s vehicle used in the violation or a $10,000 fine. The bill was amended to clarify that any company that claims they provide furnisher transportation would be liable under this bill.

The bill was enacted as Act 77 of 2017.

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 The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 764, which would establish new provisions for recreational vehicles (RVs).

Current RV sales and manufacturing is under the jurisdiction of automobile dealer regulations.  This legislation would consolidate the laws pertaining to RV manufacturers, RV dealers and RV salespersons and place them in one location within the Vehicle Code.  This separate classification of vehicles would assist retailers who sell RVs.

The bill now goes to the House Professional Licensure Committee.

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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 798, which would amend the Pennsylvania Military Community Enhancement Commission by providing for commission membership.  This bill would allow for members to include active-duty retired one or two-star officers to join in addition to three and four-star retired officers.  This legislation would also require members to be Pennsylvania residents.

The bill now goes to the Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee.

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 The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 844, which would grant standing for people to file for legal custody if the individual’s biological or adoptive parents do not have custody.

Currently, an individual must have standing to file for custody of a child.  They are required be a parent, grandparent, currently providing parental duties for the child, and must have had a previous relationship to the child.

This legislation would allow any individual to file for custody if they can demonstrate how they were previously involved in the child’s life and how they can provide a sustainable future for the child. This individual would be required to prove a legitimate interest in the welfare of the child.

The bill would also allow a grandparent to file for partial or supervised custody in situations where the child’s parents have started a proceeding for custody — and oppose the grandparents receiving custody.

The bill now goes to the House Judiciary Committee.

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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 892, which would amend the Chiropractic Practice Act to provide for licensure requirements.  The legislation would permit a student enrolled in a chiropractic program to engage in a chiropractic act without a license if they are under the supervision of a licensed chiropractor.

The bill now goes to the House Professional Licensure Committee.

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