Recent legislative activity by PA House Democrats

 March 20, 2009

PASSED THE HOUSE

Briggs bill to enable sibling visitation passes House

The state House has passed legislation introduced by state Rep. Tim Briggs, D-Montgomery, that would help children maintain contact with their siblings when they live apart. The bill (H.B. 295) would allow courts to grant visitation rights to siblings who live apart due to divorce, separation, death or court order. 

"As a father of two, I know how siblings need each other's support, especially during difficult times," Briggs said. "I really feel it's important for children to be able to continue their sibling relationships, particularly if there is an upheaval in the home."

-- Visit www.pahouse.com/Briggs for more information.

Barbin bill to criminalize impersonation of licensed professionals passes House

The state House this week unanimously passed a bill sponsored by Rep. Bryan Barbin, D-Cambria, that would protect consumers from anyone who impersonates a holder of a professional or occupational license. Barbin's legislation (H.B. 416) would extend the state's penalties for impersonation of professions and occupations such as architects, physicians, realtors, psychiatrists, accountants and funeral directors. The measure would make someone impersonating any licensed occupation or profession subject to a second-degree misdemeanor charge in Pennsylvania. In cases where the intent of the impersonation was to harm, defraud or injure someone, the crime would be a third-degree felony.

"When people lie about their qualifications to swindle consumers, they harm the public's trust in licensed occupations and professions," said Barbin. "Someone who passes himself off as a licensed professional can cause a financial catastrophe or personal injury."

-- Visit www.pahouse.com/Barbin for more information.

House passes DeLuca cancer clinical trial bill

State Rep. Tony DeLuca, D-Allegheny, said the state House of Representatives has passed his legislation (H.B. 85) that would require insurance companies to cover the cost of routine care for patients enrolled in cancer clinical trials. DeLuca's legislation would define clinical trials as research studies that test new drugs or treatments for cancer to determine if they are more effective for patients. The bill would require insurance companies to cover the cost of routine care provided to enrollees who participate in these trials.

"People who have cancer or leukemia that is not responding to standard treatment can benefit immensely from these clinical trials, but too often the expense does not allow them to participate," DeLuca said. "Many of the greatest strides in cancer treatment have been made during clinical trials, and cancer patients with health insurance should be covered when they are able to participate in these trials."

-- Visit www.pahouse.com/DeLuca for more information.

House passes Walko bill to close legal loophole on criminal neglect of long-term care patients

State Rep. Don Walko, D-Allegheny, this week won House passage of his bill (H.B. 282) that would allow prosecutors to file criminal charges of neglect against owners or staff of personal care homes that have three or fewer adults unrelated to the owner. Current state law does not allow criminal charges in such cases. The bill passed 195-0. The House passed the bill 196-0 in April 2007, but the Senate failed to vote on it in the 2007-08 session.

"The Senate needs to join the House in passing this bill so we can prevent this kind of outrageous injustice in the future. In addition to punishing abusers after the fact, this legislation is also intended to have a deterrent effect," said Walko, who serves as chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts. 

-- Visit www.pahouse.com/Walko for more information.

Levdansky wins House approval for review of Pa. tax credit programs

House Finance Committee Chairman David Levdansky, D-Allegheny/Washington, has won House approval for a detailed examination of the effectiveness of existing tax credit programs in Pennsylvania. The House of Representatives adopted Levdansky's resolution (H.R. 127) directing the bipartisan Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to study the impact of the 18 Pennsylvania tax credit programs. In addition, the study will determine whether the state collects the necessary information to discern whether the programs' goals are being accomplished.

"Certainly tax credit programs can be beneficial to the state, but I don't believe we should be blindly incorporating them into our budget every year," Levdansky said. "The state currently has $350 million in tax credit programs, some of which have been in place for decades, and they should be revisited to determine if they are actually achieving their goals in Pennsylvania. Considering this year's state budget shortfall is projected to be in the billions, it would be irresponsible to continue tax credit programs without determining whether they are actually benefiting Pennsylvania."

-- Visit www.pahouse.com/Levdansky for more information.

COMMITTEE ACTION

House committee unanimously approves PHC4 reauthorization

Legislation introduced by state House Majority Leader Todd Eachus, D-Luzerne, which would extend the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council for another five years, received unanimous approval by the House Insurance Committee this week. Eachus said his proposal (H.B. 173) would reauthorize PHC4, an independent state agency that has been successful in addressing the quality and costs of health care in Pennsylvania, until Dec. 31, 2014. Over the last year, Gov. Rendell has twice issued executive orders extending the council, and Eachus said legislation to allow this agency to continue its operations is long overdue.

"We are facing difficult economic times and we know that the cost of health care in Pennsylvania will continue to rise," Eachus said. "An immediate challenge will be to maintain and retool our health-care programs to assure Pennsylvanians, old and young alike, have access to affordable, quality care. Part of that is to allow PHC4 to collect, analyze and study data that will help in this effort."

-- Visit www.pahouse.com/Eachus for more information.

Bill resurrecting State Energy Office wins unanimous support 

State Rep. Camille "Bud" George, D- Clearfield, said his legislation (H.B. 786) establishing a State Energy Office within the Department of Environmental Protection this week won unanimous support from the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee. The energy office would promote development of the state's natural and renewable energy resources; be in charge of energy policy development and implementation and heating assistance; monitor energy prices and supplies and develop responses to emergencies; and encourage the development of a strategic heating oil and diesel fuel reserve in the Mid-Atlantic region to counter price spikes and fuel shortages.

"Pennsylvania deserves focused, concentrated efforts on energy development and conservation, and House Bill 786 would enable a State Energy Office to forge a consistent energy policy," said Rep. George, chairman of the committee.

-- Visit www.pahouse.com/George for more information.

Pa. anti-discrimination bill advances out of committee

A House committee has approved a bill that would protect people who live or work in Pennsylvania from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. The bill (H.B. 300), introduced by state Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Allegheny, would address discrimination in employment, housing, credit and public accommodations.

"This committee vote is a first step toward making state law more fair and just and making Pennsylvania more economically competitive," Frankel said. "We are surrounded on three sides by states that ban anti-gay discrimination -- Maryland, New Jersey and New York. They are among the 20 states that have this competitive advantage over Pennsylvania when it comes to attracting and retaining businesses and residents."

-- Visit www.pahouse.com/Frankel for more information.

Bill to expand tools for energy conservation moves out of committee

A bill introduced by state Rep. Frank Dermody, D-Allegheny, that would make it easier for government entities to make energy conservation improvements to their facilities has been reported out of the House Urban Affairs Committee. The bill (H.B. 687) would increase the length of energy conservation contracts from 15 years to 20 years to allow for lengthier payback periods, and expand the list of energy conservation measures permitted under the contract to include technology upgrades to existing conservations; water and sewer conservation measures; upgrades that improve the accuracy of billable revenue-generating systems; and automated systems that reduce personnel or operating costs.

"Public housing authorities that operate housing complexes is one such group that uses these guaranteed energy savings contracts, not only for the energy conservation, but also for the energy cost savings that result," said Dermody, chairman of the House Urban Affairs Committee. "And, in light of the anticipated $213 million Pennsylvania public housing authorities are expected to receive from the federal stimulus package, this bill can help make even more of an impact."

-- Visit www.pahouse.com/Dermody for more information.

Freeman bill would allow housing authorities to establish police forces

A bill that would allow public housing authorities to form police forces was approved by the House Urban Affairs Committee, according to the bill's sponsor, state Rep. Bob Freeman, D-Northampton. Under the bill, housing authorities would be permitted to create police forces to patrol public housing projects. These officers would be required to complete the same course of instruction and accreditation as is required for municipal police officers under state law. Funding would come from public housing authority budgets for their own forces.

"Currently, the law says only housing authorities in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh can form police forces," Freeman said. "But smaller cities and other municipalities in the state face the same problems with criminal activity that the larger cities do. We need to allow all public housing authorities to form police forces in an effort to combat crime across the state."

-- Visit www.pahouse.com/Freeman for more information.

Melio emergency service bills approved by committee

The House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee has approved two bills sponsored by the committee's chairman, Rep. Tony Melio, D-Bucks, that would update Pennsylvania's statewide emergency response system and preserve funding for the state's 911 call centers. One of the bills (H.B. 468) is designed to update and enhance the coordination of emergency and medical services among all systems across the state. The other bill (H.B. 718) would allow for the continuation of state funding to Pennsylvania's 69 Public Safety Answering Points, or PSAPs.

"My intent is to make sure EMS services are up-to-date and accessible throughout Pennsylvania," said Melio. "This is a safety net millions of people depend on in a time of need and this will help the best of the best to continue to provide their great service."