By a vote of 37-13, the Senate passed a bill giving the governor broad powers to take over the finances of the City of Harrisburg after the city’s refusal to accept a state-advised Act 47 recovery plan.

Senate Bill 1151 allows the governor to declare a fiscal emergency and appoint a receiver to implement a fiscal recovery plan if a distressed city fails to do so.  The bill gives the distressed city a final chance to adopt a plan that is acceptable to the secretary of the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED).

The measure creates a four-member advisory committee that will include the mayor, city council president, and an appointee of the affected county, but it gives the DCED secretary the power to develop an Emergency Action Plan to direct nearly all city services and gives the receiver control over city financial matters.  It also prohibits the levying of a commuter tax on non-residents.

The bill passed the House quickly after Senate passage and was signed by the governor as Act 79 of 2011.

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The Senate unanimously approved legislation that would make a number of modifications to the Judicial Code and Prisons and Parole Code.

Senate Bill 100 would expand the definition of “crime of violence” to include manslaughter of a law enforcement officer, murder of the third degree involving an unborn child, aggravated assault of an unborn child, assault of a law enforcement officer, use of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, trafficking of persons and eco-terrorism.

The bill also adds to the definition of “burglary with intent to commit a crime” if an offender enters a building, regardless of whether it is adapted for overnight accommodations or not, and regardless of whether a person is present or not at the time of the offense.

The bill would also require the Sentencing Commission to use a risk assessment instrument in monitoring the effectiveness of sentencing guidelines.

The bill would make more nonviolent offenders eligible for Pennsylvania’s alternative sentencing programs, including county intermediate punishment, state intermediate punishment, state motivational boot camp and the recidivism risk reduction incentive.

The measure would establish a county probation program providing for swift, predictable and immediate sanctions on offenders who violate their probation.

The bill also would establish the Safe Community Reentry Program and require the Department of Corrections to establish a comprehensive program to reduce recidivism and ensure the successful reentry and reintegration of offenders into the community.

The bill is now in the House Judiciary Committee.

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The Senate voted 43 to 7 for legislation that would prohibit the state from imposing the death penalty on a mentally retarded person.

In June 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that executing an individual with a mental retardation was unconstitutional, but left it to each state to determine how to implement the decision.

Under Senate Bill 397, the death sentence would not be imposed upon any person who proves they are mentally retarded. The defendant may file for an order 90 days before their trial, directing the court to conduct a hearing to determine if they are not eligible for the death penalty.

The bill also permits individuals who have been convicted and claim to be mentally retarded to file for a hearing to prove their mental retardation.

The bill is now in the House Judiciary Committee.

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The Senate unanimously approved legislation that would ensure greater protections for juvenile offenders and define “cyber bullying.”

In response to the judicial abuses that occurred in Luzerne County between 2005 and 2008, Senate Bill 850 would expand the list of situations under which juvenile records may be expunged. Once the individual is 18 years old or older and has satisfied all terms and conditions of the sentence imposed following a conviction for a summary offense (except underage drinking), their criminal history record information and all administrative records of the Department of Transportation may be expunged.

The bill would also provide juvenile offenders a rebuttable presumption in favor of indecency and the appointment of counsel. In delinquency cases, all children are presumed indigent. Under the bill, it may be rebutted if the court believes that the child has the financial resources to retain counsel.

The bill would also define the crime of cyber bullying by minors. These activities would only be considered a crime if a minor knowingly transmits an electronic message or photo to harm or harass another person. The crime would be a third-degree misdemeanor.

The bill is now in the House Judiciary Committee.

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The Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 449, which would establish a child abuse recognition and reporting program within the Department of Public Welfare.

The program would train educators and school counselors in child abuse recognition and reporting requirements. Individuals required to take the course would complete a minimum of three hours of training every five years.  Professional educators who complete training would receive credits towards their continuing professional education requirements.

The bill is now in the House.

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The Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 834, which provides counties with additional security options to protect against loss of money or property.

This legislation permits county commissioners in second through eight class counties to set the amount of security and form of security that would be used to protect counties in the event of loss by a county official or employee responsible for state or county money and property.

This bill was signed into law as Act 106 of 2011.

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The Senate passed Senate Bill 961 by a vote of 45-5. This bill would allow everyone the ability to access coroner’s reports in accordance to the Right-to-Know law.

The Pennsylvania State Coroners’ Association supports this bill, which also limits public access to autopsy reports, photos and other private medical information of decedents.

The bill is now in the House.

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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 354, which would prohibit the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation or any other Commonwealth agency from participating in either the REAL ID Act of 2005 or any regulations under the Act.

This bill would also authorize either the Governor or Attorney General to file a court action to challenge the constitutionality of the REAL ID Act.

The federal REAL ID Act of 2005 requires security, authentication, and other standards for issuing state drivers’ licenses and ID cards. These identification cards would be required for boarding commercial flights and entering federal buildings and nuclear power plants.

The bill is currently in the House.

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The Senate passed Senate Bill 560 by a vote of 45-5.  This bill would establish the State Military College Legislative Appointment Initiative Program Act, which would allow each member of the legislature to establish a committee to recommend a resident of the legislator’s district for appointment to a state military college.

This legislation would also require the state military college to offer enrollment to the eligible student appointed by the committee.

The bill is now in the House.

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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 743, which would allow a private driving training instructor to teach a driver education program at a school when there are no certified professional educators available who are qualified to teach driver education.

Under this legislation, a private driving training instructor could only be considered after the school district has posted the job for 10 days with no qualified candidate coming forward to fill the position.

The bill is now in the House.

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