Weekly Wrap

The Capitol was buzzing with activity this week as the June 30 budget deadline is in sight.

Monday, the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee held a public hearing to discuss Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4) compliance. The Senate Appropriations Committee reported out S.B. 1093 (Gebhard, R-Lebanon), which would allow energy efficient lighting to be installed on outdoor advertising devices.

In the House Health Committee, six bills were reported out:

  • H.B. 629 (Toohil, R-Luzerne), which uniform statewide time period for the distribution of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP);
  • H.B. 1475 (Krajewski, D-Philadelphia), which would allow minors to access their birth certificates;
  • H.B. 2357 (Pennycuick, R-Montgomery), which would prohibit the sale or distribution of kratom products to individuals younger than 21 years of age;
  • H.B. 2293 (Bonner, R-Mercer), which would require contract health care service agencies who provide temporary employment in nursing homes, assisted living residences, and personal care homes to register with the state;
  • H.B. 2579 (Roae, R-Crawford), which would require the Department of health to create state written and/or computer examinations for EMT's, EMR's and paramedics in order to be state licensed; and
  • H.B. 2604 (Twardzik, R-Schuylkill), which would amend the requirement for photo I.D. badges in health care facilities to allow health systems and registered names with the Department of State to be used on the badges.

On House floor, the following two bills passed finally and will go to the Senate for consideration: H.B. 1935 (White, R-Philadelphia), which would renew the authorization of the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority for the City of Philadelphia; and H.B. 2526 (Hennessey, R-Chester), which would provide for the authorization of itemized capital bridge projects. Conversely, the Senate sent S.B. 522 (Baker, R-Luzerne) to the House. The bill would require prenatal parents and children ages one and two to receive blood lead level testing that is covered by insurance.

Tuesday, the House Insurance Committee reported out S.B. 1235 (DiSanto, R-Dauphin), which would prevent the Department of Human Services from utilizing bidding or service zones that limit a health service corporation or a hospital plan corporation contractor from submitting a bid for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

The House Urban Affairs Committee reported out H.B. 2665(Masser, R-Northumberland), which would increase the cap on realty transfer tax revenues deposited into the Pennsylvania Housing and Rehabilitation Enhancement fund to provide additional funding for affordable housing resources. On Wednesday, the Senate Urban Affairs and Housing Committee reported out the companion bill, S.B. 1254 (Vogel, R-Beaver). The Committee also reported out: H.B. 2664(Brown, R-Monroe), which would allocate $150 million in American Rescue Plan funds to the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency to ensure planned projects reach completion; and S.B. 797 (Robinson, R-Allegheny), which would expand eligible municipalities and projects within the Neighborhood Improvement District Act.

Additionally, the Senate Aging and Youth Committee reported out: S.B. 1227 (Baker, R-Luzerne), which would encourage more use of in-home services for delinquent children and provide transition aid to help youth move from residential placements to their communities; and S.B. 1229 (Baker, R-Luzerne), which would have the state reimburse counties for 50% of legal defense costs for indigent juvenile offenders.

Then, the Senate State Government Committee reported out:

  • H.B. 2447 (Benninghoff, R-Centre) which would require the divestment of investments in assets relating to Russia and Belarus by the State Treasurer, the State Employees' Retirement System, the Public School Employees' Retirement System, and the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System; and
  • S.B. 1203 (Argall, R-Schuylkill), which would prevent companies from receiving state contracts, grants, or state tax credits if they do business with Russia or Belarus.

In the education space, the Senate Appropriations Committee reported out S.B. 1283 (Browne, R-Lehigh), which would provide nonpreferred appropriations for Penn State University, Temple University, University of Pittsburgh and Lincoln University. Also, the Senate Education Committee reported out a concurrent regulatory review resolution disapproving of Reg. #6-349: Charter Schools and Cyber Charter Schools. The resolution then passed on the Senate floor, which puts a temporary hold on the Administration's implementation of the regulation.

The House finally passed two bills of note that will now be considered by the Senate: H.B. 1161 (Mizgorski, R-Allegheny), which would establish the Pennsylvania Local Solar Program; and H.B. 2524 (Schmitt, R-Blair), which would provide numerous updates to the Right to Know Law.

On Senate floor, the upper chamber passed the following bills that head to the House for consideration:

  • S.B. 811 (Fontana, D-Allegheny), which would provide changes to the Municipal Claims and Tax Lien Law for the City of Pittsburgh;
  • S.B. 1208 (Browne, R-Lehigh), which would provide for a defendant's delinquent account to be turned over to a private collection agency or the county's collection enforcement unit under certain circumstances; and
  • S.B. 1237 (Vogel, R-Beaver), which would extend temporary horse racing regulations by three years and give the State Horse Racing Commission the authority to issue temporary regulations to comply with federal law.

Finishing up the week, on Wednesday, the House Consumer Affairs Committee held a public hearing to discuss H.B. 1789 (Sankey, R-Clearfield), which would facilitate the process when consumers switch from default electric and natural gas providers and ensure transparency in pricing.

The House State Government Committee reported out three bills of note:

  • H.B. 2648 (Lawrence, R-Chester), which would establish the position of Special State Prosecutor under the Office of Inspector General to investigate unemployment compensation fraud;
  • H.B. 2649 (Grove, R-York), which would add two appoints from the two majority leaders to the Independent Regulatory Review Commission; and
  • S.B. 696 (Laughlin, R-Erie), which would provide updates to the Breach of Personal Information Notification Act pertaining to state agencies.

Furthermore, the House Rules Committee reported out:

  • H.B. 2640 (Kaufer, R-Luzerne), which would exempt traffic signals and foundations, poles, and mast arms from the sales and use tax;
  • H.B. 2645 (Peifer, R-Pike), which would clarify the calculation of the bank and trust company shares tax;
  • H.B. 2398(Oberlander, R-Clarion) which would provide for the deployment of highly automated vehicles;
  • H.B. 2528(Struzzi, R-Indiana), which would require the Department of Environmental Protection to prioritize eligible Pennsylvania businesses for well plugging jobs; and
  • H.B. 2644(Causer, R-McKean), which would allocate federal funding to support orphaned oil and gas well plugging and update bond amounts.

As far as Senate committees go, the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee reported out S.B. 1201 (Pittman, R-Indiana), which would provide insurance coverage for early refills of prescription eye drops. Also, the Senate Transportation Committee reported out H.B. 2139 (Warner, R-Fayette), which would require the Turnpike Commission to notify E-ZPass account holders they've been charged due to a transponder malfunctioning, increases enforcement of unpaid tolls, and makes other changes related to cashless tolling.

The House finally passed S.B. 709 (Tomlinson, R-Bucks), which would provide for educational information regarding cytomegalovirus (CMV) and require a parent to be offered a newborn child screening or referral for screening of CMV if the child fails the initial newborn hearing screening. The bill now goes to the Senate for a concurrence vote before reaching the Governor's desk.

The Senate passed the following bills that will now be considered by the House:

  • S.B. 447 (Brooks, R-Mercer), which would reduce the corporate net income tax rate from its current rate of 9.99% by 0.5% every year over a period of six years until it reaches 6.99%;
  • S.B. 617 (Tartaglione, D-Philadelphia), which would provide up to six weeks of protected, unpaid leave to an employee to care for a sibling, grandparent or grandchild with a certified terminal illness if they have no living spouse, no child over 17 years of age or no parent under 65 years of age;
  • S.B. 771 (Aument, R-Lancaster), which would reduce the corporate net income tax rate by 1% annually until it reaches 6.99% in 2025, then provides for a further reduction to 5.99% if certain revenue collection amounts are realized in future years;
  • S.B. 967 (Schwank, D-Berks), which would establish the Women, Infants, and Children Advisory Board; and
  • S.B. 1199 (Robinson, R-Allegheny), which would update the composition of the Port of Pittsburgh Commission.

Lastly, both chambers passed S.B. 915 (Browne, R-Lehigh), which would provide for the Capital Budget Project Itemization Act. The bill just needs the Governor's signature before becoming law.

The Week Ahead

While not many committee meetings are scheduled at the moment, it's likely to be one of the busiest weeks of the year.

Monday, the House Education Committee will consider H.B. 2619 (Topper, R-Bedford), which would establish a performance-based funding incentive for state-related universities. The House Professional Licensure Committee will consider H.B. 2679 (Hickernell, R-Lancaster), which would make permanent certain regulatory waivers related to the administration of COVID-19 and flu immunizations. Additionally, the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee will vote on H.B. 2157 (Farry, R-Bucks), which would update provisions of the fireworks law pertaining to use, operation, and setback requirements.

On Tuesday, the Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee will consider S.B. 1152 (Mastriano, R-Adams), which would ensure that drug overdose incidents are reported into a mapping system within 24 hours of encounter by first responders. The Senate Health and Human Services Committee will hold a public hearing on the state contract with Credentia to provide testing for certified nurse aides.

The House Human Services Committee will consider two bills: H.B. 107 (Sankey-Clearfield), which would require Medicaid Managed Care Organizations to enter into an agreement to allow the Department of Human Services to recoup any Medicaid funds which were spent on provider preventable conditions; and H.B. 109 (Thomas, R-Bucks), which would increase the penalties for making a false claim under the Medicaid program.

Wednesday, the Joint Legislative Budget and Finance Committee will meet to release a report entitled "A Report on the Limitations on Liability Under Pennsylvania's Sovereign and Governmental Immunity Laws".

A full list of committee meetings can be found here:

House

Senate

In Other News

  • PennDOT launched a survey to receive public feedback on components of the proposed state plan for access to National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program funds.
  • PennDOT invites the public to participate in a comment period between now and June 30 on the draft 2023 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program.
  • Governor Wolf announced nearly $20 million in PAsmart Advancing Grants to expand access to computer science and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education.
  • The Commonwealth received a $3 million federal grant to eliminate barriers to the unemployment compensation system.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.