House Action for the Week of September 22, 2014

Education and Debt Reduction on House Agenda Next Week

The House returns to session on Monday, Sept. 15. Live web streams of House session and the majority of committee meetings are available at PAHouseGOP.com.  Important information and events may also be viewed by visiting Facebook.com/PAHouseGOP. 

It’s debt reduction and education week in the Pennsylvania State House next week.

Lowering Taxpayers’ Burden By Reducing Debt – Should Not Be Partisan

Last year, in stark contrast to the contentious stalemate in Washington, D.C., the Pennsylvania House and Senate unanimously passed House Bill 493 (Rep. Matt Gabler, R-Clearfield/Elk), now Act 77 of 2013, which immediately reduced the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) debt by $600 million to $3.45 billion, a 15 percent reduction.  The law also put in place new accountability controls to curtail the mounting levels of public debt for economic development projects.

Continuing these efforts, the House Finance Committee last week, surprisingly on party-lines (save one), voted to send to the full House two bills to further reduce Commonwealth debt. House Bill 2419 (Rep. Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny) would set annual limits for the state capital budget.  The new legislation would impose caps on the amount of money borrowed in any given year by the Commonwealth.

House Bill 2420 (Rep. Kerry Benninghoff, R-Centre), a companion bill,  would reduce the RACP debt ceiling by an additional $500 million over 10 years to bring the RACP limit down to $2.95 billion.

These commonsense changes would decrease the state’s debt load in real dollars – real dollars better spent on funding the core functions of government and lessening our debt burden. The goal is to reduce the annual payments made to meet the state’s debt obligation – to make certain the new debt Pennsylvania incurs is lower than the debt to be retired.  Capital debt service in this year’s budget exceeded $1 billion to repay the vast amount of money borrowed under the previous administration.

Expanding School Choice

Increasing access to the successful Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program is the intent of House Bill 1207 (Rep. Jim. Christiana, R-Beaver County). The EITC is a successful program that has given tens of thousands of Pennsylvania children school choice and the opportunity to participate in innovative educational programs.  EITC provides tax credits to businesses in exchange for contributions to scholarship organizations and educational improvement organizations. Funding for the EITC program is currently set at $100 million.

The bill is expected to be changed by an amendment offered by Rep. Vereb (R-Montgomery County) to create an “open door” between the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) programs so that tax credits that were not used for one of the two programs may be applied to the other program. Additionally, once amended, the legislation will provide for a two-month window during which the caps on the amount of tax credits a business firm can receive will not apply.  Both of these provisions will help to ensure the full utilization of available tax credits in both the EITC and OSTC programs, some of which have previously been unclaimed, so that more students have access to new educational opportunities through scholarships. When amended, the legislation will also streamline the tax credit application process in order to make the process more user-friendly for business firms, and to ensure that more business firms are able to participate.

College Credits

Ensuring high school students receive college course credit for their Advanced Placement (AP) courses and other skills they have developed outside of classroom is the goal of House Bill 2076 (Rep. James Roebuck, R-Philadelphia). The measure expands the scope of the Transfer and Articulation Oversight Committee within the Department of Education to include the creation of uniform standards for awarding college credit for prior learning experiences, such as AP Exams, International Baccalaureate (IB) Exams, and CLEP Exams. Obtaining these college credits will help lift some of the financial burden on students and families by eliminating the need to pay for duplicate courses.

Philadelphia Schools

House Bill 1177 (Rep. Greg Lucas, R-Erie/Crawford), originally drafted to clarify language in the Municipal Code regarding mergers and consolidations of municipalities, has been amended to include language to improve the quality of education for the kids in Philadelphia.

Dr. William Hite, superintendent of the Philadelphia School District, has requested the legislation. The bill includes language enabling Philadelphia City Council to impose a cigarette tax within the city to help fund its schools.

The bill also includes an important charter reform proposal allowing for a charter appeal process in Philadelphia. Under current law, charter school applicants may not appeal denial decisions by the School Reform Commission (SRC) to the state charter school appeal board; this lack of due process is unique to Philadelphia.  House Bill 1177 would ensure charter school applicants in Philadelphia are treated in the same manner as applicants throughout the Commonwealth’s 499 other school districts. By allowing direct appeals of SRC decisions to the state appeals board, charter school applicants would be afforded due process and fair and equitable treatment.

The Weekly Schedule

Identified by bill number, the sponsors and summaries for bills scheduled to be considered in committee or on the House floor are posted below.  More information regarding these bills can be found at PAHouseGOP.com by clicking on the “Research Bills” tab.

Monday, September 22, 2014

Committee Meetings/Hearings

FINANCE, 9:30 a.m., Room 205, Ryan Office Building

• HB 1456 (Rep. Tim Hennessey, R-Chester): Increases the presumptive minimum markup for cigarette sales.
• HB 2363 (Rep. Kathy Rapp, R-Forest/McKean/Warren): Eliminates veterans’ disability payments from income eligibility under the Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program.
• HB 2481 (Rep. Steven Mentzer, R-Lancaster): Allows the Pennsylvania Treasury Department to process other states’ State Supplemental Payments (SSP) for eligible participants who are also receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments from the Social Security Administration.
• SB 491 (Sen. Mike Folmer, R-Dauphin/Lebanon/York): Amends the Local Tax Enabling Act to make changes to the consolidated collection of local income taxes.

EDUCATION, 10 a.m., Room G-50, Irvis Office Building

• Public hearing on HB 2356 (Rep. Mark Gillen, R-Berks): Requires a parent or guardian to complete a parenting education program or perform community service (in lieu of incarceration) for failure to pay truancy fines.

LABOR AND INDUSTRY, 10 a.m., Room 60, East Wing

• Public hearing on HB 2405 (Rep. Thomas Murt, R-Montgomery/Philadelphia): Establishes the Ensuring People with Disabilities Can Become Taxpayers Act.

STATE GOVERNMENT, Call of Chair, Room G-50, Irvis Office Building

• HB 1503 (Rep. David Maloney, R-Berks): Requires the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to develop and provide a non-building declaration form that waives the requirement of a municipality to revise its original plan to accommodate non-building subdivisions where there is no present need for sewage disposal facilities on a given parcel of land.
• HB 1671 (Rep. Rick Saccone, R-Allegheny/Washington): Adds to the list of reasons for an agency to hold an executive session; requires that an entire executive session be recorded and maintained for one year; and provides immunity from liability to an agency member that makes a good faith report of a violation of the law.
• HB 1827 (Rep. Rick Saccone, R-Allegheny/Washington): Permits a registered voter of the Commonwealth to be appointed as a poll watcher in any election district located in Pennsylvania.
• HB 1830 (Rep. David Maloney, R-Berks): Increases the grading of the penalty for voter intimidation and interference with the elective franchise from a second-degree misdemeanor to a first-degree misdemeanor.
• HB 1835 (Rep. Stephen Barrar, R-Chester/Delaware): Permits a vacant minority inspector position to be filled by a qualified registered elector of the county in which the election district is located.
• SB 1337 (Sen. Bob Mensch, R-Berks/Bucks/Montgomery): Removes certain recurring projects from the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee.

Session

On Monday, the House will convene at 1 p.m. for legislative business. The members will vote the uncontested calendar and Rule 35 resolutions.

Votes on Second Consideration

• HB 1207 (Rep. Jim Christiana, R-Beaver): Increases the amount of available tax credits in the Educational Improvement Tax Credit program from $100 million to $125 million.
• HB 2102 (Rep. Mike Tobash, R-Berks/Schuylkill): Provides an individual over age 75 the option of being excused from jury duty.
• HB 2383 (Rep. Marcy Toepel, R-Montgomery): Authorizes voluntary, automatic, periodic withdrawals from a banking account for the satisfaction of restitution, costs and fines, and authorizes involuntary wage attachment for payment of the same.
• HB 2478 (Rep. William Adolph, R-Delaware): Capital Budget Project Itemization Act of fiscal year 2014-2015.
• SB 807 (Sen. Charles McIlhinney, R-Bucks): Creates a voluntary bachelor-level license for social workers and eliminates the existing provisional social work license.
• SB 1224 (Sen. Patricia Vance, R-Cumberland/York): Extends pharmaceutical cost-saving measures to veterans residing in assisted living residences and personal care homes.

Votes on Third Consideration

• HB 1565 (Rep. Marcia Hahn, R-Northampton): Amends the Clean Streams Law to clarify that riparian buffer and riparian forest buffers shall not be required but may be used as a choice among best management practices or design standards to minimize pollution from erosion and sedimentation.
• HB 2076 (Rep. James Roebuck, D-Philadelphia): Amends the Public School Code to establish uniform standards for awarding college credit for prior learning at public institutions of higher education.
• HB 2302 (Rep. Ted Harhai, D-Fayette/Westmoreland): Creates a grant program for municipalities to establish code enforcement programs and places limitations on municipal ordinances which penalize residents for emergency assistance calls.
• HB 2419 (Rep. Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny): Amends the Capital Facilities Debt Enabling Act to establish an annual spending limit on all types of projects and allows unused allocations to be carried forward to the next fiscal year.
• HB 2420 (Rep. Kerry Benninghoff, R-Centre/Mifflin): Amends the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Project provision in the Capital Facilities Debt Enabling Act to further reduce the Commonwealth’s debt.
• HR 778 (Rep. Curtis Thomas, D-Philadelphia): Directs the Joint State Government Commission to study the Commonwealth’s cyber security efforts and protocols.
• HR 942 (Rep. Tommy Sankey, R-Clearfield): Urges the United States president and the federal government to work to secure the release of United States Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi from custody in a Mexican prison.
• SB 1155 (Sen. Joseph Scarnati, R-Cameron/Clearfield/Clinton): Creates an Aggregate Advisory Board to advise the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection regarding the Pennsylvania aggregate mining industry.
• SB 1281 (Sen. Jake Corman, R-Centre/Huntingdon/Juniata/Mifflin): Creates the Public School Web Accountability and Transparency (SchoolWATCH) Law; requires the Pennsylvania Department of Education to develop systems for anonymous reporting of violence or possession of weapons on school property; provides public schools with additional options to make up snow days in order to meet the Commonwealth’s requirement that school be kept open 180 days; and reforms public school construction reimbursement.

Votes on Concurrence

• HB 1052 (Rep. Robert Freeman, D-Northampton): Amends the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code to provide for the manner in which recreational fees are used.
• HB 1177 (Rep. Gregory Lucas, R-Crawford/Erie): Allows for a study by the Local Government Commission to analyze consolidation or merger of municipalities. It also authorizes an optional local cigarette tax for the City of Philadelphia and charter school reforms.
• HB 1558 (Rep. Bernie O’Neill, R-Bucks): Allows licensed massage therapists to practice in cosmetology and esthetician salons and allows students to be eligible for licensure upon graduation from cosmetology school.

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Committee Meetings/Hearings

STATE GOVERNMENT, 9 a.m., Room G-50, Irvis Office Building

• Public hearing on HB 2118 (Rep. Gary Day, R-Berks/Lehigh): Requires the Office of Open Records to develop, implement and maintain two searchable databases--Pennsylvania Public Information Notice (PennPIN) for the posting of legal notices and Pennsylvania Municipal Open Position (PennMOP) for the posting of job openings--which will be linked to a searchable, public Internet website.

CONSUMER AFFAIRS, 9:15 a.m., Room B-31 Main Capitol

• HB 1946 (Rep. Dom Costa, D-Allegheny): Amends the Precious Metal Sale Regulation Law to require sellers of precious metals to provide photo identification which would be included with the record of sale; requires dealers to retain purchased precious metals in their original state for 14 days; and increases penalties and license ineligibility for licensed and unlicensed dealers found in violation of the law.
• HB 1982 (Rep. Stephen Barrar, R-Chester/ Delaware): Allows an individual consumer to place a permanent freeze on his or her credit report so that the report may only be viewed by credit reporting agencies, fraud prevention agencies and law enforcement agencies.
• HB 2374 (Rep. Brandon Neuman, D-Washington): Establishes the offense of “phishing.”
• HB 2393 (Rep. Warren Kampf, R-Chester/Montgomery): Requires natural gas utilities to file a plan with the Public Utility Commission proposing a pilot or permanent program to economically extend natural gas distribution service to unserved and underserved areas of the Commonwealth.
• HB 2468 (Rep. John Maher, R-Allegheny/Washington): Establishes licensing requirements and service standards for transportation network companies.
• SB 1290 (Rep. Randy Vulakovich, R-Allegheny/Butler): Requires wireless providers to “ping” a potential victim’s cell phone at the request of law enforcement officials to help locate the missing person when there is sufficient information to believe there is a risk or threat of death or serious physical harm.

JUDICIARY, 10 a.m., Room 205, Ryan Office Building

• SB 428 (Sen. Jay Costa, D-Allegheny): Allows some of the residual funds from a beneficiary’s account within a pooled trust to be distributed upon their death to other individuals with disabilities in need of services.
• SB 621 (Sen. Stewart Greenleaf, R-Bucks/Montgomery): Amends the Probate, Estates and Fiduciaries Code to make changes to various provisions, including those related to powers of attorney, trusts and powers of appointment.

LABOR AND INDUSTRY, 10 a.m., Room 39, East Wing

• SB 1023 (Sen. Charles McIlhinney, R-Bucks): Amends the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act to make changes to the process used by the Uniform Construction Code Review and Advisory Council to adopt new code standards.

TRANSPORTATION, 10 a.m., Room 60, East Wing

• HB 2492 (Rep. Stan Saylor, R-York): Allows individuals who have received a license suspension but did not have the notification filed by the clerk of courts within the 10-day time frame to be eligible for an Occupational Limited License.
• Informational meeting on HB 2276 (Rep. Nicholas Micozzie, R-Delaware): Simplifies alternative fuels compliance and streamlines fuel tax administration.

Session

On Tuesday the House will meet at 11 a.m. for legislative business.

Votes on Second Consideration

• HB 2272 (Rep. Gary Day, R-Berks/Lehigh): Road designation: Lance Corporal Brandon J. Van Parys Memorial Road.
• HB 2349 (Rep. Frank Farry, R-Bucks): Authorizes volunteer first responder organizations to solicit contributions at controlled intersections of highways or roadways, with written permission from the municipality or the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
• HB 2382 (Rep. Deberah Kula, D-Fayette/Westmoreland): Requires that Pennsylvania income tax return refunds be intercepted by the Department of Revenue to satisfy a filer’s outstanding restitution payments or other court-ordered obligations.
• HB 2409 (Rep. Kerry Benninghoff, R-Centre/Mifflin): Highway designation: PFC Donald Ray Lucas Memorial Highway.
• HB 2411 (Rep. Rob Kauffman, R-Cumberland/Franklin): Increases the grading of offenses relating to endangering the welfare of children to reflect the degree of risk and the age of the child victim.
• HB 2428 (Rep. Kevin Boyle, D-Philadelphia): Highway designation: Firefighter Daniel Sweeney Memorial Highway.
• HB 2464 (Rep. Joseph Hackett, R-Delaware): Amends the Pennsylvania Crime Victims Act to increase a victim’s right to be present during trial proceedings.
• HB 2465 (Rep. Ron Marsico, R-Dauphin): Requires the court to impose a mandatory three-year probation period consecutive to any term of total confinement for a person convicted of a Tier III sex offense under Pennsylvania’s Adam Walsh Act.
• HB 2471 (Rep. Matt Baker, R-Bradford/Tioga): Prohibits insurance policies from placing oral anti-cancer medications on a specialty tier or charging a co-insurance payment for the medication.
• HB 2482 (Rep. Robert Freeman, D-Northampton): Bridge designation: Sergeant William John Cahir Memorial Bridge.
• SB 1239 (Sen. John Rafferty, R-Berks/Chester/Montgomery): Corrects language in the Vehicle Code regarding sentencing for certain repeat DUI offenders to ensure that appropriate penalties will apply to such offenders.

Votes on Third Consideration

• HB 1207 (Christiana)
• HB 2102 (Tobash)
• HB 2383 (Toepel)
• HR 929 (Rep. Jerry Knowles, R-Berks/Schuylkill): Directs the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to conduct a study of the Commonwealth’s existing network of elder abuse task forces and assess the feasibility of expanding the network statewide.
• HR 936 (Rep. Donna Oberlander, R-Armstrong/Clarion): Requests that the Joint State Government Commission provide an assessment of diabetes programs and diabetes-related planning within Commonwealth state agencies.
• HR 976 (Rep. Thomas Caltagirone, R-Berks): Urges the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to examine the issue of incarceration of parents for failure to pay fines and costs for their children’s truancy violations.
• SB 807 (McIlhinney)
• SB 1224 (Vance)

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Committee Meetings/Hearings

VETERANS AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, 9 a.m., Room 205, Ryan Office Building

• SB 1129 (Sen. Robert Robbins, R-Crawford/Erie/Mercer/Warren): Changes the name of the “Paralyzed Veterans’ Pension” program to “Amputee and Paralyzed Veterans’ Pension” program and clarifies the definition of “amputee and paralyzed veteran.”

INSURANCE, 9:30 a.m., Room B-31, Main Capitol

• HB 1937 (Rep. Marguerite Quinn, R-Bucks): Requires insurance companies to compare in-force life insurance policies including retained asset accounts with the United States Social Security Death Master File and identify any matches.
• SB 1356 (Sen. Jake Corman, R-Centre/Huntingdon/Juniata/Mifflin): Adds the definition of “affiliated insurer” and amends the definition of “renewal” or “to renew” in the Unfair Insurance Practices Act.
• SB 1357 (Sen. Jake Corman, R-Centre/Huntingdon/Juniata/Mifflin): Adds the definition of “affiliated insurer” and amends the definition of “renewal” or “to renew” in The Insurance Company Law of 1921.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT, 9:30 a.m., Room 205, Ryan Office Building

• HB 2343 (Rep. Dan Moul, R-Adams/Franklin): Changes the process by which municipal authorities establish their fee and cost schedule.
• HB 2391 (Rep. Robert Freeman, D-Northampton): Amends the Real Estate Tax Sale Law to establish standardized requirements for posting property.
• HB 2414 (Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Berks/Lehigh): Establishes that taxes, fees, assessments or other charges may not be payable to a bank account that is in or includes an individual’s name, but may be made payable to an account that includes the name of an office, title or position.
• HB 2415 (Rep. Joe Emrick, R-Northampton): Establishes that a municipality’s treasurer or designated recipient shall deposit money in an account with a designated depository, but the name of the account shall not include the name of an individual.

URBAN AFFAIRS, 9:30 a.m., Room 60, East Wing

• HB 2434 (Rep. Thomas Killion, R-Chester/Delaware): Uses revenue from the Realty Transfer Tax to provide funding for the Housing Trust Fund.

CHILDREN AND YOUTH, 10 a.m., Room B-31, Main Capitol

• SB 27 (Sen. Bob Mensch, R-Berks/Bucks/Montgomery): Allows for the exchange of information in suspected child abuse cases between licensed medical practitioners and county children and youth agencies.

HUMAN SERVICES, 10 a.m., Room 60, East Wing

• HR 948 (Rep. Daniel Miller, D-Allegheny): Requests the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee conduct a review and recommend a plan to provide home-based and community-based support to adults with autism.

Session

On Wednesday the House will meet at 11 a.m. for legislative business.

Votes on Third Consideration

• HB 2272 (Day)
• HB 2349 (Farry)
• HB 2382 (Kula)
• HB 2409 (Benninghoff)
• HB 2411 (Kauffman)
• HB 2428 (K. Boyle)
• HB 2464 (Hackett)
• HB 2465 (Marsico)
• HB 2471 (Baker)
• HB 2478 (Adolph)
• HB 2482 (Freeman)
• SB 1239 (Rafferty)