An
update of recent legislative activity by
Pennsylvania House Democrats
Feb. 2, 2007
House adopts improved temporary rules
The state House of Representatives this week adopted
improved temporary rules authored by Majority
Leader Bill DeWeese and Whip Keith
McCall. The temporary rules create a new House standing committee to oversee
Pennsylvania's slots industry and a subcommittee dedicated to special education,
and allow for additional minority party representation on all House committees.
The temporary rules also include a requirement that members
to be present on the floor of the House in order for their vote to be recorded
and make other technical changes and updates. The temporary rules will be used
until March 14 at the latest, when substantive changes to permanent House rules
are expected to be put in place based on recommendations from the bipartisan
Speaker's Commission on Legislative Reform.
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Preston wants incentives for purchase
of
environmentally friendly vehicles
Rep. Joseph
Preston, D-Allegheny, plans to introduce two bills that would provide
valuable incentives to car buyers when they purchase Hybrid Electric Vehicles
and other environmentally friendly automobiles in Pennsylvania.
The first proposal would exempt HEVs from the annual state
emission inspection requirement. The second bill would provide a sales tax
exemption to people who purchase HEVs, electric vehicles and zero-emission
vehicles.
"The Hybrid Electric Vehicle
presents a great opportunity for both emission reduction and fuel economy
improvements," Preston said.
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Shimkus bill would down pigeon shoots for
good
Organized pigeon shoots would become a thing of the past
in Pennsylvania under a bill being introduced by Rep. Frank Andrews Shimkus,
D-Lackawanna, that would ban the shoots. Shimkus emphasized that the ban on
organized live pigeon shoots would not apply to dog training or other shooting
or hunting activities.
"Pigeon shoots have nothing to do
with hunting and could easily be replaced by clay pigeon shoots," Shimkus said.
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Cohen legislation calls for
fire extinguishers
on school buses
Rep. Mark Cohen,
D-Phila., will introduce legislation that would require a fire extinguisher to
be present on all school buses in the state.
"In recent years, schools have
implemented an increasing number of security measures on their campuses," Cohen
said. "However, less has been done regarding getting our children to and from
school safely."
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Readshaw proposes landowner liability protection
bill
Rep. Harry
Readshaw, D-Allegheny, has introduced legislation that would protect
landowners from liability for the actions of others they allow to use their
property for such activities as hunting and fishing.
The legislation (H.B.
13) was introduced in response to a judge's ruling that a property owner
was partially liable for a hunter's errant shot on his property that struck
another person. Without liability protection, owners of private property who
allow hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities on their property may
become reluctant to do so.
"Without this protection for
landowners, one can easily foresee a disaster for hunting and fishing in Pennsylvania," Readshaw said.
"Not only would it deprive hundreds of thousands of people from experiencing
such traditional outdoor recreation, it would devastate hunting- and
fishing-related businesses and put thousands of jobs at risk."
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Grucela wants developers to chip in for
local schools
Rep. Rich Grucela,
D-Northampton, is reintroducing legislation that would address rapidly
expanding residential developments and their impact on school districts' funds
for educational programs.
The legislation would allow school districts to impose
education impact fees on new residential development. The fees would enable a
school district to develop programs and facilities necessary to accommodate
increased student enrollment due to new housing developments in the
district.
"Impact fees for developers are
long overdue," Grucela said. "New housing developments are increasingly
sprouting up across the state, particularly in Northampton County, without any consideration of the strain school districts will bear to educate more
children. It's time to help growing school districts with some revenues to
offset growth expenditures they are incurring."
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Mahoney wants to enhance access to public
records
Rep. Tim Mahoney,
D-Fayette, plans to introduce legislation that would give Pennsylvania
residents increased access to public records and create a new state agency to
help the public access those records.
The bill also would develop a new appeals process to reduce
the number of records requests currently being ignored or denied, and provide
for the use of new forms of communication and technology in giving the public
access to government records.
"I think we have all heard loud
and clear from the public that they are tired of going through mazes when
trying to locate specific files of elected officials who they voted into
office," Mahoney said. "The free and unfettered flow of information between our
state government and the citizens and taxpayers is a fundamental pillar of our
democracy. We must usher in a new era of open government in Pennsylvania."
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DePasquale to introduce legislation
promoting use of fuel-efficient vehicles
Rep. Eugene
DePasquale, D-York, will introduce legislation that would promote fuel
efficiency and encourage the use of hybrids, alternative-fuel vehicles and
other fuel-efficient automobiles.
Two of the measures would provide sales tax exemptions for
the purchase of hybrids and other fuel-efficient vehicles. Another bill
would mandate that at least 50 percent of all vehicles procured by state
agencies and state officials be hybrids, alternative-fuel vehicles or an
automobile that gets at least 45 miles per gallon.
"If the state expects its citizens
to be environmentally conscious, or to reduce their energy consumption, then it
must lead by example," DePasquale said. "I was very disappointed to learn that
there were very few hybrids or alternative-fuel options when I joined the state
fleet vehicle program. In fact, there was only one hybrid available, which I was
able to secure. However, other members wanted to participate as well and were
unable to due to a lack of availability."
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Sainato wants to further punish animal
abusers
Rep. Chris
Sainato, D- Lawrence/Beaver, will soon introduce legislation that would
increase fines and penalties for people convicted of animal cruelty.
Sainato's proposal would increase the minimum fine from
$1,000 to $2,500 and increase the required prison sentence from two years to up
to five years. In addition, Sainato plans to introduce legislation that would
require people convicted of animal cruelty to undergo a psychological
evaluation in an effort to prevent further violent behavior.
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Bishop bill would encourage employers to pay
for child care
Rep. Louise
Williams Bishop, D-Phila., has introduced legislation that would give tax
breaks to businesses that reimburse workers for preschool child-care services.
Bishop's proposal (H.B.
139) would compensate employers with a tax incentive if they pay for child
care for workers' children. The measure would give tax reductions to businesses
that pay for off-site day-care or child care provided at the workplace.
"When an employer pays for
child-care services, employees often feel more secure in their jobs and have
less of a tendency to leave the companies," Bishop said. "The employers are
also benefiting by paying less taxes, and they gain employee loyalty. It's a
win-win situation for everyone."
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DeLuca plans bill to protect medical
whistleblowers from retaliation
Rep. Tony DeLuca,
D-Allegheny, will again introduce legislation that would protect hospital
whistleblowers from employer retaliation if they report unsafe or dangerous
conditions to a state agency for possible investigation.
The proposal by DeLuca, majority chairman of the House
Insurance Committee, would allow health-care employees to call a toll-free
telephone number and report incidents to the state's Patient Safety Authority,
which could impose fines on hospitals for hazardous hospital conditions that
may put patients in jeopardy.
"In some cases, hospital officials
have been known to get even with employees who reported dangerous patient
conditions," DeLuca said. "We have to change the law to enable doctors, nurses
and other health-care professionals to confidentially report problems
pertaining to patients' care and not fear losing their jobs."
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Vitali unveils global warming bill
Rep. Greg Vitali,
D-Delaware, introduced legislation that would require Pennsylvania to take
action on measuring and reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. Vitali, along
with state Sen. Ted Erickson, R-Delaware/Chester, and more than a dozen House
and Senate members, held a news conference announcing support of the measure.
Erickson introduced a similar bill in the state Senate.
Vitali's legislation (H.B.
110) would require Pennsylvania to do four things: inventory the greenhouse
gas emissions of various economic sectors in the state; create a voluntary
greenhouse gas registry; develop and publish a global warming impact statement
for Pennsylvania; and develop an action plan for reducing greenhouse gas
emissions in the state.
"Climate change is the most
important environmental problem facing our planet," Vitali said. "Pennsylvania alone produces about 1 percent of the world's
greenhouse gasses, which is a significant contributor to global warming. So, in
essence, Pennsylvania has a responsibility to do more as far as reducing its
carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions."
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