An update of recent legislative activity by
Pennsylvania House Democrats

May 4, 2007

 

House passes Ramaley bill that would give returning soldiers a helping hand in getting back into the workforce

 

Pennsylvanians on the front line of defense would be at the front of the line for job training opportunities under legislation passed by the House. House Bill 331, sponsored by Rep. Sean Ramaley, D-Beaver/Allegheny, would give Pennsylvania National Guard members, Reservists -- and their spouses during activation -- preferential treatment in state job-training programs.

 

"Too often we hear about National Guard members and reservists coming back from active duty and losing their homes to foreclosure or having other financial difficulties, which they experience from being away from their jobs during their time of service," Ramaley said. "What this bill would do is allow our service personnel to fit back into the economy when they return from service, or enable their spouses to receive retraining opportunities while their loved ones are defending our freedom."

 

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Grucela's school police training bill heads to full House

 

Rep. Rich Grucela, D-Northampton, said two of his measures that would improve the regulation and training of school safety personnel are now set to go before the full House for consideration.

 

Grucela has introduced legislation (H.B. 768) that would specify training required for school police officers and provide a state reimbursement to school districts for that training. His second measure (H.B. 769) would define the roles and responsibilities of school security officers, school police officers and school resource officers, and require specific training for all three groups.

 

"Protecting our children is a tremendous responsibility," Grucela said. "Though all of us wish that police were not needed in schools, their presence brings order and security to students and their parents. Sadly, the tragic situation at Virginia Tech has been a cruel reminder of how imperative it is for our police to be adequately trained to respond to those kinds of catastrophic situations."

 

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Readshaw amends landowner liability to speed passage

 

Rep. Harry Readshaw, D-Allegheny, said the way appears cleared for action soon on his legislation to correct deficiencies in the state's landowner liability law.

 

Readshaw said he sponsored an amendment to his legislation (H.B. 13) as it was being considered last week by the House Game and Fisheries Committee that sharpens the focus of the bill to cover landowner liability related to hunting activities, trimming out other uses such as fishing, hiking and snowmobiling. The amended version now goes to the full House for consideration.

   
"My amendment narrows the bill to address the one recreational use that was the subject of the Haas Case, hunting," said Readshaw. "Fishing, hiking and snowmobiling aren't activities that are going to cause bodily injury to someone a half-mile off the property."

   

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Harhai proposal to provide tax credits approved by committee

 

The state House Finance Committee has approved legislation introduced by Rep. Ted Harhai that would expand the Neighborhood Assistance Tax Credit program to include some corporations that currently are prohibited from participating.

 

Harhai's bill (H.B. 518) would allow small businesses with Personal Income Tax liability commonly referred to as S corporations, limited liability companies and partnerships to participate in the program. The bill also would increase the tax credit rates and the caps on tax credits.

 

"This kind of tax benefit can help encourage both large and small businesses to provide the financial backing to nonprofit neighborhood organizations providing education, job training, crime prevention or neighborhood assistance," Harhai said, "Only about one-third of the available tax credits are being used so this is an effort to expand participation."

    

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Cohen seeks to ease ex-offender transition to the community, reduce recidivism

 

Rep. Mark Cohen, D-Phila., has introduced a measure that would help ease the transition of ex-offenders back into their communities and help them market their skills.

 

The bill (H.B. 1174) would require a prison to provide an offender with verification of his or her prison work history, and documentation of all the education and treatment programs completed while in custody, shortly before release. The prison also would help the offender obtain valid identification before being released.

    

"If people have a way to support themselves -- something to occupy their time -- something to take pride in, they have less need to turn to crime," Cohen said. "My measure would help people get on the right track toward a more positive future."

 

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Shapiro bill to prevent domestic violence

 

Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-Montgomery, and Rep. Glen Grell, R-Cumberland, are sponsoring legislation aimed at helping prevent domestic violence in Pennsylvania.

  

The legislation would establish a statewide advisory board and optional local teams to examine domestic violence-related fatalities. The legislation would enable local teams to have access to records and information necessary to examine the circumstances surrounding these deaths, while ensuring the confidentiality of all records.

 

"It is critical that we learn from these tragic deaths so we can prevent them in the future, and work towards ending domestic violence," Shapiro said.

 

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Caltagirone pushes for equal responsibility of operating costs of community colleges

 

Every year, the operating costs of many colleges increase faster than inflation. At community colleges, figuring out who will make up the difference when prices rise is often a struggle.

 

Rep. Tom Caltagirone is reintroducing legislation that would divide the operating costs of community colleges equally between the state, the students and the school's local sponsor, which could include school districts, cities and counties.

 

"If the students alone had to pay for the annual increases, many would not be able to afford community college at all. If it were the school itself and local sponsors who had to pay the entire increase, cuts might have to be made in other vital areas. The state can't afford to pick up the whole tab either. My legislation is the fairest way to ensure that our community colleges keep running and having the burden shared fairly," said Caltagirone, D-Berks.

   

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Gibbons pursues establishing a resource restoration program

 

Rep. Jaret Gibbons is calling on the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority and the Department of Environmental Protection to examine the possibility of a waste resource restoration sponsor program in the state.

 

Under such a program, a loan recipient could reduce the amount of money owed if it sponsors an approved restoration project.

 

"I believe such a program would be beneficial in Pennsylvania by generating additional funding for stream and wetland preservation, as well as providing further protection to the environment as a whole," Gibbons said.

 

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Gibbons wants to quiet loud noise from vehicles

 

Rep. Jaret Gibbons, D-Beaver/Butler/Lawrence, is proposing legislation that would make the use of loud amplification systems illegal in motor vehicles.

 

"If the noise, be it music or exhaust systems, can be heard from more than 50 feet away from any motor vehicle, whether it's moving or parked, it is an annoyance to the public," Gibbons said. "And, it's a hazardous distraction that not only can cause a lapse in concentration, but also make it hard to hear the sirens of emergency vehicles."

   

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Sturla bill would end inequity of state police fines' revenue to municipalities

 

Rep. Mike Sturla, D-Lancaster, has introduced a bill (H.B. 1070) that would bring fairness to the collection of fine monies in situations involving state police actions.

 

Under Sturla's proposal, the state police fine monies would be returned to a municipality if that municipality provides local police services through a municipal police department, participation in a regional police department, or contracts with other municipal or regional police for police services.

 

"Currently, municipalities that do not pay for police services and rely solely on the state police for coverage are benefiting from revenue collected from state police citations in their area. Meanwhile, other municipalities have to use these funds to offset costs associated with their own police services," Sturla said. "Why should we be rewarding municipalities who do not have police forces? My legislation would correct this inequality by removing their right to receive these funds."

   

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Wansacz introduces plan to regulate payment rates for nursing homes

 

Rep. Jim Wansacz has introduced legislation (H.B. 1162) that would change a 2005 law allowing the state Department of Public Welfare to set its own reimbursement rates for nursing homes without being subject to the regulatory review process. The bill would direct DPW to revert to the rate-setting methodology it used prior to 2005.

 

"Without a regulatory review, payments have been reduced and capped to nursing facilities, proving costly for the nursing homes responsible for the care of some of our state's most vulnerable residents," Wansacz said. "I think it is the responsibility of the legislature to ensure that these homes have the resources they need to care for our seniors."

 

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Seip wants raffles for lifetime hunting and fishing licenses

 

Rep. Tim Seip, D-Schuylkill/Berks, will soon introduce two bills that would provide hunters and anglers with the chance to win lifetime hunting and fishing licenses. People could buy tickets for the drawings that would select two winners for the respective lifetime licenses.

 

"The Game Commission and the Fish and Boat Commission rely heavily on license purchases to fund their operating budgets. Both agencies are self-sustaining, a rare situation in Pennsylvania. I believe that this legislation would relieve some of the commissions' financial burden by providing them with another important source of revenue," Seip said.

  

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Gibbons taking steps to modernize Uniform Commercial Code

  

Rep. Jaret Gibbons, D- Lawrence/Beaver/Butler, has introduced legislation (H.B. 1152) that would update the Uniform Commercial Code to account for the use of e-documentation. The purpose of the UCC is to simplify, clarify and make business transactions more uniform.

 

"Currently, written documentation takes the forefront when it comes to the UCC. This is a strong deterrent for any forms of e-documentation, the Internet and e-mail," Gibbons said. "As it is now, the law is slowing down the process by which we get out information. I intend to change that and bring businesses up to date as they are in many other states."

   

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