Weekly Wrap
With no session days this week, all eyes were on western Pennsylvania, as a special election took place on Tuesday to fill the vacant seat in SD-37 (Allegheny, Washington). Former Sen. Guy Reschenthaler (R) resigned on January 1, 2019 after he was elected to Congress. Democrat Pam Iovino defeated Republican D. Raja, flipping the seat in favor of the Democrats. The Republicans now hold a 26-22 majority, with two special elections to fill the vacant seats of former Senators Richard Alloway (R-Adams) and Don White (R-Indiana) taking place on May 21, 2019.
Across the state, the Southeast Pennsylvania Partnership for Mobility, a collaboration between the Turnpike and SEPTA, laid out several revenue generation options for transportation funding on Monday. This comes as the Turnpike’s annual contribution to PennDOT will be reduced from $450 million to $50 million on July 2, 2022. The group’s suggestions are:
- Sales tax: increase of 0.25% would generate $350-400 million
- Personal income tax: increase of 0.10% would generate $350-450 million
- Real estate transfer tax: increase of 0.50% would generate $215-265 million
- Transportation Network Company: fee of $1 per trip would generate $80-100 million
- Congestion pricing: tolling of interstates and other strategies would generate at least $200 million
- Electric vehicle fee: annual fees on hybrid and electric vehicles would generate at least $5 million
- Tire, vehicle lease and vehicle rental fee: increase in current fees would generate $125-150 million
The Week Ahead
Both chambers are in session next week and committee meetings are already filling up the calendar.
On Monday, the House Liquor Control Committee will consider H.B. 423 (Topper, R-Bedford), which will create a ballot initiative for “dry” municipalities to explicitly opt-in or opt-out of allowing on-premise liquor sales for manufacturers. Furthermore, the House Finance Committee will vote on H.B. 880 (Lewis, R-Dauphin), which would lower the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program’s (RACP) debt ceiling by $100 million annually until 2026.
Additional meetings include:
- The House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee will hold an informational meeting on polystyrene and the consequences of a statewide ban;
- The House State Government Committee will hold an informational meeting on issues surrounding replacing the state’s current voting system; and
- The House Consumer Affairs Committee will hold a public hearing on H.B. 11 (Mehaffie, R-Dauphin), which would update the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act by establishing nuclear energy as a Tier III alternative energy source.
Tuesday, the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee will consider H.B. 414 (Zimmerman, R-Lancaster), which would require the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to complete its permitting approval or disapproval within 45 days for the Erosion and Sediment Control program, and H.B. 476 (Mako, R-Northampton), which would require DEP to forward notices of violations of the Solid Waste Management Act and the Toxic Substances Control Act to the municipality where the violation occurred.
The House Children and Youth Committee will consider H.B. 316 (Owlett, R-Tioga), which would establish a task force on the opioid abuse epidemic’s impact on children. Also, the House Health Committee will consider three bills:
- H.B. 833 (Owlett, R-Tioga), which would require non-custodial parents of children for whom Medical Assistance is sought to enroll their children in their own health insurance plan before the Commonwealth would pay for medical care;
- H.B. 924 (Toohil, R-Luzerne), which would establish the Living Donor Protection Act, prohibiting discrimination, authorizing family leave, and providing for informational material during the organ donation process; and
- H.B. 1058 (Rapp, R-Warren), which would require information to be given to a woman on the option of perinatal hospice care after her unborn child is diagnosed with a life-limiting condition.
The House Human Services Committee will hold an informational meeting on maximizing the effectiveness of the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. Members will also discuss best practices to streamline warm hand-offs to treatment for patients struggling with addiction. Lastly, the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee will hold a public hearing to reconsider the re-confirmation of Russell Redding as the Secretary of Agriculture.
Wrapping up the week, on Wednesday, the House Transportation Committee will consider H.B. 364 (Gabler, R-Clearfield), which would authorize the use of revolving and flashing yellow lights for school vehicles.
Three informational meetings are on tap as well:
- The House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee will hold an informational meeting regarding options for home-based care including home health, hospice and personal care services;
- The House Health Committee and Senate Health and Human Services Committee will hold a joint informational meeting on gene replacement therapy and its use in the treatment of genetic diseases; and
- The House Human Services Committee and House Tourism and Recreational Development Committee will hold a joint public hearing on the challenges of people with a disability when traveling;
A full list of committee meetings can be found here:
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