Monday, April 25, 2022

Smart Justice for a Safer Pennsylvania, Making Pennsylvania the Envy of the East, and Standing Up for Taxpayers

The state House returns to voting session on Monday, April 25, to vote on several bills of importance and interest to the people of Pennsylvania.

 

Smart Justice for a Safer Pennsylvania

Recurring news reports of unchecked violent crime in our Commonwealth’s cities demands a state response in the face of local inaction from progressive prosecutors and the result of the left’s quest to defund the police. Pennsylvania’s gun background check requirements are a national model and one of the most stringent in the country. Legislatures and governors past have devoted decades to making Pennsylvania tough on crime. Presently, like the rest of the country, Pennsylvania does not have a problem with not having enough laws and penalties on the books, we have a problem with local leaders and political prosecutors not enforcing the laws we have. This week, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives will consider a bipartisan package of legislation to provide smart justice in the Commonwealth to make Pennsylvania safer, provide crime victims with the rights they are already afforded, and bolster our cyber-attack prevention and response capabilities.

 

Making Pennsylvania the Envy of the East

There is bipartisan support for the concept that more can be done to attract businesses to Pennsylvania, grow family-sustaining jobs, and drive investment in Pennsylvania’s economy. After the Wolf administration destroyed Pennsylvania’s small business job creators, those who remain open deserve tax relief and simplification to continue to survive and keep Pennsylvanians employed. This week, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives will take up proposals that accomplish these goals and make Pennsylvania the Envy of the East by jumpstarting our economy and bringing investment to the Commonwealth.

 

Standing Up For Taxpayers

Being good stewards and sound fiduciaries of taxpayer dollars, this week the Pennsylvania House of Representatives is scheduled take up legislation to keep government spending in check, manage state assets and resources, and increase transparency and accountability.

 
The Weekly Schedule
Bill numbers will be used to identify the legislation being considered either in committee or on the House floor. The bills, sponsors and summaries are posted below.

 

Monday, April 25, 2022

 

Committee Meetings/Hearings

ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES & ENERGY, 9:30 a.m., Room G-50, Irvis Office Building

Informational meeting on stream maintenance, clearing and flooding issues.
EDUCATION, 10 a.m., Room 523, Irvis Office Building

HB 2022 (Rep. Aaron Kaufer, R-Luzerne): Amends the Public School Code to allow a public school to place a behavioral health representative in a school who may communicate and interact with students to provide social and mental health support assistance.
HB 2023 (Rep. Aaron Kaufer, R-Luzerne): Amends the Public School Code to require the PA Department of Education (PDE) to develop a model curriculum to assist school entities in providing behavioral health education.
HB 2024 (Rep. Aaron Kaufer, R-Luzerne): Amends the Public School Code to commission a Mental Health Instruction Study to determine the extent to which schools are currently providing mental health instruction in their curriculum.
HB 2255 (Rep. Todd Polinchock, R-Bucks): Amends the Public School Code to address the practice of scholarship displacement at our Commonwealth’s public institutions of higher education.
PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE, 10 a.m., Room 515, Irvis Office Building

Informational meeting on HB 1956.
CHILDREN & YOUTH, 10:30 a.m., Room 205, Ryan Office Building

HB 1155 (Rep. Barry Jozwiak, R-Berks): Amends the Human Services Code to exempt public municipal preschool recreation programs from the definition of “child day care center.”
HB 2426 (Rep. David Hickernell, R-Lancaster): Amends Title 67 (Public Welfare) to consolidate stand-alone legislation into the Title to help ensure compliance.
APPROPRIATIONS, Call of the Chair, Room 140, Main Capitol

Agenda to be announced.
 

Session

On Monday, the House will meet at noon for legislative business.

 

Votes on Second Consideration

HB 1123 (Rep. Ed Neilson, D-Philadelphia): Amends the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency Law to establish a fund under the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) to be used to offer up to $50,000 to individuals who provide information leading to the capture and arrest of a perpetrator of criminal homicide of a law enforcement officer.

HB 1791 (Rep. Tim Twardzik, R-Schuylkill): Amends Title 53 (Municipalities Generally) to allow communities to fight blight with the creation and maintenance of a vacant property registration and assessment program.

HB 1929 (Rep. Martin Causer, R-McKean/Cameron/Potter): Amends Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) to eliminate the antiquated criminalization of automatic knives in Pennsylvania.

HB 2209 (Rep. Abby Major, R-Armstrong/Indiana): Amends Title 68 (Real and Personal Property) to allow a land bank board to establish a “virtual” quorum via internet platform to conduct a board meeting.

HB 2210 (Rep. Tracy Pennycuick, R-Montgomery): Amends the Abandoned and Blighted Property Conservatorship Act to add land banks to the list of entities that can be a conservator under our successful Abandoned and Blighted Property Conservatorship Act.

HB 2238 (Rep. Martina White, R-Philadelphia): Amends the First Class City Home Rule Act to provide for term limits for the district attorney.

HB 2271 (Rep. K.C. Tomlinson, R-Bucks): Amends Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) to strengthen penalties on those who sexually extort their victims to such a degree that the extortion leads to serious bodily injury or death.

HB 2275 (Rep. Martina White, R-Philadelphia): Amends Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) to grant the attorney general the authority to investigate and institute criminal proceedings for a violation of certain firearm laws within Philadelphia.

HB 2277 (Rep. Jesse Topper, R-Bedford): Amends the Tax Reform Code to repeal the requirement for Pennsylvania businesses to remit “prepayments” for their sales tax collections.

HB 2386 (Rep. Brett Miller, R-Lancaster): Amends the Tax Reform Code to exclude fencing materials and supplies used for agricultural purposes from sales tax.

HB 2464 (Rep Sheryl Delozier, R-Cumberland): Amends the Crime Victims Act to give crime victims legal standing.

HB 2525 (Rep. Aaron Kaufer, R-Luzerne): Amends Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) to provide a process by which crime victims can request dissemination of criminal history investigative information which is relevant to a civil action arising out of the crime, provided the victim swears under penalty of law that the information is material and necessary to the civil action.

SB 349 (Sen. Scott Hutchinson, R-Venango): Amends the Tax Reform Code to align expense deductions with federal law.

SB 439 (Sen. Dave Argall, R-Schuylkill): Amends the Recorder of Deeds Fee Law to remove the 10-year time limit on the allowance of the $15 fee.

Votes on Third Consideration

HB 121 (Ecker)

HB 875 (Irvin)

HB 934 (Jozwiak)

HB 1962 (Schmitt)

 

Tuesday, April 26, 2022

 

Committee Meetings/Hearings

APPROPRIATIONS and EDUCATION, 9 a.m., Room 140, Main Capitol

Joint public hearing of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education regarding their report pursuant to Act 50 of 2020.
FINANCE, 9:30 a.m., Room 60, East Wing

Informational meeting on HB 2438 and Centralized Lien Filing & Electronic Repository.
HEALTH, 9:30 a.m., Room G-50, Irvis Office Building

HB 398 (Rep. Clint Owlett, R-Bradford/Tioga/Potter): Amends the Human Services Code to require the non-custodial parent of children for whom Medical Assistance is sought to enroll their children in their own health insurance plan before the Commonwealth would pay for medical care for them.
HB 2441 (Rep. Kate Klunk, R-York): Amends the Vital Statistics Law to allow Legislative Agencies access to records information for research purposes under the Vital Statistics Law.
SB 317 (Sen. Pat Browne, R-Lehigh): Act providing for expedited partner therapy and for liability.
SB 818 (Sen. Judy Ward, R-Blair): Amends the Health Care Facilities Act to align procedures permitted in licensed Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) with that of other states and federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
AGING & OLDER ADULT SERVICES, 10 a.m., Room 515, Irvis Office Building

HB 2425 (Rep. Ann Flood, R- Northampton): Act providing for communication duties between the Department of Health and the Department of Human Services with local area agencies on aging and the Department of Aging relating to older adult abuse.
TRANSPORTATION, 10 a.m., Room 523, Irvis Office Building

HB 2437 (Rep. Pam DeLissio, D-Philadelphia): Amends Title 75 (Vehicles) to allow individuals renewing registrations or a driver’s license to include an optional $5 donation to the Children’s Trust Fund.
HB 2526 (Rep. Tim Hennessey, R-Chester): Amends "An act providing for the adoption of capital projects related to the repair, rehabilitation or replacement of highway bridges to be financed from current revenue or by the incurring of debt and capital projects related to highway and safety improvement projects to be financed from current revenue of the Motor License Fund," to itemize additional state and local bridge projects.
HB 2550 (Rep. Tom Mehaffie, R-Dauphin): Amends Title 75 (Vehicles) to establish the Traffic Signal Modernization Pilot Program within the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
HR 190 (Rep. Jeff Wheeland, R- Lycoming): Resolution urging the Congress of the United States and the United States Environmental Protection Agency to take action and end regulations relating to vehicle emissions testing.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES & ENERGY, Call of the Chair, Room G-50, Irvis Office Building

HB 2104 (Rep. Kathy Rapp, R-Forest/Warren/Crawford): Amends Title 27 (Environmental Resources) to assure the proper decommissioning, recycling and reclamation of solar panels and wind turbines within the Commonwealth.
HB 2367 (Rep. Zachary Mako, R-Lehigh/Northampton): Act providing for duty of Department of Environmental Protection to prohibit the construction or installation of wind turbines that negatively affect military installations, for duties of wind turbine owners and for authorization processes.
APPROPRIATIONS, Call of the Chair, Room 140, Main Capitol

Agenda to be announced.
 

Session

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

 

Votes on Second Consideration

HB 978 (Rep. Brett Miller, R-Lancaster): Amends the Right to Know Law to make it clear in the law that an individual’s personal financial information, whether it be with a bank or any other financial institution, or their tax information that is required by the state or federal government, is confidential and not a public document. 

HB 2086 (Rep. Joe Kerwin, R-Dauphin/Schuylkill): Amends Title 51 (Military Affairs) to provide for the authority of our PA National Guard to operate Commonwealth-owned or -leased vehicles.

HB 2097 (Rep. Joe Hamm, R-Lycoming/Union): Amends Title 35 (Health and Safety) to make permanent to the COVID-19 regulatory waiver related to EMS personnel and ambulance drivers.

HB 2159 (Rep. Jason Ortitay, R-Washington/Allegheny): Amends Titles 35 (Health and Safety) and 62 (Procurement) to reform the Commonwealth’s emergency procurement process.

HB 2412 (Rep. Craig Williams, R-Delaware): Amends the Administrative Code to allow the Pennsylvania National Guard to provide functional support for cybersecurity needs across the Commonwealth.

HB 2449 (Rep. Keith Gillespie, R-York): Amends the Legislative Officers and Employes Law to require legislative expenses to be provided by the chief clerk of the House and the clerk of the Senate, and for the Legislative Data Processing Center to publish such expenses on its internet website.

HB 2496 (Rep. Karen Boback, R-Luzerne/Lackawanna/Wyoming): Act authorizing the Department of General Services, with the approval of the Department of Agriculture and the governor, to grant and convey to Wyoming County, certain lands and improvements situated in the Township of Tunkhannock, Wyoming County.

HB 2507 (Rep. Seth Grove, R-York): Amends Title 25 (Elections) to allow the use of ERIC to remove deceased registrants from voter rolls.

SB 423 (Sen. Judy Ward, R-Blair): Amends Title 71 (State Government) to permit retirees from the State Employees’ Retirement System (SERS) to return to service and work part-time as a state-certified fire instructor without having their benefits stopped.

SB 559 (Sen. Dave Argall, R-Schuylkill): Amends the Administrative Code to provide for greater transparency relative to vaccine data.

 

Votes on Third Consideration

HB 1123 (Neilson)

HB 1791 (Twardzik)

HB 1929 (Causer)

HB 2209 (Major, A.)

HB 2210 (Pennycuick)

HB 2238 (White)

HB 2271 (Tomlinson)

HB 2275 (White)

HB 2277 (Topper)

HB 2464 (Delozier)

HB 2525 (Kaufer)

 

Wednesday, April 27, 2022

 

Committee Meetings/Hearings

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

HB 811 (Rep. Jim Cox, R-Berks): Amends Title 71 (State Government) to move all future employees of the Susquehanna River Basin Commission from the State Employees Retirement System.
HB 1578 (Rep. Dawn Keefer, R-York/Cumberland): Amends Titles 24 (Education) and 71 (State Government) amend the State Employees’ Retirement Code and the Public School Employees’ Retirement Code to clearly establish that the contribution collars are no longer in effect and ensure that the Commonwealth pay the ARC each year.
HB 1671 (Rep. Brett Miller, R-Lancaster): Amends Titles 24 (Education) and 71 (State Government) to require more robust and transparent management fee reporting standards from SERS and PSERS.
HB 2010 (Rep. Frank Ryan, R-Lebanon): Amends Title 20 (Decedents, Estates and Fiduciaries) to require any trustee, board member or other appointed or elected official who stands in a fiduciary relationship to a state, county or local pension system, or to a fund of the Commonwealth, to obtain two hours of initial training and one hour of annual training in fiduciary law.
HB 2485 (Rep. Seth Grove, R-York): Amends the Right-to-Know Law to specify that the Pennsylvania Treasury Department shall not disperse any funds for any contract which is not submitted to the public Contracts e-Library database.
HB 2524 (Rep. Lou Schmitt, R-Blair): Amends the Right-to-Know Law to provide for updates and modernization.
URBAN AFFAIRS, 9 a.m., Room 205, Ryan Office Building

Public hearing on HB1896.
AGRICULTURE & RURAL AFFAIRS, 9:30 a.m., Room 515, Irvis Office Building

HB 2157 (Rep. Frank Farry, R-Bucks): Amends Title 3 (Agriculture) to provide updates and modifications to the fireworks law.
HB 2520 (Rep. Martin Causer, R-Cameron/McKean/Potter): Amends Title 3 (Agriculture) to ensure that the existing temporary regulations relative to horse racing will remain effective until the new federal requirements are known and can be incorporated into permanent horse racing regulations for Pennsylvania.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT, 9:30 a.m., Room 523, Irvis Office Building

HB 1462 (Rep. Tina Davis, D-Bucks): Act imposing a duty on municipalities to provide notification to property owners of changes to special flood hazard area maps of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
HB 2116 (Rep. Jeff Wheeland, R-Lycoming): Amends Title 11 (Cities) to update the Third Class City Code to align emergency provisions with Title 35.
HB 2253 (Rep. Jerry Knowles, R-Schuylkill): Amends Title 53 (Municipalities Generally) to further authorize the designation of a temporary seat of government, provide for emergency succession of officers during an emergency and expressly authorize remote public meetings for specified municipalities during emergencies.
HB 2428 (Rep. Jerry Knowles, R-Schuylkill): Amends Title 65 (Public Officers) to amend the Sunshine Act to facilitate the creation of local rules allowing meetings to be broadcast online and allow public comment via authorized telecommunications devices.
COMMERCE, 10 a.m., Room 60, East Wing

HB 2265 (Rep. Lee James, R-Venango): Amends Title 64 (Public Authorities and Quasi-Public Corporations) to require each certified economic development organization to provide at least six hours of annual training in financing for its professional staff.
HB 2396 (Rep. Keith Greiner, R-Lancaster): Amends the Tax Reform Code to extend the Pennsylvania Rural Jobs and Investment Tax Credit.
HB 2420 (Rep. Chris Quinn, R-Delaware): Amends "An act entitled 'An act to establish a board of wardens for the Port of Philadelphia, and for the regulation of pilots and pilotage, and for other purposes,' approved March twenty-ninth, one thousand eight hundred and three, and for regulating the rates of pilotage and number of pilots," to provide for rate adjustment.
APPROPRIATIONS, Call of the Chair, Room 140, Main Capitol

Agenda to be announced.
 

Session

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

 

Votes on Second Consideration

TBA

Votes on Third Consideration

TBA

No comments: