January 22, 2016

Weekly Wrap:

With only the Senate in Harrisburg for session, this was a rather quiet week at the Capitol. Although we expected the Senate to pass the Fiscal Code bill, H.B. 1327 (Peifer-Pike) and send it to the Governor, the Bill remains in Senate Rules and Executive Nominations Committee.

More of what didn’t happen this week: there was no consensus on a General Appropriations Bill (GA Bill) for the 2015-2016 fiscal year. However, for the first time in the New Year, Senate Republicans met with Governor Wolf to discuss a possible way out of the seemingly never-ending budget impasse. (The Governor will deliver his 2016-2017 budget address to the General Assembly in just over two weeks.)

Though there was no movement on a broad based General Appropriations bill, funding for Department of Corrections was at the forefront of discussions this week. S.B. 1106 (Browne-Lehigh) would increase DOC’s funding by approximately $939.4 million, bringing the amount to that which was included in the GA Bill vetoed by Gov. Wolf. The Bill was reported out of Senate Appropriations committee and set on the Senate Calendar for next week, already on its third consideration.

Also, three Public School Code bills were up for consideration in the Senate this week. The first, H.B. 158 (Peifer-Pike), unanimously passed in the Senate. The bill gives the Secretary of Education the authority to issue weather, safety or health related emergency declaration, and also clarifies that school employees must have an updated criminal history record every five years. The bill will now return to the House for concurrence. The second, H.B. 1552 (Roae-Crawford), was reported from the Senate Education Committee. The bill allows the Secretary of Education to enter into a regional compact and interstate reciprocity agreement for online college institutions. It has been re-referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee. Last but not least, S.B. 880 (Smucker-Lancaster) will soon be on the Governor’s desk after unanimously passing in both chambers. Once signed the Keystone Exams will no longer be a graduation requirement until the 2018-2019 school year.

A Look Ahead

Both the House and Senate will be in Harrisburg next week for session. We’ll be keeping an eye on the Fiscal Code bill mentioned above, as well as S.B. 1106 (Browne-Lehigh), which will provide supplemental funding for the Department of Corrections.

On Monday the House Transportation committee will consider H.B. 1769 (Day-Lehigh), which will address compliance issues related to household goods movers. Also on Monday, the House Judiciary committee will consider a bill to establish the Fairness in Claims and Transparency Act (FaCT). The committee held a public hearing last week on the legislation, H.B. 1428 (Kampf-Chester), which addresses damages in asbestos-related suits.

To read H.B. 1769, go to: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=H&type=B&bn=1769

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

The House Gaming Oversight committee will convene on Tuesday to consider H.R. 619 (Matzie-Beaver). Rep. Matzie’s resolution urges Congress to lift the federal ban on sports betting and to allow states such as Pennsylvania to legalized sports betting through its licensed facilities. The same day the House Consumer Affairs committee will discuss H.B. 395 (Reese-Westmoreland), which would allow government entities to receive direct meter and electronic access to customer meter data.

To read H.R.619, go to: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=H&type=R&bn=0619

To read H.B. 395, go to:

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=H&type=B&bn=0395

To see what the Senate has planned for the floor, go to:

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/SessionCalendars/index.cfm?Chamber=S

For the House, check out The Week Ahead:

http://wallaby.telicon.com/PA/library/2016/2016012181.PDF

The busy week closes out Thursday with a public meeting of the Pennsylvania Utility Commission, whose agenda will be available here: http://www.puc.state.pa.us/

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