Recent legislative activity by PA House Democrats
 

 June 5, 2009

 

PASSED THE HOUSE AND SENATE

Matzie bill to expand COBRA health coverage to become law

Legislation (H.B. 1089) introduced by state Rep. Robert F. Matzie, D-Allegheny/Beaver, that would make COBRA health-insurance coverage available to Pennsylvania businesses with fewer than 20 employees has been passed by the state House and Senate and sent to the governor. Matzie's bill is part of the House Democratic Caucus' Health PAct, a package of bills unveiled by House Majority Leader Todd Eachus, D-Luzerne, that focuses on providing and enhancing access to basic health care.  

"Small businesses are essential to Pennsylvania's economic growth," Matzie said. "I am so pleased that my legislation will soon be law so that group-rated health insurance will be available to small employers and former employees of small businesses in Pennsylvania."

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Eachus: General Assembly sends PHC4 reauthorization bill to governor

The state House passed legislation this week that is one of the key components of Health PAct, the House Democrats’ package of bills aimed at improving access to quality, affordable health care in Pennsylvania. Senate Bill 89, which would extend the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council, commonly referred to as PHC4, for another five years now goes to the governor. The Senate proposal is a companion bill to legislation introduced by House Majority Leader Todd A. Eachus, D-Luzerne. The bill would reauthorize PHC4, an independent state agency that has been successful in addressing the quality and costs of health care in Pennsylvania, until June 30, 2014. The Senate also passed the legislation.

"Initiatives such as PHC4, which identify ways to curb the rising costs of health care, are absolutely vital as we continue to look at ways to address our current economic situation," Eachus said. "Reauthorizing PHC4 is a key component in our ability to maintain and retool our health-care system here in Pennsylvania – to cut costs and to ensure Pennsylvanians, old and young alike, have access to affordable, quality care."

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PASSED THE HOUSE

Wansacz caregiver neglect legislation passes House

State Rep. Jim Wansacz's legislation to create specific penalties for the neglect of care-dependent people that results in death passed the House unanimously this week. The bill (H.B. 373) would make the neglect of a care-dependent person that results in death a first-degree felony punishable by a prison term of up to 30 years, a fine of $25,000 or both.

"There are many residents of Pennsylvania, particularly the elderly, who depend on others for their care," Wansacz said. "Those who do not take that job seriously can cause great harm and I am pleased my colleagues in the House recognized the importance of preventing the neglect of our care-dependent population."

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House votes to expand, clarify Pa.'s pension forfeiture law

The state House of Representatives has passed legislation (H.B. 1182) introduced by state Rep. James E. Casorio Jr., D-Westmoreland, that would add sexual assault or indecent contact by prison guards or employees at youth centers, children's residential facilities or mental health and mental retardation centers to the list of crimes requiring public officials or employees to forfeit their pension. Also added to the law would be cases where guards or employees sell or provide drugs, poison or other paraphernalia to inmates in prisons or mental hospitals. The legislation would also prevent public officials and employees convicted of such crimes from continuing to collect pension benefits during their court appeals.

"Public officials who are in charge of keeping young people or care-dependent people secure, and who abuse that authority either by harming the people under their supervision or conspiring with those people to commit a crime, should lose their public pension," Casorio said. "Using a public position to take advantage of other people or to commit a crime is a serious offense and a form of public corruption. The penalties for that corruption should be severe, and they should be immediate."

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Preston bill to increase fine for gas pipeline violations passes House

The state House this week passed legislation authored by state Rep. Joseph Preston Jr., D-Allegheny, that would increase safety violation fines for natural or artificial gas utilities that produce, generate, transmit, distribute or furnish gas for public consumption. The bill (H.B. 1128) would increase the civil penalty associated with gas pipeline or gas conduit facilities safety violations from $10,000 to $100,000 per day for each violation. Under the bill, the maximum penalty would not exceed $1 million for any related series of violations.

"Increasing state fines for gas pipeline safety to current federal levels sends a message that we are serious about the safety of our natural gas pipelines and the transporting of natural gas, flammable gas and toxic or corrosive gas within this Commonwealth," said Preston, chairman of the House Consumer Affairs Committee.

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House passes Curry's SIDS education bill

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives this week passed legislation sponsored by state Rep. Lawrence Curry, D-Montgomery/Phila., that would ensure new parents in Pennsylvania are educated about the risk factors associated with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Sudden Unexpected Death of Infants. SIDS accounts for nearly 3,000 deaths annually in the U.S., including about 100 each year in Pennsylvania. Although SIDS and SUDI cut across all socioeconomic, racial and ethnic groups, statistics show that African American and Native American babies are more likely to be at risk. Most SIDS deaths occur when a baby is between 2 months and 4 months old, with 90 percent occurring before 6 months of age.

"House Bill 47 is intended to reduce the number of SIDS and SUDI deaths in Pennsylvania by establishing an education and public awareness program overseen by the Pennsylvania Department of Health to inform parents about the risk factors associated with SIDS and SUDI," Curry said. "While there is still no known way to prevent sudden infant death, we can help to minimize the number of deaths by educating parents about the risk factors."

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House passes bill to expand Commission on Crime and Delinquency board

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives has passed a bill (H.B. 1145) introduced by Rep. Frank Dermody, D-Oakmont, that would add the executive director of the Commission on Sentencing to the board of the Commission on Crime and Delinquency. The Commission on Crime and Delinquency guides criminal justice policy in the Commonwealth, from the administration of justice to establishment of goals, objectives and standards for reducing crime and delinquency. Current members include the state police commissioner, attorney general, the state secretaries of Public Welfare and Corrections, state courts administrator, legislators, and representatives from county government and victims' services.

"The Commission on Sentencing is not represented on the Commission on Crime and Delinquency board, which studies all aspects of the criminal justice system," he said. "Adding this individual to the crime commission will help ensure that the commission's policies more fully represent the entire criminal justice system."

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House unanimously passes Grucela bill to grant military reservists educational leave of absence

Under a bill (H.B. 592) the state House passed unanimously this week, members of the Pennsylvania National Guard and other United States reservists and their spouses would not lose college tuition or credit if deployed before the end of a semester. Under the legislation, sponsored by state Rep. Richard Grucela, D-Northampton, if a Guard member or reservist was called to active duty, other than active duty for training, the educational institution in which the member is enrolled would grant the member or his or her spouse a military leave of absence from their education without the loss of academic credits earned or forfeiture of scholarships or grants awarded prior to the commencement of the military duty. 

"Military families make many sacrifices when enrolling in the military, but this is a situation we can easily fix," Grucela said. "When a National Guard member or reservist is called to duty, their spouse's life is uprooted as well. The last thing they should have to worry about is losing credit or tuition. I thank my colleagues for giving their unanimous support to this bill, especially as we come off the Memorial Day holiday."

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COMMITTEE ACTION

Eachus plan to improve access to health care receives committee approval

Members of the state House Insurance Committee have approved legislation introduced by House Majority Leader Todd A. Eachus, D-Luzerne, which would expand and improve access to affordable, quality health care in Pennsylvania. The measure (H.B. 1) would expand the state's adultBasic program to cover more than 130,000 people statewide.

"This legislation is a critical piece of the health-care reform puzzle," Eachus said. "It is a common-sense approach to fixing the crisis facing hundreds of thousands of citizens all across the Commonwealth by expanding access to coverage and improving the quality of health care."

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House Education Committee approves 2009-10 education funding bill

The state House Education Committee has approved 2009-10 state education funding legislation sponsored by state Rep. James Roebuck, D-Phila. House Bill 1493 represents Gov. Ed Rendell's 2009-10 state education budget proposal for Pennsylvania's 501 school districts. The legislation would increase basic education funding by $418 million as part of the second year of a six-year, $2.6 billion proposed state plan to improve funding adequacy and equity across school districts to increase student achievement.

"This year presents us all with an extremely difficult time to try and pass a state budget that continues to meet Pennsylvania's current and future needs," Roebuck said. "People are struggling to pay their bills, just like school districts are struggling to afford providing a quality education without increasing property taxes. I applaud my colleagues on the Education Committee for recognizing the state's responsibility to continue the six-year plan to increase school district funding, despite – and especially considering -- Pennsylvania's harsh economic climate."

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House Insurance Committee approves bill to make health coverage affordable for small businesses 

State Rep. Tony DeLuca, D-Allegheny, said the House Insurance Committee has approved legislation (H.B. 746) he sponsored that would provide small business owners with premium rate predictability when purchase health insurance for their employees. The bill would affect business owners who employ 2 to 50 workers. DeLuca said the bill would also prevent rate spikes for small business owners. Currently, there is no limit on rate increases for businesses that have high claims costs in one particular year.

"Many employees in Pennsylvania cannot get health insurance through their employer when they work for a small business, and one of the biggest reasons is the difficulty for small business owners in accessing affordable and predictable group rates," DeLuca said. "This legislation is aimed at helping small business owners who want to provide health insurance to their workers to be able to do so."

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House environmental committee considers Vitali energy bill

Clean-energy legislation (H.B. 80) introduced by state Rep. Greg Vitali, D-Delaware, was the subject of a recent public hearing held by the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee. The bill would increase the proportion of electricity that electric distribution companies must purchase from renewable sources such as wind and solar to 20 percent by 2026. It also would increase the amount of electricity from solar photovoltaic panels that electricity companies must purchase and use to 3 percent by 2026; require Pennsylvania to develop and operate a carbon capture and sequestration network for coal-burning power plants in the state; and require 3 percent of the energy purchased by electric distribution companies in Pennsylvania to come from coal-fired power plants that sequester carbon.

"If this were enacted, it would remove 16 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which equates to 3 million cars being taken off the road," Vitali said.

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Pashinski liquid fuels bill approved by House Transportation Committee 

State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Luzerne, said the House Transportation Committee has approved legislation that would grant municipalities more financial latitude to pay for road and street repairs from their share of the state's Liquid Fuels Tax revenue. Pashinski said his legislation (H.B. 1151) would expand the ability of a municipality to issue bonds or obligations by allowing them to be used partially for road improvement projects. In turn, it would require the municipality to use its Liquid Fuels Tax revenue to pay that portion of the debt that's related to those projects.

"Many cities in Pennsylvania are experiencing financial difficulties because of the economic downturn," Pashinski said. "My legislation would give municipalities some financial leeway to pay their liabilities that are incurred by improving and repairing roads and streets."

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Toy recall bill approved by House committee

State Rep. Eugene DePasquale, D-York, said that legislation he re-introduced this session that would strengthen Pennsylvania's consumer protection laws by targeting unsafe toys and other children's products has been approved unanimously by the House Consumer Affairs Committee today. DePasquale said H.B. 1431 would make it a crime in Pennsylvania to knowingly sell recalled children's products and would give the state attorney general and local district attorneys the authority to prosecute such offenses.

"I'm thrilled to see swift movement on this bill that would protect Pennsylvania's children," DePasquale said. "Since the 2007 recall of nearly 200 items – including children's toys, cribs and other products – by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, I have made every effort to ensure that parents can safely buy toys and items for their kids without worry."

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Staback poaching bill approved by House Game & Fisheries Committee

State Rep. Ed Staback, D-Lackawanna/Wayne, said that legislation he authored that would add misdemeanor and felony charges for poaching violations has been approved by the House Game and Fisheries Committee. House Bill 97 would increase fines and the grading of offenses for poaching violations. Staback said the bill introduces misdemeanors and felonies for poaching game at night with a light, violating bag limits and out-of-season hunting. The bill also would increase the fines for current summary offenses, increase penalties for assaulting a game officer, increase penalties for taking threatened and endangered species, and extend the window for second offenses from two to 10 years.

"The current penalty for poaching is a summary offense and one of the reasons I introduced this bill is because the current penalties do not work as a deterrent to poaching," Staback said. "I have tried to be as accommodating as possible in the drafting of this bill. I’ve taken into account nearly every concern that was presented to me and I think the result is a bill that is both fair and tough."

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Panel OKs two bills that would extend, expand military family relief

State Rep. Camille "Bud" George, D-74 of Clearfield County, said the House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee has unanimously approved two bills he sponsored to extend and expand the state's Military Family Relief Assistance Program. House Bill 1533 would extend the program until 2016, include state National Guard members in eligibility guidelines; allow military personnel to be eligible for grants up to one year after completion of active duty, and ease residency requirements. House Bill 1531 would enable Pennsylvanians to continue to dedicate a portion of their refunds on state Personal Income Tax returns to the program through the end of the 2015 tax year.

"The economic downturn has put more military families in financial peril since the program was signed into law by Gov. Rendell in November 2005," Rep. George said. "I thank committee members for helping to see that this last-chance safety net is extended and bolstered."

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Committee approves Waters bill to provide voter registration information to inmates upon release

The House State Government Committee has approved legislation reintroduced by Rep. Ronald G. Waters, D-Phila./Delaware, that would require each state and county correctional facility to provide inmates with voter registration materials upon their release from prison. 

"It's important that we help people re-enter society and become part of it again by making sure they register to vote," Waters said. "I believe this can help them become more civic-oriented and feel like they're part of the democratic process."