May 7, 2021
Weekly Wrap
The House of Representatives began their session week on Monday, as the House Commerce Committee held a public hearing to discuss permitting mortgage originators and other employees of licensee to work from remote locations.
On Tuesday, the House Education Committee held a joint public hearing with the House Appropriations Committee on the State System of Higher Education’s implementation plan. Also, the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee reported out H.B. 1144 (Causer, R-McKean), which would establish a statutory framework for regulating the conventional oil and gas industry.
Then, on the House floor, the following bills passed finally and will now be considered by the Senate:
- H.B. 72 (Keefer, R-York), which would establish an enhanced review process for regulations that result in fiscal impact in excess of $1 million;
- H.B. 139 (Rothman, R-Cumberland), which would provide for the administration, tracking, and oversight of permit application by state agencies;
- H.B. 288 (O’Neal, R-Washington), which would require each state agency to appoint a regulatory compliance officer; and
- H.B. 950 (Metcalfe, R-Butler), which would provide for procedures for subsequent review of final-form or final-omitted regulations.
Wednesday, the House Finance Committee held an informational meeting with the Department of Revenue on tax credit reform. In addition, the House Transportation Committee reported out H.B. 722 (Rothman, R-Cumberland), which would increase the maximum gross weight of electric vehicles; and H.B. 948 (Carroll, D-Luzerne), which would eliminate the alternative fuel tax on electricity for noncommercial vehicles and replace it with an annual electric vehicle fee.
The House Health Committee reported out two bills of note: H.B. 958 (Zimmerman, R-Lancaster), which would prevent a health care practitioner from stopping care for a pediatric patient if the parent chooses to utilization a vaccination schedule that varies from the recommendations of the CDC; and H.B. 1257 (Millard, R-Columbia), which would reimburse providers for the costs incurred in storing the COVID-19 vaccine.
Furthermore, the House Commerce Committee reported out:
- H.B. 537 (Ciresi, R-Montgomery), which would establish a small business grant program;
- H.B. 878 (Struzzi, R-Indiana), which would establish a grant program for small businesses within the performing arts, spectator sports, amusement, gambling, and recreation industries; and
- H.B. 977 (Millard, R-Columbia), which would allow restaurants to operate during a declaration of disaster emergency without occupancy or time restrictions.
The following bills passed finally and head to the Senate for consideration:
- H.B. 723 (Mizgorski, R-Allegheny), which would amend the state’s Workforce Development Act to bring it in compliance with federal requirements in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act;
- H.B. 859 (Delozier, R-Cumberland), which would convert the Banking Fund into a trust fund and clarify the use of the Institution Resolution Account; and
- H.B. 938 (Klunk, R-York), which would prohibit point-of-hire nondisclosure agreements relating to sexual harassment.
The Week Ahead
The Senate is in session next week. While the committee meeting schedule is relatively light at the moment, expect more meetings to be added between now and the start of session.
On Monday, the Senate Communications and Technology Committee will hold a public hearing on the expansion of 5G and small cell wireless infrastructure. The committee will meet again on Tuesday for a public hearing on the potential data breach with the Department of Health’s contact tracing vendor.
The House Finance Committee will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, focusing on H.B. 1177 (Kaufer, R-Luzerne), which would require PennDOT pay up to 80% of all fees, costs and expenses which are incident to or arise from obtaining a highway occupancy permit. The Senate State Government Committee will consider H.B. 854 (Ecker, R-Adams), which would require state agencies and contractors to preserve records pertaining to a declaration of disaster emergency for at least 10 years.
Wednesday, the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee and Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee will hold a joint public hearing on S.B. 284 (Yaw, R-Lycoming), which would provide for the bonding for project developers who seek to install or operate commercial wind or solar electric generation and other renewable energy facilities.
A full list of committee meetings can be found here:
In Other News
The Wolf administration announced that COVID-19 mitigation orders except masking will be lifted on Memorial Day, Monday, May 31 at 12:01 AM.
The Department of Revenue released April 2021 collections, which were $28.2 million, or 0.7 percent, more than anticipated.
The Department of State reminded Pennsylvanians that mail ballot applications for the primary election must be received by the county board of elections by 5 p.m. on May 11.