News from Second and State

February 27, 2015      

Weekly Wrap:

Since his inauguration on January 20, Gov. Tom Wolf continues to make headlines and set the tone for his administration. From his administration-wide gift ban to Medicaid expansion to a moratorium on the death penalty, things have been anything but dull this last month or so. Next Tuesday, however, Wolf will kick off the political equivalent of the Super Bowl when he delivers his budget address to the General Assembly. Wolf will need to balance his priorities—which include funding public education and economic development—against a nearly $2 billion deficit. Everyone is anxious to hear the details, and as soon as we hear them, we’ll be ready to share them: watch for a budget edition of News from Second and State next Tuesday. In the meantime, Wolf has given us a sneak peek as to what might be included in the proposal. Read here: http://wallaby.telicon.com/PA/library/2015/2015022576.HTM

The governor isn’t the only newsmaker this week. In a party-line vote on Monday, the House Liquor Control Committee voted to send H.B. 466 (Turzai, R-Allegheny) to the floor for consideration. This bill would privatize Pennsylvania’s state-run liquor stores, an initiative Turzai has been pushing since last session. The bill would provide for 1,200 wine and spirits licenses that will be available to beer distributers for 12 months, then to the general public at double the cost, and it would allow grocery stores to sell wine, but no more than 12 bottles in a single sale. Finally, current liquor stores will be required to close when there are twice as many new licensees than state stores in a county. On Thursday, the House passed the bill by a vote of 114 to 87, with a small handful of Republicans voting in the negative.

For more, go to: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20150227_Pa__House_again_passes_plan_to_sell_off_state_stores.html

The House also passed H.B. 60 (Baker, R-Tioga) which would equalize patients’ payments for oral and intravenous cancer medication. More about the bill can be found at: http://www.philly.com/philly/health/20150225__Chemo_parity__bill_passes_Pa__House.html

While the House was busy with privatization, the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee voted on S.B. 214 (Yaw, R-Bradford), which would extend natural gas service to residential, commercial and industrial sites. Read S.B. 214 at: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=S&type=B&bn=0214

The Senate Agriculture Committee sent S.B. 352 (Vogel, R-Beaver) to the full Senate for consideration; this bill would update the state Horseracing Act, which hasn’t been updated in over 20 years. The bill would also disband the current commissions for horse racing and harness racing and move them both to one commission within the Department of Agriculture, with separate horse and harness racing bureaus. Read more here: http://wallaby.telicon.com/PA/library/2015/2015022488.HTM

Additionally, the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee sent S.B. 514 (Vance, R-Cumberland) to the full Senate for consideration. This bill would address the suitability of making a generic substitution for biosimilar products prescribed by a doctor. Check out S.B.514: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=S&type=B&bn=0514

Finally, the Senate State Government Committee advanced S.B. 500 (Wagner, R-York), a proposal to amend the constitution to disallow the collection of union dues from school district and executive department employees. Commonly known as “paycheck protection,” the bill has been referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee. For more, go to: http://wallaby.telicon.com/PA/library/2015/2015022361.PDF

A Look Ahead:

Next week’s main event is going to be Gov. Wolf’s first budget address, which will be delivered to a joint session of the General Assembly on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m.

That’s not to say that’s the only event next week. On Tuesday morning, the Senate Energy and Environmental Resources Committee will hold a joint hearing with the Senate State Government Committee about the benefits of the shale impact fee. Check out: http://wallaby.telicon.com/PA/library/2015/2015022463.HTM

Also, the House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee will hold an informational meeting with AARP to hear about legislative issues impacting older Pennsylvanians.

For a full committee agenda, go to: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/

To see what the House is up to otherwise, you can read the Week Ahead:

http://wallaby.telicon.com/PA/library/2015/2015022604.PDF

News from Buchanan:

Finally, we at Second and State have some news of our own. We are pleased to announce that our firm-wide Government Relations section has new co-chairs: Robert L. Shuster will head up our operation, along with Leslie Gromis Baker, who will return to Buchanan on March 2. Gromis Baker brings more than 25 years of experience in both government and politics to the firm, most recently having served as chief of staff to Gov. Corbett. In Harrisburg, Brian Kelly and Kim Pizzingrilli will continue to serve as co-chairs of the state government relations practice group while Mike Strazzella will continue to chair the federal practice group in Washington, D.C. We are also proud to say that our government relations practice is now nearly 40 strong with the addition of seven professionals to our Tallahassee office. Combined with our existing government relations professionals, we’ll have one of the most experience “go-to” teams to deal with legal, regulatory and legislative issues.

We are also pleased to report on our attendance at the National Governors Association, or NGA. Buchanan’s government relations team did some bipartisan elbow-rubbing last weekend, participating in both the Democratic and Republican Governors Association divisions of the NGA winter meetings. The NGA was founded in 1908 as a nonpartisan organization to represent the interest of state executives before the federal government. Meetings of the NGA are an excellent opportunity for governors and their staffs to interact with one another, as well as their federal counterparts and interest groups. The separate arms of the NGA—the DGA and the RGA —work to elect governors nationwide from their respective political parties and meet separately to bring together elected officials and thought leaders to discuss and debate public policy issues.

While at this year’s DGA meeting, Buchanan professionals had some meaningful face time with Gov. Wolf and high-ranking members of his executive staff. The governor met with the Buchanan team to discuss his agenda for the current legislative session and his upcoming inaugural budget address.

Buchanan’s participation in organizations like the DGA and RGA allow our professionals to meet with state executives at a public policy forum and to underscore issues of importance to our clients. Attendance at these events evidences our support for the current governor and allows us to advance our client’s interests before state executives in a more relaxed yet thoughtful environment. Buchanan is proud to support both the DGA and the RGA.

In Other News:

Centre County President Judge Thomas Kistler withdrew his name from consideration for the state Supreme Court amid allegations of sending a racially offensive e-mail. The Senate won’t hold a confirmation hearing on Wolf’s other Supreme Court nominee, Ken Gromley, either. Read more from the Philadelphia Inquirer at: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/state/20150224_Wolf_s_effort_to_fill_Supreme_Court_vacancies_collapses.html

Gov. Wolf believes that Pennsylvania could be a real powerhouse if not for our “low self-esteem.” Who agrees? Check out: http://www.pennlive.com/opinion/2015/02/tom_wolf_self_esteem_national.html#incart_river

Disputed Open Records Officer Eric Arneson addressed the PA Press Club this week. See what he had to say: http://www.pennlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/02/i_had_no_interest_in_suing_the.html#incart_river

The House Education Committee wants to form a subcommittee to examine career readiness and technical education. More at: http://wallaby.telicon.com/PA/library/2015/2015022482.HTM