January 14, 2022
Weekly Wrap
It was the first session week of 2022 for the House of Representatives.
Kicking off the New Year, on Monday, the House State Government Committee reported out two bills of note: H.B. 1663 (Dowling, R-Fayette), which would require voting machines to be manufactured and sold by a vendor with a primary place of business in the United States; and H.B. 2207 (Grove, R-York), which would amend the state Constitution to remove the Legislative Reapportionment Commission and establishing a citizens’ commission.
The House Appropriations Committee reported out H.B. 1947 (O’Neal, R-Washington), which would prevent a municipality from restricting or prohibiting the connection of a utility service to a consumer based on the source of energy. H.B. 2045 (Ortitay, R-Allegheny) unanimously passed on the House floor and will now the considered by the Senate. The bill would create a statewide early literacy program.
In addition, the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee held a public hearing on the benefits of rare earth mineral extraction in Pennsylvania. The House Judiciary Committee also held a public hearing to discuss H.B. 1393 (Struzzi, R-Indiana), which would legalize fentanyl test strips for personal use.
Tuesday, the House Consumer Affairs Committee reported out H.B. 1594 (Tomlinson, R-Bucks), which would require third-party sellers to provide bank account information, contact information, and a tax identification number to the online marketplace. The House Health Committee reported two bills out: H.B. 1630 (Fritz, R-Susquehanna), which would allow the Auditor General to conduct an audit and review of a pharmacy benefits manager that provides services to a medical assistance managed care organization under contract with the Department of Human Services; and S.B. 709 (Tomlinson, R-Bucks), which would provide for cytomegalovirus education and newborn screening.
The House Finance Committee had a full agenda and reported out the following bills:
- H.B. 105 (Nelson, R-Westmoreland), which would allow for “like-kind exchanges”, which provide tax-deferral when certain property is exchanged for similar property;
- H.B. 199 (Dunbar, R-Westmoreland), which would align the state personal income tax with federal law for the purposes of calculating cost, and percent, depletion of mines, oil and gas wells, and other natural deposits;
- H.B. 285 (Metcalfe, R-Butler), which would permit the deferral of taxation on a lump sum distribution from the Employee Stock Ownership Plan of a company;
- H.B. 324 (White, R-Philadelphia), which would extend the ability of businesses operating in the City of Philadelphia to carry-forward Net Operating Losses;
- H.B. 333 (Nelson, R-Westmoreland), which would allow small businesses to take advantage of expense deductions for machinery and equipment purchases; and
- H.B. 1960 (Kail, R-Beaver), which would incrementally increase the limitation for the net loss deduction by 10% annually until it reaches 80% of taxable income for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2024.
Then on the House floor, the following bills passed finally and head to the Senate for consideration:
- H.B. 293 (Oberlander, R-Clarion), which would provide that anti-obesity medications be considered a compensable item under the Medical Assistance program;
- H.B. 1280 (Jozwiak, R-Berks), which would amend the Patient Test Result Information Act regarding written notice requirements;
- H.B. 1785 (Benninghoff, R-Centre), which would give PennDOT the authority to issue new airport licenses within two miles of an existing airport and disapprove new airport licenses that impact aviation safety; and
- H.B. 2148 (Miller, R-Lancaster), which would allow political subdivisions and municipal authorities to advertise on their website in addition to any notice in a newspaper.
On Wednesday, the House State Government Committee reported out H.B. 2219 (Rowe, R-Snyder), which would require each authority which initially authorized a suspension of regulations due to COVID-19 to issue an updated report as to whether the suspension should be extended beyond March 31, 2022 or enacted permanently. Furthermore, the House Appropriations Committee reported out H.B. 527 (Cox, R-Berks), which would require notice of a public meeting by a municipality prior to entering into an agreement to sell or lease a water or sewer system.
Lastly, the House began the redistricting process to establish new Congressional districts by sending their proposed map, H.B. 2146 (Grove, R-York), over to the Senate.
The Week Ahead
Just the Senate is in session next week. However, rather than the typical three day session week, they’ll only be in Harrisburg on Tuesday and Wednesday. No committee meetings are currently scheduled, but when they are, a full list can be found here:
In Other News
- Governor Wolf vetoed and disapproved Senate Concurrent Regulatory Review Resolution 1, which would have disabled the Commonwealth’s opportunity to enter the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).
- The Wolf Administration announced a new initiative to help long-term care facilities respond to COVID-19 and improve resiliency.