An update of recent legislative activity by
Pennsylvania House Democrats

March 2, 2007

 

Speaker's panel recommends House reforms

 

The Speaker's Commission on Legislative Reform, co-chaired by Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-Montgomery, has voted to recommend to the full House more than 30 rules changes designed to make operations in the House more open and accountable to the people.

 

Included among the 30 proposals are rules that would:

o       prevent votes from occurring between 11 p.m. and 8 a.m.;

o       allow public inspection of all House expenditures;

o       require spending records to be provided in searchable electronic form;

o       prevent lawmakers from "ghost voting" -- having votes recorded when they aren't in the hall of the House;

o       prevent lawmakers from using private dealers for taxpayer-funded car leases;

o       require committee votes and transcripts of committee testimony to be posted online;

o       prevent legislators from establishing nonprofit organizations specifically to collect and disburse state money in their legislative districts.

 

The commission will present its recommendations to the speaker of the House by March 12, after which the House will vote to adopt permanent rules for the 2007-08 session.  

 

"The Speaker's Commission on Reform and the actions taken here show that we can change business as usual in Harrisburg," Shapiro said. "Giving the public access to how their money is spent will give them confidence in how the House operates."

 

-- Please click here to read more.

 

 

House committees ask tough questions
about snow removal

 

An unprecedented joint bipartisan hearing of the House Policy, Transportation and Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness committees held a hearing in Harrisburg to seek answers from officials about the state's much-maligned response to the Valentine's Day snowstorm.

 

The hearing featured testimony from the heads of the state police, Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, state Department of Transportation, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and the adjutant general of the Pennsylvania National Guard. The hearing also included testimony from Maryland officials who offered their take on how that state handled its road conditions.

 

A special Web site has been established to allow Pennsylvania residents to submit comments and testimony about the storm and the state's response to it. The Web site is at www.pahouse.com/stormfeedback.

 

"When the best thing you can say is 'at least nobody died while sitting stuck on an interstate because of these mistakes,' that's not the standard Pennsylvania's officials should be happy with," Majority Policy Committee Chairman Todd Eachus said. "We have to do everything possible to make sure the mistakes made during this storm are never repeated again, and that means we need to closely examine the communication breakdowns that put lives at risk."

 

"Pennsylvania was doused with a particularly debilitating concoction of snow, sleet and freezing rain that paralyzed three of our major roadways," Transportation Committee Chairman Joe Markosek said. "Without pointing fingers, we need to evaluate what happened with regard to preparation, response, technology, reporting and public communications so when the next storm of this nature hits the Commonwealth, travelers on Pennsylvania's highways will have a better level of comfort and information."

 

-- Please click here to read more.

 

 

Roebuck reintroduces bill to combat drop-out rate

 

Rep. James Roebuck, D-Phila., has reintroduced legislation (H.B. 120) that would require school districts to hold exit interviews with students dropping out or withdrawing from school, or who are absent without excuse for more than 10 days, and report their findings to the state Education Department.

 

The interviews would provide an opportunity to convince a student to stay in school and to gather more comprehensive information about what is causing many students in Pennsylvania to drop out or miss school.

 

"Currently, the Education Department receives the basic statistics from districts about students who drop out or who are chronically absent, such as their age and grade level, but they don't tell us what the motivation is behind the action," Roebuck said. "With a more complete picture, educators can develop strategies to avert dropping out and motivate those students to stay in school and attain their diploma, which certainly is in the best interest of the student and the community at large."

 

-- Please click here to read more.

 

 

Belfanti introduces bill to require sprinklers in care facilities

 

Nursing homes, veterans' homes, assisted living centers, personal care homes and other facilities where care-dependent senior citizens and others are cared for would have to be equipped with automatic sprinklers and other fire safety systems under legislation introduced by Rep. Robert E. Belfanti Jr., D-Northumberland/Montour/Columbia.

 

The bill (H.B. 203) would require facilities to be equipped with automatic sprinkler systems, automatic and manual fire alarms that transmit a signal to the fire department when activated, and cell phones or other forms of emergency communication on each floor or in each wing of a facility for use only during emergencies. The legislation also would create a revolving loan fund to help personal care homes and other facilities covered by the legislation to pay for the installation of sprinklers and other fire safety systems.

 

"Many personal care homes and other places where our elderly are cared for are not presently required to have sprinklers or other fire suppression and safety systems," Belfanti said. "In addition to saving property and saving lives, this legislation would likely reduce insurance rates for many personal care homes in Pennsylvania. In the long term, it would mean savings for both the owners and operators of these facilities, and the patients and their families."

 

-- Please click here to read more.

 

 

Sturla bill would permit municipal wireless Internet systems

 

Rep. Mike Sturla, D-Lancaster, has introduced a bill (H.B. 327) that would allow municipalities and their authorities to develop wireless Internet access systems within their communities. Hundreds of municipalities throughout the country are in the process of developing municipal wireless Internet systems. Philadelphia, Kutztown, Wilkes-Barre and a few other Pennsylvania municipalities are also implementing wireless Internet systems because they were already in the planning stages before Act 183 was passed in 2004, which essentially ended municipalities' ability to build these systems.

 

"My bill would empower municipalities to establish municipal wireless Internet systems and keep their communities in line with technological advances," Sturla said. "The municipalities' main goal would be to provide low-cost, dependable Internet access to all their residents and businesses. With a few municipalities in Pennsylvania already 'grandfathered' to create these wireless Internet systems, we should allow other municipalities to utilize this technology to be fair."

 

-- Please click here to read more.

 

 

Sturla introduces Adopt-A-River legislation

 

Rep. Mike Sturla, D-Lancaster, has introduced a bill (H.B. 328) that would establish an Adopt-A-River Program to help restore Pennsylvania's rivers, spark interest in volunteerism and conserve natural resources.

 

Under Sturla's bill, the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources would administer the Adopt-A-River Program and provide trash bags, safety information and assistance to volunteer groups. The legislation would allocate $1 million to DCNR for the program. The bill has been referred to the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee.

 

"My Adopt-A-River program would assign each individual or group to a specific river or stream segment of their choice, if possible," Sturla said. "The volunteers would then have to remove litter from their assigned area at least twice a year for two years. This is a great way for people to take care of their local rivers while also improving Pennsylvania's environment. The Adopt-A-River Program would perfectly complement the limited Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's Adopt-A-Stream Program, which is designed to expand the fish habitat, angling, boating and aesthetic values of Commonwealth waters."

 

-- Please click here to read more.

 

 

Cohen introduces bill package to prevent
abuses in health insurance

 

Rep. Mark Cohen, D-Phila., has introduced bills that would address potential abuses by health insurance companies.

 

Cohen's first bill (H.B. 509) would ban companies from requiring customers to use mail-order prescriptions and would prohibit companies from establishing penalties for people refusing to switch to mail-order prescriptions. A second bill (H.B. 510) would prohibit unfair discrimination in reimbursement rates. A third bill (H.B. 511) would prohibit companies from discriminating on the basis of an insured person's gender, and a final measure (H.B. 512) would combine all three proposals in one bill.

 

"Lawmakers have a responsibility to establish protections for consumers against potential abuses by insurance companies," Cohen said. "Our constituents have a right to know they will not be discriminated against when it comes to health care and that they will not be forced to use drugs from a source they are not interested in using."

 

-- Please click here to read more.

 

 

Grucela reintroduces bill to allow some
17-year-olds to vote in primaries

 

Rep. Rich Grucela, D-Northampton, has introduced a bill that would allow 17-year-olds to register and vote in primary elections in Pennsylvania if they will be 18 by the time of the succeeding general election.

 

Current law excludes voters who turn 18 between the primary and general election from helping to determine in the primary election the candidates they will later vote for in the general election. The bill (H.B. 520) would allow 18-year-olds who will be first eligible to vote in a general election to also vote in the primary election preceding it.  

 

"My hope is that this bill will encourage young people to be active participants in the election process and instill the desire to determine their future through responsible voting," Grucela said. "Responsible voting includes deciding who best represents their party and interests in an election."

 

-- Please click here to read more.

 

 

Eachus calls for tougher penalties for adults
who provide alcohol to minors

 

Rep. Todd Eachus, D-Luzerne, has introduced legislation that would sharply increase penalties for adults who provide alcohol to minors when injuries are caused due to the minor's consumption of alcohol.

 

The legislation (H.B. 570) would set a graduated scale for penalties based on the level of injuries: if a minor suffers bodily injury or causes another person to suffer bodily injury as a result of consuming alcohol, the person who provided the alcohol would face a second-degree misdemeanor charge. Serious bodily injury would result in a first-degree misdemeanor charge. A fatality would result in a third-degree felony charge.

 

"There's a reason the legal drinking age is 21," Eachus said. "An underage person is already breaking the law and probably isn't considering all the possible consequences of drinking, like causing injuries or even death to themselves or others. It's clearly not enough to just say 'the person of legal drinking age should know better,' because we still see incident after incident where underage drinkers are involved in car accidents or assaults."

 

-- Please click here to read more.

 

 

Wojnaroski introduces two bills to help
military members and their families

 

Rep. Edward Wojnaroski Sr., D-Cambria, has introduced two bills designed to help Pennsylvanians serving in the military and their families.

 

The first bill (H.B. 571) would require employers to extend health insurance and other benefits for six months to employees called to active military duty. The second bill (H.B. 572) would exempt from the state's inheritance tax any property inherited from military personnel who died in combat since Sept. 11, 2001.

 

"The men and women of the armed forces selflessly put themselves in great danger to protect our country," Wojnaroski said. "These pieces of legislation would help demonstrate the high regard in which we hold them for their service."

 

-- Please click here to read more.

 

 

Cohen bill would publicize companies
that don't offer health insurance

 

Rep. Mark Cohen, D-Phila., has introduced legislation that would require the state to create a report listing large companies that do not offer their employees health-care coverage and an estimate of how much it costs taxpayers to provide care for those uninsured workers.  

 

Cohen's bill (H.B. 613) would apply to employers that have 50 or more uninsured workers. The report would include the name and address of the company, the number of uninsured employees, the number of employees' spouses and dependents, and the cost to the state to cover health access program benefits for those employees and their enrolled dependents.

 

"It is unfair for taxpayers to keep footing the bill for employers who do not offer health insurance," Cohen said. "It is equally unfair to the employers who do their part and offer health coverage."

 

-- Please click here to read more.

 

 

King working to eliminate post-election legislative sessions

 

Rep. Chris King, D-Bucks is introducing a resolution that would amend House rules to require the final adjournment of the state House of Representatives' 2007-08 legislative session to be no later than Monday, Nov. 3, 2008.

 

That would block a controversial "lame duck" legislative session during which lawmakers who retire or are voted out off office in the November 2008 general election would still have the opportunity to vote on important legislation. The Pennsylvania constitution designates Nov. 30 as the end of the legislative session; in past sessions, the legislature has voted on important bills between the November general election and Nov. 30.

 

"With the tremendous turnover and so many incumbent lawmakers unseated in the legislature last year, it is disturbing that even once the voters had expressed their dissatisfaction with their representation, those ousted or retiring could continue to vote on some of the state's most important issues," King said. "Lame-duck voting is an infamous practice that ought to be ended."

 

-- Please click here to read more.

 

 

Casorio to reintroduce Senior Alert legislation

 

Rep. James E. Casorio Jr., D-Westmoreland, is preparing to reintroduce legislation (H.B. 2406 from the 2005-06 legislative session) that would create a Senior Alert system in Pennsylvania, similar to the Amber Alert system, to quickly inform law enforcement and the public when senior citizens or other care-dependent adults are missing.

 

The bill would require the state police to create an alert system to notify local law enforcement, the media and public of missing, medically endangered adults, and to facilitate the quick launch of a coordinated search for those adults. The bill would also include penalties for people who make false reports of missing seniors and a "good Samaritan" clause to protect members of the public and the media from civil liability when activating and participating in a Senior Alert search in good faith.

 

"A quick, coordinated response is the key to locating missing people in those crucial first few hours," Casorio said. "We've seen in countless cases how the Amber Alert system facilitates an effective and immediate response by law enforcement, the media and the public. It's made a huge difference in the case of many missing children, and the same kind of system should be in place to protect our senior citizens and other care-dependent adults in cases where they are missing or lost." 

 

-- Please click here to read more.

 

 

Kirkland seeks to expunge minor felonies
from criminal records

 

Rep. Thaddeus Kirkland, D-Delaware, will reintroduce legislation that would expunge minor felonies from people's criminal records in Pennsylvania 18 months after all conditions and penalties of their sentences have been completed. The legislation would exclude major felonies, including but not limited to sexual assault, rape and murder.

 

"When people have committed crimes at a young age but have now bettered their lives and education levels, they can be well on their way to leading productive lives," Kirkland said. "I want to correct the injustice brought on when citizens are barred from jobs because of things that happened when they were young and foolish."

 

-- Please click here to read more.