The Senate voted 45 to 5 in favor of House Bill 290, which would make the state’s Small Games of Chance law more flexible and accommodating for volunteer and charitable organizations would expand

Some of the reforms in the legislation would:

  • make more games allowable including raffle auctions (commonly known as bashes or Chinese auctions), night at the races and small sports betting pools, such as those typically associated with the NCAA tournament or Super Bowl.
  • eliminate the reporting requirements and background checks for organizations that do not have a liquor license; and only require reporting for liquor licensees that garner at least $30,000 per year in small games proceeds;
  • increase prize limits on the single daily drawing to $2,000, aggregate weekly limit to $35,000, and aggregate annual limit to $150,000;
  • simplify prize reporting requirements by making them identical to the rules of the Pennsylvania Lottery; and
  • permit organizations without a liquor license to operate small games of chance anywhere in their home county, allow up to three organizations to host a joint fundraising event and permit non-members to sell an organization’s raffle tickets.

The bill now goes to the House.

 

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The Senate voted 39 to 11 in favor of House Bill 1098, which would allow bars and taverns to host raffles and other small games of chance.

Under the bill, taverns, hotels, restaurants and golf courses would be permitted to offer certain small games of chance including daily drawings, pull tabs, and monthly raffles. The revenue would be split between the establishment and state, with a share going to charities.

The governor, who supports the bill, estimates that approximately 2,000 establishments could receive tavern gaming licenses. Individual prizes would be limited to $2,000 and weekly prizes to $35,000. Several Senate Democrats proposed that proceeds be used to freeze senior citizen property taxes, but that amendment was voted down in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The bill would also enable volunteer and civic clubs to keep a higher share (40 percent) of small games proceeds for the club’s operating expenses.

The measure clarifies that the money retained by a licensee for charity must be spent within one year of its collection.

The bill now goes to the House.

 

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The Senate unanimously approved House Bill 88, which would amend Title 51 (Military Affairs) providing for leaves of absence for certain government employees.

The bill clarifies the 15-day leave of absence for active duty military personnel working in civilian jobs. The bill closes a loophole that caused employees with irregular shifts and work days to be charged multiple days of leave during a single 24-hour period.

The bill now goes to the governor.

 

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The Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 648, which would amend Title 34 (Game) to protect landowners from liability for what hunters do on their property.

The bill amends Game Code to ensure that landowners who allow hunting on their property are not liable to be prosecuted for code violations committed by hunters the landowner permitted to hunt, unless the landowner willfully aids, abets, assists, attempts or conspires in the commission of the unlawful act.

The bill now goes to the House.

 

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The Senate unanimously approved House Bill 421, which bans retired state employees from collecting unemployment after their work ends as temporary annuitants.

The measure closes an unemployment compensation loophole, called “triple dipping,” which enabled some retirees to collect their pension, annuitant pay and unemployment compensation.

From 2010-12, triple-dipping unemployment claims cost Pennsylvania an estimated $2.8 million.

The bill was enacted as Act 75 of 2013.

 

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The Senate approved Senate Bill 1046 on a 48-0 vote. The measure would give second class townships the legal authority to direct as much as 25 percent of their general fund budgets to operating reserve accounts.

With nearly half of Pennsylvania’s residents living in second class townships, officials have been limited to directing just 5 percent of their budgets to operating reserves, which are special accounts used by second class townships to minimize the impact of future decreases in revenue.

The change from 5 percent to 25 percent would help townships better prepare for weather-related emergencies and improve their standing in the eyes of bond rating companies.

Senate Bill 1046 has been referred to the House Local Government Committee for consideration.

 

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The Senate voted 48-0 in favor of Senate Bill 1081, which would amend the First Class Township Code to change the filing requirements of township ordinances.

The proposal would give first class townships the permission to file ordinances electronically with the county in which they are located. Counties would be allowed to store the ordinances electronically, but must still make them available to the public. Townships would retain a printed copy of the email and ordinance they sent to the counties.

The House Local Government Committee is now considering the bill.

 

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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 1082, which would amend the Second Class Township Code to change the filing requirements of township ordinances.

As with its companion, Senate Bill 1081, the bill is written to allow second class townships to file ordinances electronically with their home counties.

Senate Bill 1082 is now before the House Local Government Committee.

 

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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 1102, which would enable partially disabled war veterans to qualify for a $1 fishing license.

A standard fishing license costs $21.

Currently, 100 percent disabled veterans qualify for a free fishing license. The state Veterans Affairs Office estimates that Pennsylvania has 92,037 veterans with a 10 to 90 percent disability rating.

The bill now goes to the House.

 

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            The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 1090, which would allow disabled veterans who are not considered 100 percent disabled, but are compensated at the 100 percent disabled rate, to obtain a free hunting and fishing license from the state. Currently, only veterans who are 100 percent disabled are eligible for a free license.

The bill now goes to the House.

 

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            The Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 81, which would amend the Volunteer Health Services Act to include mental health services for members of the armed forces and their families.

The bill would allow mental health professionals to apply for a mental health volunteer license that would allow them to provide free mental health services to military personnel and their families.

The bill is now in the House of Representatives for its consideration.

 

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The Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 497, which would update and re-codify the Third Class City Code.

The bill would change the code to provide for new definitions, clarify confusing language, and create several new rules relating to the conduct of third class city governing bodies.

The bill will now go to the House of Representatives for its consideration.

 

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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 732, which would provide protection for franchised new vehicle dealers from abuse by vehicle manufacturers. The protections offered in the bill are already in place in other states.

Specifically, dealers would have more freedom in choosing building materials when doing dealership upgrades that are imposed by the manufacturers. It would also allow manufacturers to reimburse dealers for work done under warrantee, and shorten the time span in which manufacturers are allowed to audit invoices submitted to the manufacturers.

The bill now goes to the Governor for his signature.

 

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            The Senate unanimously concurred in House amendments to Senate Bill 277, which would allow members of the armed forces with at least two years experience driving commercial vehicles to bypass the skills test required to obtain a commercial drivers License. Previously, military personnel could bypass the test with two years experience driving commercial vehicles, only if the two years of experience immediately preceded the application for the CDL.

The bill now goes to the Governor for his signature.

 

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The Senate unanimously concurred in House amendments to Senate Bill 680, the capital budget for fiscal year 2013-2014. The bill would allocate $13,878,234,000 for capital improvements, including revenues generated from bond sales and the General Fund.

The bill now goes to the Governor for his signature.

 

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The Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 1068, which would alter the requirements for those who train beagles for hunting in Pennsylvania.

The bill would lower the minimum acreage requirement for beagle trainers from 100 acres to 50, and would abolish the requirement that hunters obtain a special license for hunting furbearers on club grounds. The bill would also allow trainers to manage their own properties regarding big game hunting, and abolish the requirement to mark dog training areas with 10×12 signs. Additionally, the bill would provide for additional unlawful acts intended to curb vandalism in beagle training areas.

The bill now goes to the House of Representatives for its consideration.

 

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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 358, which would require health care workers to notify patients of their breast density after each mammogram. The additional reporting requirement would alert patients who might be at a higher risk of breast cancer going undetected in normal screenings.

Mammogram films of breasts with higher density are harder to read and interpret than those of less dense breasts. Because of this, the legislation would require health care workers to provide mammogram patients with a notice that explains the possible complications that could arise when trying to diagnose cancer in someone with dense breast tissue.

The bill was presented to the Governor on Oct. 24, 2013.

 

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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 894, legislation that would allow the Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners to obtain FBI criminal background checks for applicants.

In the past, some applicants had to obtain criminal records from multiple states, and the process interfered with the application deadlines. This legislation would simplify the background check process for the board and for applicants by giving the FBI permission to exchange criminal history records with state officials.

The bill now goes to the House for approval.

 

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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 895, which would reduce the length of each term for members of the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Board of Commissioners, while allowing for multiple terms of continued service.

The legislation would reduce the term length from eight to four years with the opportunity for additional terms through appointment by the governor and approval of the legislature. It would also remove the specific limitations on service, allowing for multiple four year terms of continuous service.

The bill now goes to the House for approval.

 

 

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