January 28, 2022

Weekly Wrap

It was as busy week in Harrisburg as the House of Representatives and Senate were in session.

On Monday, the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee held a public hearing on H.B. 1901 (Hershey, R-Juniata), which would establish a Clean Streams Fund that is focused on mitigating “non-point” sources of pollution, such as agricultural runoff, acid mine drainage, and stormwater. Another public hearing was held in the House Liquor Control Committee, where they discussed a constitutional amendment to privatize.

The House Education Committee reported out H.B. 1330 (Ortitay, R-Allegheny), which would establish a central repository of online courses accessible to the public, and H.R. 163 (Mackenzie, R-Lehigh), which would direct the Joint State Government Commission to establish an advisory committee to conduct a study on training mandates for public school educators.

Furthermore, the House Professional Licensure Committee reported the following bills out of Committee:

  • H.B. 19 (Mehaffie, R-Dauphin), which would establish licensure for behavior analysts;
  • H.B. 1328 (Greiner, R-Lancaster), which would amend the CPA Law to update provisions relating to peer review requirements, code of ethics, and education courses;
  • H.B. 1440 (Millard, R-Columbia), which would establish licensure for medical imaging professionals, radiation therapists, and radiologist assistants; and
  • H.B. 1862 (Gillespie, R-York), which would amend the Medical Practice Act to permit a license to practice at more than two affiliated facilities when practicing or teaching under an institutional license.

Then on the House floor, H.B. 1760 (Heffley, R-Carbon) passed finally and will now be considered by the Senate. The bill would expand the Property-Assessed Clean Energy Program (C-PACE). The Senate passed S.B. 1019 (Brooks, R-Mercer), which would require each authority to issue a report identifying whether any statute, rule, or regulation that was suspended due to COVID-19 should be considered for permanent suspension. The companion bill, H.B. 2219 (Rowe, R-Snyder), passed in the House on Wednesday.

Tuesday began with the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee holding a public hearing on storm water fees and implementation. The Committee then held a voting meeting to report out the following bills:

  • H.B. 1842 (Zimmerman, R-Lancaster), which would amend the Clean Streams Law to require that spills or discharges be reported only when they violate state water quality criteria or reportable quantities under federal law;
  • S.B. 945 (Yaw, R-Lycoming), which would provide for the sale of state-owned energy credits and allocate proceeds to plug abandoned and orphan oil and gas wells; and
  • S.B. 1030 (Yaw, R-Lycoming), which would eliminate the California Air Resources Board (CARB) emission standards requirements.

The Senate Health and Human Services Committee reported three bills out:

  • H.B. 1420 (Thomas, R-Bucks), which would establish a public awareness campaign to provide information regarding the programs and services available for first responders, healthcare workers, and other workers suffering from mental health issues related to COVID-19;
  • S.B. 152 (Ward, R-Blair), which would establish a priority of awards for public funds used for family planning services and provides that the Department of Human Services may not enter into a contract with or make a grant to any entity that performs abortions that are not federally qualified abortions or operates a facility where such abortions are performed except as required by federal law; and
  • S.B. 956 (Ward, R-Blair), which would amend the state Constitution to prohibit abortions and the public funding of abortion.

The Senate Appropriations Committee reported out H.B. 245 (Kaufer, R-Luzerne), which would provide licensure for graduates of international medical schools. In addition, the Senate Community, Economic, and Recreational Development Committee reported out S.B. 962 (Langerholc, R-Cambria), which would establish Rural Co-Working and Innovation Centers to provide working hubs for those needing an office space in rural communities.

The following bills passed finally on House floor and will head to the Senate for consideration:

  • H.B. 199 (Dunbar, R-Westmoreland), which would amend the Tax Reform Code to provide for a deduction for depletion of a mine, oil and gas well, and other natural deposits;
  • H.B. 285 (Metcalfe, R-Butler), which would amend the Tax Reform Code to permit deferral on a lump sum distribution from the employee stock ownership plan;
  • H.B. 324 (White, R-Philadelphia), which would increase the net operating loss carryforward provisions for the City of Philadelphia from 3 to 20 years; and
  • H.B. 333 (Nelson, R-Westmoreland), which would amend the Tax Reform Code to allow a business to take the full expense deduction permitted under Section 179 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Wednesday, the Senate Community, Economic, and Recreational Development Committee held a public hearing on small business assistance and economic recovery. The Senate Appropriations Committee reported out H.B. 889 (Miller, R-Lancaster), which would allow graduates of foreign nursing schools to take the nursing licensure exam in the state. Additionally, the Senate Transportation Committee reported out S.B. 965 (Langerholc, R-Cambria), which would provide for the testing of highly automated vehicles.

The House State Government Committee reported out four procurement-related bills:

  • H.B. 709 (Zabel, D-Delaware), which would require applicants for state contracts to submit a disclosure statement listing campaign contributions;
  • H.B. 1925 (Herrin, D-Chester), which would allow the state to consider a prospective contractor’s documented performance in other states or with other public entities prior to awarding, renewing, or extending a contract to that bidder;
  • H.B. 2159 (Ortitay, R-Allegheny), which would require requests for an emergency procurement to be made by the head of the agency; and
  • H.B. 2269 (Keefer, R-York), which would allow the state to take into consideration a prospective contractor’s documented performance in other states or with other public entities prior to awarding a contract.

Then, the following bills passed in the House and will make their way to the Senate:

  • H.B. 1059 (Hickernell, R-Lancaster), which would amend the Tax Reform Code to increase the personal income tax threshold in which a taxpayer is required to make estimated payments from $8,000 to $20,000;
  • H.B. 1594 (Tomlinson, R-Bucks), which would provide for the collection, verification, and disclosure of information by online marketplaces;
  • 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; and
  • H.B. 2072 (Mackenzie, R-Lehigh), which would establish a process for CHIP insurers to apply for reimbursement of delinquent premiums that accrued from March 1, 2020 through December 31, 2021.

Conversely, the Senate sent two bills of note to the House for their consideration: H.B. 764 (Miller, R-Lancaster), which would provide for the provisional hiring of employees while they await results of background checks; and S.B. 806 (Yaw, R-Lycoming), which would amend the Oil and Gas Lease Act by making changes to the information provided by oil and natural gas producers to royalty owners and provide for penalties for untimely royalty payments.

Bills that made their way to the Governor’s desk include H.B. 1588 (Mercuri, R-Allegheny), which would permanently allow mortgage originators to work remotely. H.B. 2146 (Grove, R-York), which would establish the Congressional Redistricting Act of 2021, passed in both chambers but the Governor immediately vetoed the bill. The Governor is also expected to veto H.B. 979 (Dowling, R-Fayette), which would prohibit municipalities from imposing ordinances relating to regulation of firearms and ammunition more restrictive than state law.

Lastly, and most notably, the Governor signed H.B. 253 (Owlett, R-Tioga) into law as Act 2 of 2022. Act 2 establishes a task force to review the opioid abuse epidemic’s impact on infants and children. It also appropriates $225 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding with:

  • $100 million for all acute care, critical access, and children’s hospitals licensed by the Department of Health on a per-bed basis to be used for recruitment and retention payments to direct care staff;
  • $110 million to be distributed on a per-bed basis to high-Medical Assistance hospitals, designated Critical Access Hospitals, and inpatient and residential behavioral health facilities for recruitment and retention payments to key staff; and
  • $15 million for the nurse loan forgiveness program.

The Week Ahead

There’s no session next week. Both chambers are back in action the week of February 7, with the Governor’s annual budget address scheduled for February 8.

A full list of committee meetings can be found here:

House

Senate

In Other News

  • Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Secretary Dennis Davin will resign his position on February 11 and DCED Executive Deputy Secretary Neil Weaver will be nominated to serve as Acting Secretary.
  • The Governor announced that the state will fulfill its commitment to raise the minimum wage for Commonwealth employees to $15 per hour by January 31, 2022.
  • The Governor announced $23 million in funding for 25 projects that will create local strategies to stop gun and group violence.
  • Governor Wolf announced $25 million in funding for environmental restoration projects focused on economic development or community revitalization at abandoned mine land (AML) locations.
  • The Commonwealth Court ruled that Pennsylvania’s mail-in voting law is unconstitutional.