Recent legislative activity by PA House Democrats

 

Aug. 7, 2009

 

SIGNED BY THE GOVERNOR

 

House leads charge to pay state workers during budget impasse

 

In an effort to help the 77,000 state workers caught in the middle of a month-long state budget impasse, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives sent to the governor a bill (S.B. 850), Act 1A-line item veto of 2009, which will act as a "bridge" budget to ensure state workers get paid and allow general government operations to function. Gov. Ed Rendell line-item vetoed the vast majority of the bill, stripping all but the core government operations that are essential to paying employees and providing for crucial health and safety functions.  

 

"This bill was the quickest and most responsible way to finally pay our state workers, who have not received a paycheck for work they've done since July 1," said House Majority Leader Todd Eachus, D-Luzerne. "These workers have needlessly been caught in the middle of this budget crisis. They deserve to be paid for all the hard work they do. House Democrats will continue to fight for a responsible, balanced budget that continues investments in services that matter to Pennsylvanians, while making strategic and responsible cuts to reflect the state's current economic situation."

 

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Gergely bill to extend unemployment compensation benefits now law

 

A bill authored by state Rep. Marc Gergely, D-Allegheny, that will immediately help more than 25,000 people who have exhausted their unemployment benefits has been signed into law. Act 30 of 2009 (H.B. 1770) makes a temporary change to the Unemployment Compensation Expanded Benefits law to allow the state to tap nearly $145 million in federal stimulus funding. It switches the trigger to extend unemployment benefits to the "total unemployment rate" - the percentage of all workers in Pennsylvania who are out of work, currently at 8 percent.

 

"This is tremendous news for 25,430 people who had their benefits expire in July and the 60,000 people who will be affected before the end of the year," Gergely said. "Thousands of families will get seven more weeks of benefits while they continue to look for new employment in this challenging job market. By taking this necessary step, we can assist thousands of families to put food on the table, pay their mortgage and other bills. Since we're using federal dollars, there will be no impact to the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund or to businesses."

 

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Governor signs Eachus bill addressing corruption in juvenile justice

 

Gov. Ed Rendell has signed legislation, Act 32 of 2009 (H.B. 1648), introduced by House Majority Leader Todd A. Eachus, D-Luzerne, to create an Inter-branch Commission on Juvenile Justice. Eachus said the new law is the product of a joint effort by leaders from all three branches of Pennsylvania government. Eachus worked alongside state Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Luzerne; Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille; and Gov. Edward G. Rendell to develop this bipartisan, over-arching approach to examine the judicial corruption case in Luzerne County and seek to restore public confidence in Pennsylvania's juvenile courts.

 

"This will enable the state to see what went wrong in Luzerne County, what needs to be done to restore public trust and how to prevent similar events from occurring in any county in Pennsylvania," Eachus said. "We must learn from what happened in Luzerne County and examine the systemic flaws in our juvenile justice proceedings that may have led to the corruption and abuse that occurred there. We owe it to the people of Pennsylvania to do whatever it takes to ensure that this never happens again anywhere in Pennsylvania."

 

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Daley bill to bring Pa. in compliance with federal mortgage bill signed   

 

The governor has signed legislation, Act 31 of 2009 (H.B. 1654), authored by state Rep. Peter J. Daley, D-Fayette/Washington, that puts Pennsylvania into compliance with the federal Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008. While Pennsylvania's Act 56 of 2008 restructured the licensure standards and procedures, Congress subsequently passed the SAFE Act for mortgage licensing.

 

"Fundamentally, Pennsylvania was the leader among states in identifying, investigating and passing broad bipartisan reforms to the mortgage industry to protect our homeowners, while ensuring the health and stability of the mortgage industry," Daley said. "Because we were first and Congress came later with requirements, we have been compelled to revisit our statute to conform to the federal law."

 

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PASSED THE HOUSE

 

Moratorium on court-ordered property tax assessments passes House

 

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives has passed a bill (H.B. 1661) sponsored by Rep. Frank Dermody, D-Allegheny, that would impose a temporary moratorium on any court-ordered countywide property tax assessments.

 

Under the bill, while the moratorium is in effect, the General Assembly would conduct a comprehensive study of the state's property tax reassessment system and address the current problems with the system. The moratorium would remain in effect until the study is completed or until June 30, 2011, whichever comes first.

 

"Pennsylvania's current tax assessment system is fragmented with little uniformity between counties," Dermody said. "This results in vast inequities across the Commonwealth. Additionally, within the current system, there are no anti-windfall provisions for municipalities after a countywide reassessment is implemented, and there is little protection for homeowners who experience sudden and dramatic increases in their assessments after a countywide reassessment."   

 

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Curry's hemophilia bill advances to the state Senate

  

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed legislation sponsored by state Rep. Lawrence Curry, D-Montgomery/Phila., that would create a standard of care for Pennsylvanians with hemophilia and other bleeding disorders.

 

House Bill 620 would preserve access to a number of services essential to the well-being of people with hemophilia and other bleeding disorders. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studies show a 40 percent reduction in mortality and morbidity for patients seen at hemophilia treatment centers. Hemophilia is a rare, genetic bleeding disorder that affects more than 20,000 people nationwide, including approximately 1,700 in Pennsylvania.

 

"In the past, patients had to endure lengthy and costly hospital stays to manage their disease. Today most can treat their illness at home through the services of the eight state-recognized hemophilia treatment centers," Curry said. "However, as insurance companies and Medicaid look to cut costs, many hemophilia patients are worried they'll be forced to leave these centers and see a physician participating with a particular insurance plan who may not be as familiar with bleeding disorders."

 

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Local governments would control parking meters under House-passed bill

 

State Rep. Mike Hanna, D-Clinton/Centre, announced that legislation (H.B. 1330) he sponsored to transfer the control and inspection of parking meters to local governments passed the House unanimously. Currently, the state Department of Agriculture is responsible for the inspection of thousands of the more than 100,000 meters in the Commonwealth.  

 

"It makes sense to transfer the control and maintenance of parking meters to local government entities since it is the local governments that financially benefit from parking meters in their jurisdictions," Hanna said. "In addition, officials in each city or county have direct access and closer proximity to the meters, so residents can be assured that the meters are working properly and are repaired, if needed, in a timely fashion."              

 

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House passes several budget-related appropriations

 

In The state House this week passed and sent to the Senate several budget-related bills H.B.s 1419-1425, known as non-preferred appropriations.

This includes appropriations from the Public School Employees' Retirement Fund to provide for expenses of the Public School Employees' Retirement Board for the fiscal year July 1, 2009, to June 30, 2010 ($43.2 million), and for the payment of bills incurred and remaining unpaid at the close of the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009; from the State Employees' Retirement Fund to provide for expenses of the State Employees' Retirement Board for the fiscal year July 1, 2009, to June 30, 2010, and for the payment of bills incurred and remaining unpaid at the close of the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009; from the Professional Licensure Augmentation Account and from restricted revenue accounts within the General Fund to the Department of State for use by the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs in support of the professional licensure boards assigned thereto ($45.7 million); from the Compensation Administration Fund to the Department of Labor and Industry and the Department of Community and Economic Development to provide for the expenses of administering the Workers' Compensation Act, The Pennsylvania Occupational Disease Act and the Office of Small Business Advocate for the fiscal year July 1, 2009, to June 30, 2010, and for the payment of bills incurred and remaining unpaid at the close of the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009 ($72.2 million); from a restricted revenue account within the General Fund and from federal augmentation funds to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission of $52.5 million in state funds and $3.2 million in federal funds; from a restricted revenue account within the General Fund to the Office of Consumer Advocate in the Office of Attorney General ($5.1 million); and from a restricted revenue account within the General Fund to the Office of Small Business Advocate in the Department of Community and Economic Development ($1 million).

 

 

COMMITTEE ACTION

 

Education Committee approves omnibus school code bill for 2009-10

 

State Rep. James Roebuck, D-Phila., said the House Education Committee has approved an education code bill as part of the 2009-10 state budget process.

 

Roebuck's bill (H.B. 11) includes a long list of provisions related to school district funding, teacher training, higher education and many other education policy matters. Roebuck said the bill, which includes language from various other pieces of pre-existing legislation, is an integral part of the annual budget process.

 

"Each year, we must pass school code legislation along with the state budget," Roebuck said. "This year we are jumpstarting that process with an omnibus bill of rather unique scale - House Bill 11 -- which ought to help get us moving negotiations along toward a final school code bill."

 

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House committee advances Solobay's public safety bill

 

State Rep. Tim Solobay's bill that would improve public safety was approved by the House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee. House Bill 1789 would require cell phone companies to collect 911 fees on prepaid wireless services at the point of sale to help fund operations of the state's emergency responders.

 

"The popularity of prepaid wireless cell phones is threatening the state's emergency responders' ability to effectively safeguard our residents because there is no formula for collecting the 911 surcharge attached to cell phone service," said Solobay, D-Washington. "My bill would create a prepaid point of sale that would provide a simple and consistent way to collect the fees on the sale of prepaid wireless services."

 

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Committee approves bill to protect public servants from ID theft

 

State Rep. Mike Hanna, D-Clinton/Centre, announced that legislation he sponsored to protect the private information of public servants was voted out of the State Government committee last week.  The bill (H.B. 1667) would amend the current Right-to-Know law to remove public officials' birthdates from any public record that is released to the public.

 

"Since the names and W-2 forms of most public officials are available to the public under the current Right-to-Know law, I and my colleagues felt that this bill was necessary to protect against identity theft," Hanna said. "I will continue to work with the Office of Public Records to see that this proposal is adopted."

 

-- Visit www.pahouse.com/Hanna.

 

Committee clears resolution for program at Valley Forge Military College

 

State Rep. Paul Drucker, D-Chester/Montgomery, said that his resolution (H.R. 424) that would create a legislative appointment initiative program at Valley Forge Military College was approved by the House Education Committee.

 

Under the program, every Pennsylvania state senator and state representative would be authorized to appoint one qualified student to the freshman class of Valley Forge each year. The resolution would also designate Valley Forge Military College as the official military college of Pennsylvania.

 

"At no additional cost to taxpayers, Valley Forge has graciously offered to fund this program that will help hundreds of Pennsylvania students achieve higher education," Drucker said.

 

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