An update of recent legislative activity by Pennsylvania House Democrats

Nov. 2, 2007

PASSED BY THE HOUSE

House passes Vitali global warming bill

 

The state House of Representatives today passed a measure sponsored by Rep. Greg Vitali, D-Delaware, that would require Pennsylvania to take action on measuring and reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. This is the first-ever bill advanced by the legislature directly addressing global warming. Vitali's bill (H.B. 110) would require the state to take a broad look at the issue of global warming by doing the following: 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.

 

“This bill, which has enjoyed broad bipartisan support, would provide a detailed and organized action plan for dealing with the impact of global warming and climate change, and set greenhouse gas standards and a timetable to achieve goals to reduce the state's contribution to the problem. It is critical for the state to begin formulating a plan right away,” Vitali said.

 

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Kortz bill for custodial rights of grandparents passes House 

 

Rep. Bill Kortz, D-Allegheny, announced his bill that would give grandparents standing to seek custody of a child who is removed from his or her parents or another guardian passed the House this week on a 181-11 vote. Kortz's bill (H.B. 1548) would require courts to give consideration to grandparents who are willing to take custody of a child when the court determines that temporary or permanent legal custody must be given to someone other than the child's parents or a current guardian or custodian.

 

“Grandparents have a special relationship with their grandchildren,” Kortz said. “And it's for that reason that a child who can no longer live with the parent or guardian be placed in the custody of a grandparent. This bill would ensure that families are kept intact by countering the tearing apart of the family that already is occurring.”

 

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Harhai bill to clarify township supervisor law passed in state House

 

Rep. Ted Harhai, D-Westmoreland/Fayette, said the state House of Representatives has unanimously approved a bill he authored to clarify Pennsylvania's Second Class Township Code. Current law is vague in terms of what other appointed positions township supervisors are allowed to hold during a term as supervisor. Harhai's legislation (H.B. 1801) would clarify that a township supervisor may not hold an appointed township office that is prohibited by the township code or any other act. Those positions include but are not limited to: township manager, township police officer, zoning officer, zoning hearing board member, school board director and any county elected office.

 

“Clarification of the township code could prevent problems or even costly litigation down the road,” Harhai said. “This bill would make changes to spell out exactly which positions can or cannot be held while also serving as a township supervisor.”

 

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Youngblood proposal strengthening counterfeiting laws passes House

 

Legislation introduced by Rep. Rosita Youngblood, D-Phila., that would strengthen existing law regarding counterfeit consumer goods and services passed the state House this week. Youngblood said the proposal (H.B. 523) would specifically increase penalties for counterfeiting and expand the definition of the crime. She said some of the consumer products affected by the legislation include prescription drugs and other medicines, medical equipment, electrical products, airline and auto parts, beauty products, clothing, candy bars and computer software.

 

“By passing this measure, we are one step closer to sending a strong, clear message that counterfeiting will not be tolerated in Pennsylvania,” Youngblood said. “Counterfeit products are not harmless; they have infiltrated markets for almost every consumer good imaginable, and they threaten our economy, health and safety.”

 

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Cruz proposal to ban sale of expired food, other outdated goods passes House

 

A proposal introduced by Rep. Angel Cruz, D-Phila., that would ban the sale of outdated and expired food, nonprescription drugs and cosmetics in Pennsylvania

 passed the House this week. The proposal was amended into another bill (H.B. 523) that would strengthen existing law regarding counterfeit consumer goods and services.

 

“Selling outdated goods, especially with regard to food, medicine, cosmetics and baby formula, could harm consumers who are entrusting store owners to sell them quality and fresh products,” Cruz said. “Expiration dates are on products for a reason and store owners should adhere to them.”

 

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House passes Sainato energy services theft bill   

 

Rep. Chris Sainato, D-Lawrence/Beaver, said he is pleased that the Pennsylvania House of Representatives has passed a bill that would impose criminal penalties on people convicted of stealing energy services in Pennsylvania. Sainato said his legislation (H.B. 1716) would add theft of natural gas and propane service, in addition to electricity and telecommunications services, to Pennsylvania's Theft of Services law.

 

“People have died or were injured in fires because of manipulation of electrical wiring and gas lines,” Sainato said. “Pennsylvania needs a stronger law in order to curtail these incidents.”

 

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COMMITTEE ACTION

 

Finance Committee OKs House Democratic property reduction measures

 

The House Finance Committee this week approved two property tax reduction measures sponsored by Finance Committee Chairman David Levdansky, D-Allegheny/Washington, and Majority Leader Bill DeWeese, D-Fayette/Green/Washington, as part of a comprehensive agenda of property tax relief legislation that could be brought up for a vote in the full House of Representatives before the end of November. The Levdansky bill (H.B. 1600) would increase the state's sales tax to 6.5 percent and raise the Personal Income Tax to 3.29 percent to generate about $2.5 billion for property tax cuts. The DeWeese bill (H.B. 1489) would increase the sales tax to 6.5 percent, raising about $1.75 billion per year for tax cuts.

 

“The general reaction from the public has been that the legislature has not gone far enough in its efforts to reduce property taxes through Act 1,” Levdansky said. “My bill would provide school property tax relief to all homeowners and generate school funding revenues from all Pennsylvanians, not just homeowners. Most importantly, the relief provided by the bill would be more immediate and could be disbursed sometime next year.”

 

“For 30 years, we sacrificed the possible while waiting for the perfect. It is my hope that my simple, straightforward bill will continue the debate on what is possible in our effort to cut property taxes,” DeWeese said. “Paired with the anticipated $1 billion in revenue from gaming, this proposal will enable all homeowners to see real, significant and immediate relief.”

 

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Kula proposal to expand role of pharmacists moves to full House

 

A proposal introduced by Rep. Deberah Kula, D-Fayette/Westmoreland, that would expand the role of pharmacists in the management of drug therapy moved one step closer to passage on Wednesday as the House Professional Licensure Committee endorsed the measure. Kula said the committee made a few substantial changes to the legislation (H.B. 1250) before reporting it to the full House of Representatives. She said the changes strongly enhance her original proposal and would provide a significant boost to the services pharmacists will be able to deliver.

 

“The changes made by the committee took into account some of the concerns with my original proposal and I believe that we now have a measure that will allow patients to easily receive assistance with their medications for diseases,” Kula said. “Pharmacists are trained and educated in how drugs work, how they can affect the body and their potential dangers. By allowing them the opportunity to expand their role in the delivery of health care, we would be providing additional access and improving the quality of our health-care system here in Pennsylvania.”

 

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House committee holds hearing on school employee health benefits bill

 

Some form of statewide health benefits plan for teachers and other school employees could save local school districts and taxpayers millions of dollars and reduce teacher strikes, according to supporters of legislation (H.B. 1841) that was the subject of a public hearing held this week by the House Education Committee. The bill, introduced by Rep. Dan Surra, D-Elk/Clearfield, would create a board composed of representatives from state government, local school districts and school employees to study the feasibility of developing a statewide health benefits plan for public school employees, and to create and administer the plan if the board determines it is cost-effective.

 

“The cost of health care is one of the driving forces behind property tax increases and teacher strikes in Pennsylvania,” Surra said. “By taking basic health-care benefits off the bargaining table and out of the local equation, we could substantially lower health-care costs for school districts, reduce teacher strikes and produce huge savings for local taxpayers.”

 

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Caltagirone's bill addressing illegal guns and violence moved out of committee

 

Rep. Tom Caltagirone, D-Berks, said today that legislation (H.B. 1744) he introduced aimed at reducing illegal guns and violence in Pennsylvania was approved by the House Judiciary Committee by a vote of 25-3. The legislation would give the Attorney General's Office the authority to create gun violence task forces in cooperation with local district attorneys; require the Joint State Government Commission to conduct a three-year study of the relationship between multiple handgun purchases and criminal activity; require anyone purchasing a handgun in Pennsylvania to be given notice that the handgun could not be sold to a person who legally may not possess it; and make receiving a stolen firearm a second-degree felony, even for a first offense.

 

“This legislation is a fair and reasonable way to control the illegal guns and violence on our streets without affecting the rights of responsible and legal gun owners,” Caltagirone said. “It is our hope that people with clean police records will be more likely to think twice before purchasing guns on behalf of criminals if they face more serious consequences.”

 

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Manderino bill to improve availability of care for pregnancy and birth sent to full House

 

Rep. Kathy Manderino, D-Phila./Montgomery, said a bill she sponsored that would address the growing problems of availability and access to obstetrical and neonatal care in Pennsylvania was recently approved by the House Health and Human Services Committee. The legislation (H.B. 1514) would provide additional Medical Assistance funding to help support hospitals that serve a significant number of low-income and uninsured obstetrical patients.  

 

“In the past 10 years, 33 hospital obstetrical and neonatal intensive care units in Pennsylvania have made the heart-wrenching decision to close, with more on the verge of closing every day,” Manderino said. “These funds would help keep the obstetrical and neonatal units that we so desperately need up and running.”

 

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BILL INTRODUCTIONS

 

Wansacz introduces plan to fund flood prevention, recovery 

 

Aiming to prevent recurrent floods in northeastern Pennsylvania and help victims recover, state Rep. Jim Wansacz has introduced a plan to generate and provide funding for flood mitigation projects across the state. Wansacz, D-Lackawanna/Luzerne/Susquehanna/Wyoming, introduced legislation this week that would establish the Flood Assistance Program and Fund (H.B. 1989).

 

“Some communities across our state have been devastated repeatedly due to flood waters,” Wansacz said. “It is often the same homes and small businesses over and over again, and sadly a lot of the damage is preventable if we just employed the proper prevention measures in advance of heavy rains.”

 

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Shimkus working to keep closer tabs on child predators

 

In an effort to ensure that children are as well-protected as possible from sexual predators, Rep. Frank Andrews Shimkus, D-Lackawanna, has introduced legislation that would stiffen the registration requirements of Pennsylvania's Megan's Law. Shimkus' legislation (H.B. 1971) would require convicted sexual offenders and sexually violent predators to register with the Pennsylvania State Police at the time of sentencing. Currently, registration occurs at the time of release from prison. The bill has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee.

 

“Megan's Law exists to protect the public, especially our children, from falling prey to sexual predators. But the current system has proven to be problematic in that in some cases offenders are actually being released from prison without registering,” Shimkus said. “My bill would make sure there are no lapses and that all sexual offenders and sexually violent predators are properly registered.”

 

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Siptroth welcomes growing support for separate Veterans Affairs Department

 

Rep. John Siptroth, D-Monroe/Pike, said support is growing for a proposal he has introduced that would establish a separate cabinet-level department to oversee veterans affairs. If the plan is adopted, Pennsylvania would join 18 states that already have a Department of Veterans' Affairs in place to represent their veterans and promote their needs to the federal government. Siptroth's bill (H.B. 344) has the support of more than 50 legislators, from every region and from both parties.

 

“The needs of our military men and women differ greatly from those of our veterans,” Siptroth said. “By creating a new agency, state officials to could address veterans' issues and concerns specifically and more effectively -- a new agency would help give each veteran the attention he or she deserves and assist in properly evaluating his or her respective needs.”

 

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White introduces resolution to study power-of-attorney law in Pa.

 

Rep. Jesse White, D-Washington/Allegheny/Beaver, has introduced a resolution that would provide Pennsylvanians more reassurance when designating someone to have power of attorney. That power can be used by a person's designee when a person is unable to make his or her own decisions about finances or health care, for example. The resolution ((H.R. 484) would direct the Joint State Government Commission to conduct a study and recommend changes to current state law to make it more reflective of the often-complex legal issues that can arise in power-of-attorney cases. The law was last reviewed more than 10 years ago. The commission would report its recommendations to the legislature within 18 months of the adoption of the resolution.

 

“It's long past time for a comprehensive review of the state's power-of-attorney laws so we can make appropriate changes that reflect today's more complicated legal issues,” White said. “We need to revise Pennsylvania law so we can prevent people with questionable motivation from taking advantage of those who trust them to manage their affairs.”

 

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