The Senate voted 39 to 8 in favor of Senate Bill 1466, a $27.6 billion 2012-13 state budget bill that would make numerous funding restorations while holding the line on taxes.

Under the bipartisan legislation, the Senate restored approximately $500 million in funds that Gov. Tom Corbett recommended cutting in his February budget proposal. The measure would contain state spending at a 2 percent increase over the previous year’s budget.

While the state still face a $300 million projected deficit, most of the additional spending was made possible by revenue receipts that were $400 million more than what the governor erroneously predicted.

Senate Bill 1466 would fully reverse the projected funding cuts to colleges. In turn, school officials pledged to keep tuition hikes below the inflation rate. The measure would also partially restore funding to public schools, including $50 million for Accountability Block Grants and $50 million for distressed school districts.

The bill would restore half ($84 million) of the funds the governor proposed cutting from county human service programs; as well as easing cuts for hospitals and nursing homes. The bill would also provide $275 million in business tax cuts.

In largely party line votes, Republicans voted down Democratic proposals that would have made additional or higher restorations to educational and human service programs. Many Democrats called the bill a good first step and said they would work to make additional restorations before the final budget is enacted. Corbett said the restorations in Senate Bill 1466 were excessive and said he was skeptical that revenue collections would continue to outstrip projections.

The bill now goes to the House.

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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 1472, which would appropriate $27.660 million from the State Employees Retirement Fund for the general government operations of the State Employees Retirement System. This appropriation would match what the governor proposed in his budget plan, an increase of $340,000 from the current year’s amount.

The bill now goes to the House.

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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 1473, which would appropriate $44.144 million from the Public School Retirement Fund for the administration of the Public School Retirement System. This appropriation would match what the governor proposed in his February budget plan.

The bill now goes to the House.

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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 1474, which would appropriate $45.733 million from the Professional Licensure Augmentation Account and from restricted revenue accounts to: the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs ($37.072 million); the State Board of Medicine ($6.948 million); State Board of Osteopathic Medicine ($1.006 million);  State Board of Podiatry ($198,000); and State Athletic Commission ($509,000).

The bill now goes to the House.

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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 1475, which would appropriate $60.398 million from the General Fund to the Public Utility Commission for its fiscal 2012-13 operations – and increase of $1.5 million.

The bill would also appropriate $4.857 million in federal funds, including $2.819 million  to enforce the regulations of the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act; $1.888 million for Motor Carrier Safety; and $150,000 for electric regulatory assistance under ARRA.

The bill now goes to the House.

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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 1476, which would appropriate $1.092 million to operate the Office of Small Business Advocate in the Department of Community and Economic Development for fiscal 2012-13.

The bill now goes to the House.

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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 1477, which would appropriate $66.727 million from the State Gaming Fund to the Gaming Control Board ($36 million), Department of Revenue ($9.5 million), State Police ($20.2 million), and Office of Attorney General ($1 million) for fiscal 2012-13 gaming oversight.

The bill now goes to the House.

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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 1478, which would appropriate $75.896 million from the Workmen’s Compensation Administration Fund to the Department of Labor and Industry to administer the Workers’ Compensation Act and the Pennsylvania Occupational Disease Act for fiscal 2012-13. The bill also provides and $194,000 for the Office of the Small Business Advocate.

The bill now goes to the House.

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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 1479, which would appropriate $5.173 million to the Office of Consumer Advocate (OCA) in the Office of Attorney General, which is $16,000 less than the 2011-12 budget provided. OCA funding comes from an assessment on utilities regulated by the PUC.

The bill now goes to the House.

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The Senate unanimously passed an amended version of House Bill 1400, which would establish the Primary Stroke Center Recognition Act in Pennsylvania.

This bill would require the Department of Health to recognize hospitals that have been certified by a national commission based on a series of established standards for care as primary stroke centers (PSCs). This designation would last as long as the hospital remains certified as a primary stroke center.

Under the bill, the Department of Health would be required to maintain a list of PSCs, provide that list to the medical director of every licensed emergency medical services provider in the Commonwealth, and post the list on its website.

The Department of Health would also be required to make available a nationally recognized standardized stroke triage assessment tool and establish procedures related to the pre-hospital assessment, treatment and transport of stroke patients by licensed EMS providers. These procedures would include plans for triage and transport of acute stroke patient to the closest PSC or an alternate facility within a specified time from the onset of symptoms. Protocols would also be developed to ensure proper training for certified EMS providers.

The bill was amended in the Senate to add the definition of a “licensed acute care hospital.”

The amended bill was returned to the House.

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The Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 1403, which would ensure that a landowner who grants permission to a hunter to hunt on his or her land cannot be held liable for any violations of the Game Code committed by the hunter while hunting on their land.

Currently, a landowner who permits a hunter access to his or her land can be held liable for violations of the Game Code on their land by the hunter.

The bill is now in the House.

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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 1225, which would codify and update language in the Library Code

The bill would designate the Deputy Secretary for Libraries as the State Librarian; require the State Librarian to establish service standards that reflect current and evolving technologies; permit all libraries to apply for waivers of standards if faced with a reduction in state funding, and give the State Librarian discretion to formulate waivers to provide for more flexibility in the application and enforcement of standards; give the State Librarian authority to establish continuing education requirements for all librarians; and would permit the State Librarian to publicize rules and regulations modifying the number of hours a library must be open each week in order to receive aid.

The bill would also change the composition of the Advisory Council on Library Development to include more librarians and fewer laypeople; apply the funding formula in the Library Code uniformly from year to year; convert the surplus financial effort required for a library to obtain “incentive for excellence” funding from a dollar amount to a percentage increase in funding; and reduce the maximum term of imprisonment for the offense of damage to library materials from 15 days in county jail to 10 days.

The bill is now in the House Education Committee.

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The Senate unanimously approved legislation that would establish the Homeowner Assistance Settlement Act, which would provide for the implementation of the Homeowners Assistance Settlement Fund.

Under Senate Bill 1433, the Homeowners Assistance Settlement Fund would manage portions of the monies received from the Homeowner Assistance Settlement Agreement, a joint federal-state agreement with the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers in response to abuses in the mortgage serving industry. 

Through this fund, 90 percent would be directed to the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) to fund the Homeowner’s Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (HEMAP); 5 percent would be directed to the Office of the Attorney General for funding housing consumer protection programs; and 5 percent would be directed to the Access to Justice Account for civil legal assistance for housing issues.

Additionally, this legislation would provide an initial distribution of $6 million from the fund that would be directed to the Pennsylvania Housing and Finance Agency for the purposes of reinstating HEMAP.

The bill is now in the House Urban Affairs Committee.

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The Senate unanimously passed a bill that will help the state Insurance Department to better monitor the solvency of life and health insurance companies. House Bill 2134 adopts the National Association of Insurance Carrier standards for solvency evaluation and allows the department to take more timely corrective action.

The bill awaits the governor’s signature.

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