The House and Senate return to Harrisburg this week following the Passover/Easter break. They will be in session Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, April 28-April 30, and back the following week of May 4, before breaking until after the Primary Election on May 20.
In committee next week expect to see the consideration of legislation concerning cash gifts for legislators, credit unions, coal-fire plant deactivation, variable electric rates, epi-pens on school buses and property taxes. There will also be informational meetings on Pennsylvanians who lack health insurance and Internet gaming. The IRRC meeting, scheduled for Thursday, May 1 will address new regulations related to the oil and gas industry.
Here’s the breakdown:
On Monday the Senate State Government Committee will hold a public hearing on legislation, which would ban legislators accepting cash gifts from lobbyists, principals, consultants and others who seek to influence the legislative process. In the House, the Human Services Committee will hold an informational hearing on Pennsylvanians who lack health insurance coverage. This meeting will be broadcasted.
Monday is also the PA Bankers Association’s “Bankers Day” at the Capitol. Riverlife and their waterfront development partners focused on public access to the waterways, will kick off two days of events. Among Riverlife’s efforts is support for S.B. 968 (Vulakovich, R-Allegheny) and H.B. 1461 (Killion, R-Delaware), which would establish a Waterfront Development Tax Credit as a way to encourage private investment and spur economic development, environmental improvements and public recreational enhancements along waterfront properties throughout the Commonwealth.
Monday’s floor activity could include a vote in the House on H.B. 2110 (Benninghoff, R-Centre), which would permanently reduce the PA Lottery’s minimum rate of return.
On Tuesday the House Commerce Committee will consider H.B. 2009 (Culver, R-Northampton), modernizing and updating the Credit Union Code, which was last amended over 10 years ago. Also, the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee will hold a public hearing to discuss electric retail market practices. Finally, the House could vote on H.B. 2138 (O’Neill, R-Bucks), providing for a new special education funding formula.
Wednesday brings a House Education Committee meeting to consider H.B. 2049 (Simmons, R-Lehigh). The bill would amend the Public School Code to provide for administration of epinephrine auto-injectors by school bus drivers. Additionally, the House Consumer Affairs Committee will hold a voting meeting, which will include H.B. 2030 (Snyder, D-Greene), which would establish the Coal Fired Electric Generation Deactivation Commission. At that same meeting, members will consider H.B.2104 (Godshall, R-Montgomery), which addresses variable rate issues.
The Senate Finance Committee will also meet on Wednesday for an informational hearing on possible amendments to S.B. 76 (Argall, R-Schuylkill) the Property Tax Independent Act, which would eliminate all school property taxes across the state and would replace those taxes with a combination of funding from the Personal Income Tax and the Sales and Use Tax.
The House and Senate won’t be in session on Thursday, but the House Democratic Policy Committee will hold a hearing on Internet gaming and the IRRC will consider a Public Utility Commission regulation regarding the licensing requirements for natural gas suppliers and an Environmental Quality Board regulation on oil and gas well fee amendments.
For more information about the week ahead, please contact Lauren Orazi at lauren.orazi@bipc.com. Be sure to follow @BuchananGOV on Twitter for breaking information throughout the week.