Budget Update

It was a busy week in Harrisburg as the legislature got down to the business of putting the state budget to bed at long last. After having sent the Governor an omnibus Administrative Code bill last week, the General Assembly finally passed bills to amend the Fiscal Code, Public School Code and the Tax Code earlier this week.

Previous blogs with summaries of all three bills can be read here:

Today, the House finally passed H.B. 271 (Ortitay, R-Allegheny) on concurrence in Senate amendments. The bill is a comprehensive gaming bill, which is expected to bring in around $200 million in the first year and between $90 and $100 million in the following years. Highlights of the gaming bill include:

  • The approval of up to 10 Category 4 (ancillary casino) licenses;
  • The approval of up to 5 Video Gaming Terminals (VGTs) in truck stops;
  • Provisions to allow for iGaming, fantasy sports, iLottery and sports betting (if allowed by federal law);
  • Provisions to allow “gaming tablets” to be used at airports;
  • An annual slot machine license operation fee of $10 million for Category 1 and 2 casinos (addressing the state Supreme Court’s decision on the unconstitutionality of the local share assessment) ;
  • Authorizes Category 2, 3 and 4 casinos to contract with Category 1 casinos to simulcast horseracing; and
  • Reduces the electronic wagering license fees, depositing those funds into the State Racing Fund.

The new budget raises enough revenue to also fund the state-related universities, which some worried would be casualty of an underfunded budget. There are now bills on the Governor’s desk to fund Penn State University, the University of Pittsburgh, Temple University and Lincoln University, as well as the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School.

The Capital Budget Project Itemization Act of 2017-2018, S.B. 651 (Browne, R-Lehigh), is also before the Governor for his signature, as well as H.B. 785 (Saylor, R-York), which addresses debt limits under the Capital Facilities Debt Enabling Act.

Weekly Wrap

As had been scheduled, only the Senate held voting session on Monday. The Senate Appropriations Committee reported out S.B. 775 (Browne, R-Lehigh), which would require the Pennsylvania Historical Museum Commission to establish a grant program for museums with an operating budget of more than $100,000. The Senate Labor and Industry Committee voted favorably on S.B. 936 (White, R-Indiana), which would require the Department of Labor and Industry to adopt a drug formulary to be used under Workers’ Compensation.

The Senate also unanimously concurred in House amendments to S.B. 242 (Baker, R-Luzerne), which amends the PA One Call law, which is now before the Governor for his signature. S.B. 542 (Browne, R-Lehigh), which would allow for a 30-day supply of emergency prescription refills, unanimously passed in the Senate and was referred to the House Health Committee.

Moving to Tuesday, the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee held a public hearing on S.B. 637 (White, R-Indiana), which would require pharmaceutical manufacturers to disclose certain aspects of their drug pricing. The Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee also held a public hearing on S.B. 800 (Alloway, R-Franklin), which would update the Covered Device Recycling Act.

The House of Representatives had cancelled session for this week, only to be called back on Tuesday in order to vote on the negotiated budget package. While waiting for the budget bills to hit the floor, the House passed H.B. 1386 (Hill, R-York), which makes changes to teacher certification levels, and H.B. 1653 (Quigley, R-Montgomery), which would allow students enrolled in distance education to be eligible for PHEAA grants. Both bills are expected to be referred to the Senate Education Committee.

Wednesday was unusually busy. The respective chambers passed two resolutions, S.R. 227 (Aument, R-Lancaster) and H.R. 576 (Pyle, R-Armstrong), which urge the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to swiftly consider the United States Department of Energy’s proposed Grid Resiliency Pricing Rule and implement policies to ensure fuel-secure baseload electricity generation resources receive proper compensation for the positive attributes they provide our nation’s and our Commonwealth’s electric system. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission submitted comments to FERC on the issue this week.

The Senate Aging and Youth Committee voted on H.B. 425 (Nelson, R-Westmoreland), which would extend the current Social Security cost of living adjustment moratorium until December 31, 2019. Senate Appropriations Committee reported out S.B. 792 (Alloway, R-Franklin), which would create labeling requirements for lawn fertilizer. The Senate Communications and Technology Committee held a public hearing on S.B. 914 (Aument, R-Lancaster), which would consolidate all of the executive branch’s information technology services, funding and oversight into a newly established single office.

The Senate finally passed S.B. 936 (White, R-Indiana), which had been reported from committee on Monday (see above). The Senate also passed H.B. 1490 (Turzai, R-Allegheny), which places the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PSWA) under the oversight of the Public Utility Commission, and H.B. 1388 (Irvin, R-Huntingdon), which would reauthorize the Pennsylvania Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which is set to expire at the end of the year but was amended to exclude CHIP coverage for gender or sex reassignment surgery. Both bills are now in the House for concurrence.

The Week Ahead

Expect a quiet week next week, as members return to their districts. The next scheduled session day is November 13. Our next posting will cover the upcoming judicial elections.

In Other News

  • Gov. Wolf has scheduled a special election for the 18th Congressional District.
  • Too little, too late for this year: Pennsylvania will receive $6 million in a settlement with Deutsche Bank.
  • The Senate has confirmed four new members to the PASSHE Board of Governors.