An update of recent legislative activity by Pennsylvania House Democrats

Sept. 26, 2008

PASSED THE HOUSE AND SENATE

Manderino bill to reform prison parole system goes to governor

Rep. Kathy Manderino, D-Phila./Montgomery, said legislation she introduced that would make needed changes to the state’s prison parole system is going to the governor for his signature. House Bill 6 is part of a package of legislation designed to relieve prison overcrowding, improve public safety, reduce repeat offenses and save taxpayers money. The bill would require the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole and county courts to allow eligible state prisoners to qualify for early release through a Recidivism Risk Reduction Incentive. Under the program, non-violent offenders could receive up to 25 percent off their minimum sentence if they complete required programs, do not commit any infractions while in prison, pose no risk to society and if the board grants parole. Current law does not provide incentives to reduce the risk of subsequent offenses.

"Offering an incentive for non-violent offenders would reduce recidivism," Manderino said. "Public safety wouldn't be compromised because parolees would still receive the appropriate supervision."

-- Visit www.pahouse.com/Manderino to read more.

PASSED THE HOUSE

House passes Solobay bill to ease process of clearing minor criminal records

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives has passed Rep. Tim Solobay's legislation that would enable certain people with a criminal record the opportunity to have their records expunged in a timely fashion. Under H.B. 1543, instead of having to bring a case to the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole, a person wishing to have a record for a summary offense or other minor crime expunged would be able to petition the local court, provided he or she has been free of arrest or prosecution since fulfilling his or her sentence for a certain time period, depending on the crime.

"The way the system is set up now, it can take upwards of three years to get a minor infraction removed from your record," Solobay said. "This bill would streamline the process by allowing people to take their case directly to their local courts to have their records expunged rather than having to take their case to the state board of pardons."

-- Visit www.pahouse.com/Solobay to read more.

House passes Roebuck's dropout prevention and teacher training bills

The state House has passed two bills proposed by Rep. James Roebuck, D-Phila., aimed at reducing the number of students who drop out of school as well as retaining new teachers in struggling school districts. The House passed Roebuck’s Beginning Educator Support and Training proposal (H.B. 923), which would establish teacher induction programs for new teachers. The BEST induction program would be specifically required for new teachers in economically disadvantaged school districts with high turnover rates for beginning educators. The Pennsylvania Department of Education would be largely responsible for identifying school districts in which the BEST program would be utilized. The House also passed Roebuck's H.B. 2466, which would establish a dropout prevention and data collection initiative in PDE. Roebuck said the new dropout prevention program is needed in light of the fact that about 17,000 public school students drop out in Pennsylvania annually, including around 5,000 from Philadelphia public schools.  

"There are simply too many schools where there's no program to train new teachers for the specific needs of a struggling school, so teachers are constantly coming and going, and that hurts the students' chance to succeed," said Roebuck. "The BEST program would be an important way that we could help struggling school districts to retain qualified teachers."

-- Visit www.pahouse.com/Roebuck to read more.

Hanna bill for deterrent fencing and elk damage fund passes House

Rep. Mike Hanna, D-Clinton/Centre, said the House of Representatives has passed his bill that would increase deterrent fencing for wild animals and establish an elk damage compensation fund. The legislation (H.B. 2575) would increase the funding for and number of elk deterrent fences in Pennsylvania. It also would create a fund to reimburse people for damage caused by elk. The state Game Commission and the state Department of Agriculture would be responsible for administering the programs.

"Elk can cause significant crop and property damage," Hanna said. "The fencing helps prevent financial loss, and the compensation fund would help landowners repair any damages to their property."

-- Visit www.pahouse.com/Hanna to read more.

COMMITTEE ACTION

Senate committee moves Surra's nurse overtime bill

The state Senate Labor and Industry Committee today approved legislation introduced by state Rep. Dan Surra that would prohibit hospitals and other health-care facilities from forcing direct patient care workers such as nurses to work beyond their regular shifts. Surra, D-Elk/Clearfield, said the legislation (H.B. 834) would end the practice in many Pennsylvania hospitals of using forced overtime as a routine staffing strategy for nurses. Surra said mandatory overtime – which is often imposed with little or no notice – not only has a negative impact on nurses, but also on patients. Studies have shown that overworked and tired nurses are more prone to make mistakes.

"The full Senate now has before it extremely important worker safety and patient safety legislation," Surra said. "I am hopeful that both the House and Senate can pass a final version of this bill before the end of this legislative session so the governor can sign it into law."

-- Visit www.pahouse.com/Surra to read more.

Committee reports out bill that would ensure all public land issuances are conveyed by General Assembly

A bill that would prevent the Sugarhouse Casino to be built on the Delaware riverfront has cleared the House State Government Committee and has been sent to the full House for consideration. The bill (H.B. 2775), introduced by Rep. Babette Josephs, D-Phila., would revoke the submerged land license issued to HSP Gaming Inc., which has plans to build the Sugarhouse Casino at the site of the former Jack Frost Refinery.

"The 1907 law under which HSP Gaming sought the submerged land license was only intended to give Philadelphia the power to expand port facilities at the turn of the century for water-borne commerce, not to give away land for casinos or any other business," Josephs said. "My bill would reassert the Commonwealth's rights over the land within the Delaware riverbed and repeal the portion of the law that was meant for port expansion."

-- Visit www.pahouse.com/Josephs to read more.

Lentz bill exempting disabled vets from property taxes advances

The House State Government Committee has reported out a bill (H.B. 2020) introduced by Rep. Bryan R. Lentz, D-Delaware, that would exempt all permanently disabled veterans from paying property taxes, regardless of their annual income. Lentz's bill would modify the current Disabled Veterans’ Real Estate Tax Exemption program by removing the "need provision" requiring disabled veterans to provide proof of their annual income and expenses every two years to demonstrate financial need in order to retain the exemption.

"The idea that a veteran disabled in wartime has to prove financial need is ludicrous," Lentz said. "These people have made an incredible sacrifice for their country and their lives have been changed forever. They should be entitled to the exemption regardless of their income."

-- Visit www.pahouse.com/Lentz to read more.

Taylor police standards bill moves toward Senate vote

The state Senate Judiciary Committee has voted out a bill sponsored by Rep. Rick Taylor, D-Montgomery, designed to assist local police departments in meeting professional standards for operation. Taylor's bill (H.B. 2548) passed the House in July 196-1. The measure would allow the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency to create a grant program that would help the nonprofit Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association that accredits law enforcement agencies in the state to assist departments to meet the standards.

"Not only is accreditation a source of pride for a police department to have achieved, it assures the people the department serves that their agency is operating at the highest professional level, providing effective and efficient law enforcement," Taylor said. "It is also an assurance to individual officers that the highest possible standards for their personal safety and training are in place."

-- Visit www.pahouse.com/Taylor to read more.

BILL INTRODUCTIONS

Protecting our young athletes from child predators

Acting on a special investigative report in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ("Many with criminal pasts found on PIAA's roster of sports referees," Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008), Rep. Tim Solobay, D-Washington, has introduced legislation to ensure Pennsylvania's children involved in sports are protected from child predators. House Bill 2789 would require background checks on all Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Athletic Association officials who have direct contact with children.

"According to the Post-Gazette article, an investigation into more than 2,000 PIAA officials' criminal histories uncovered that some had been convicted of child abuse, sexual battery and, most distressingly, child pornography," Solobay said. "Individuals with these types of convictions should not be permitted to be in direct contact with children."

-- Visit www.pahouse.com/Solobay to read more.

Josephs introduces bill to ban the human implantation of ID devices

Rep. Babette Josephs, D-Phila., has introduced legislation that would make it illegal to implant any identification device on or under a person’s skin that would contain and transmit personal information. The bill (H.B. 2374) also specifies penalties for violations of the measure. In the legislation, personal information would include name; address; contact information, including phone number and e-mail; date of birth; driver’s license; Social Security or state identification number; religion; ethnicity; fingerprint or any other unique identifier.

"Maintaining our personal and our family’s privacy is becoming increasingly difficult," Josephs said. "Any positive impact that an implanted device could have would be eclipsed by the potential damage that could be done if the information was accessed by an outside party not intended to have the information. Moreover some of this information should not be collected by government either."

-- Visit www.pahouse.com/Josephs to read more.

Shapiro introduces measure to strengthen hate crimes protections

Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-Montgomery, has introduced legislation to strengthen Pennsylvania’s Hate Crimes Law. Under the state's current Hate Crimes law, hate crimes are limited to acts against an individual’s or group’s race, color, religion or national origin. Shapiro's proposal (H.B. 2784) would expand the law to include crimes motivated by malicious intent toward an individual’s or group’s ancestry, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, or gender or gender identity. House Bill 2784 has 23 bipartisan co-sponsors.

"The laws in Pennsylvania must afford all of our citizens equal protection," Shapiro said. "No one class or group should be ignored or denied rights. Our bill seeks to remedy that deficiency in our laws."

-- Visit www.pahouse.com/Shapiro to read more.

Gibbons legislation would regulate halfway houses

Rep. Jaret Gibbons, D-Lawrence/Beaver/Butler, has announced plans to introduce a package of two bills aimed at regulating the implementation of group homes, or halfway houses, in existing neighborhoods. The first bill, H.B. 2778, would require the state and the private service provider of a prospected group home to jointly conduct four public hearings within a 5-mile radius of the proposed site of the home within one year before the home's slated opening date. The second bill, H.B. 2780, would eliminate privately operated group homes for paroled and convicted individuals and allow only for publicly operated community corrections centers in the Commonwealth.

"Often times, local residents find themselves living near one of these facilities too late in the selection process to voice their concerns," Gibbons said. "If a facility is a group home and not a community correction center, there is very little recourse available to local residents to address the continued operation of this facility in their community."

-- Visit www.pahouse.com/Gibbons to read more.

Josephs introduces bill to ban bonuses

Rep. Babette Josephs, D-Phila., has introduced legislation that would prevent Commonwealth employees from receiving bonuses. The bill (H.B. 2375) would ban any extra payment given to a state employee over and above his or her annual salary or other rate of compensation. This would cover all Commonwealth agencies, including the executive, legislative and judicial bodies and independent agencies such as the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency. Josephs said her legislation is the byproduct of a cooperative effort with the Rendell administration, and that the governor supports her bill, which can't be said about other similar proposals.

"This legislation is the strongest bonus ban proposal out there," said Josephs, chairwoman of the House State Government Committee. "It is different from the others in several significant ways. Not only does it clearly define who is covered by the ban and what is considered a bonus -- including covering non-monetary types of compensation in the definition -- it eliminates the 'PHEAA loophole' by prohibiting incentive-based compensation and stops bonuses from being considered in pension calculations," she said.

-- Visit www.pahouse.com/Josephs to read more.

Longietti introduces legislation to combat criminal street gangs

Pennsylvania Rep. Mark Longietti, D-Mercer, has introduced legislation (H.B. 2372) aimed at combating criminal street gangs. The legislation would create a separate criminal offense for being a member of a criminal street gang and participating in activity related to criminal street gangs. Most importantly, Longietti noted, the legislation calls for the forfeiture of assets by those prosecuted for participation in criminal street gang activity. The assets and any revenue recovered as a result of fines would be used by law enforcement and community groups for crime-fighting and anti-gang measures and programs.

"Gang activity has become an increasingly significant problem, particularly in the cities of Sharon and Farrell in my legislative district, and across the state," Longietti said. "This bill would be an effective tool in deterring and punishing criminal street gang activity by hitting gangs where it hurts them most, in their wallets."

-- Visit www.pahouse.com/Longietti to read more.

DeLuca bill would protect school athletes from child molesters

Rep. Tony DeLuca, D-Allegheny, has introduced legislation that would require criminal background checks on all Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Athletic Association officials who have contact with students at school events. DeLuca's legislation (H.B. 2807) would require criminal background reviews for all athletic officials who participate in sporting events conducted on school property..

"We must protect our children from child predators in Pennsylvania," DeLuca said. "A special investigative report in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette revealed that many PIAA officials have been convicted of child-related offenses yet they still have contact with children. This is wrong and this action should be stopped now."

-- Visit www.pahouse.com/DeLuca to read more.