January 8, 2016

Weekly Wrap:

The holidays are over, and the New Year has come. For most, it’s back to the grind this week; though in Harrisburg it seems there hasn’t been a whole lot of grind to get back to. Last week, Gov. Wolf partially approved a General Appropriations Bill in order to release money to schools and human services agencies, but asked the General Assembly via letter to return as soon as possible to finish the business of the budget. And while both chambers did convene this week for the constitutionally mandated first Tuesday in January session, budget talks seem to remain at a halt. The extent of the floor activity was shuffling some bills around in the House and electing Sen. Joe Scarnati (R-Cameron) to continue to serve as President Pro Tempore of the Senate.

Wolf’s letter can be read here:

http://wallaby.telicon.com/PA/library/2016/2016010474.PDF

Coming into the New Year, there are a few vacancies in the House and Senate, so special elections were scheduled this week. In the Senate, Sen. Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware) resigned to take a seat on the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas; Lt. Gov. Mike Stack has scheduled a special election for April 26, Primary Election Day, to fill that vacancy. There are also three open seats in the House now, due to the retirements of Rep. Cherelle Parker (D-Philadelphia), Rep. Louise Bishop (D-Philadelphia) and Rep. Tim Krieger (R-Westmoreland). Parker was elected to Philadelphia City Council, and Krieger was elected to the Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas. Speaker of the House Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) has scheduled special elections in those districts for March 15.

The House and Senate have also released their schedules for the first half of 2016. They can be found at: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/SessionDays.cfm?Chamber=S

A Look Ahead:

Only the House will be in Harrisburg for session next week; they are set to convene on Monday, January 11 at 1 p.m. (The Senate will return for session the following week, after the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday on Monday, January 18.)

On the floor, expect some budget related action in the House. On Monday, the votes are expected on the non-preferred appropriations for the state-related universities as well as for the University of Pennsylvania; on Tuesday, expect votes on H.B. 1327 (Peifer, R-Pike), a Fiscal Code bill necessary to implement the General Appropriations Bill the Governor signed last week, and a vote on S.B. 811 (Hughes, D-Philadelphia), which is a capital budget debt authorization bill for the 2015-2016 Fiscal Year.

Check out The Week Ahead at: http://wallaby.telicon.com/PA/library/2016/2016010775.PDF

In the committees next week, the House Judiciary Committee will meet on Monday for a public hearing on H.B. 1428 (Kampf, R-Chester), which would establish the Fairness in Claims and Transparency (FaCT) Act. The Bill is designed to address disclosure procedures in asbestos litigation.

To read H.B. 1428, go to: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=H&type=B&bn=1428

Tuesday, the House Gaming Oversight Committee will hold a public hearing on legalizing and regulating sports betting.

Finally, though the Senate will not be in Harrisburg for session next week, expect some activity in that chamber as the Special Committee on Senate Address will hold a constitutionally required hearing on Tuesday to allow Attorney General Kathleen Kane to appear before the committee and state her case as to whether she is fit to continue to hold her position. Kane has repeatedly denounced the committee’s authority to conduct its investigation, so this might be the hearing to watch next week.

Any updates to the committee schedule can be found here: www.legis.state.pa.us

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