May 13 Edition

Weekly Wrap:

Once again, we only had one chamber in Harrisburg this week. While the House was in recess, the Senate was in for three days of voting session, holding committee meetings and shuffling bills around that may pop up again in budget season. On Monday, the Senate passed H.B. 805 (Bloom, R- Cumberland), which would end the process of seniority based lay-offs, or “last in, first out” for teachers.  The bill will hit the Governor’s desk once it is signed in both chambers, and he has made it clear that he intends to veto the bill. Read why: http://wallaby.telicon.com/PA/library/2016/2016051077.HTM

Also on Monday, the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee met to consider S.B. 1229 (Vogel, R-Beaver), which would amend the provisions of the Administrative Code related to horse and harness racing and is considered clean-up for a bill enacting those provisions earlier this year. On Wednesday, the Senate passed the bill and sent it to the House for consideration.

The Senate Appropriations Committee reported out a number of bills on Monday as well– among them was H.B. 1552 (Roae, R-Crawford), which would allow the Secretary of Education to enter into an interstate reciprocity agreement regarding online post secondary educational programs.

On Tuesday, H.B. 395 (Reese, R-Somerset) was passed over by the Senate Consumer Affairs & Professional Licensure Committee. The bill would require consent before an electric distribution company shares customer meter data or provides meter access to a government agency. The Senate Finance Committee also met on Tuesday to consider S.B. 1227 (Blake, D-Lackawanna), which would transfer some of the duties of the Public Employee Retirement Commission (PERC) to the Independent Fiscal Office. PERC’s fate has been hanging in the balance for months now– its funding was zeroed out by Governor Wolf, but it was later funded when the Governor allowed a budget bill to become law in March.

Wednesday was a short day and kind of quiet; however, the Senate State Government Committee held a public hearing on the Governor’s recent executive orders (or EO’s). The Governor has issued twenty EO’s since he came into office, and lawmakers question whether the subjects of the EO’s are those that should be addressed by the legislature.

Read more: http://www.pennlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/05/the_governor_did_what_senate_c.html

A Look Ahead:

Next week is the only week both the Senate and the House will be in Harrisburg at the same time in the month of May, so it’s likely to be a busy one.

On Monday, the House Transportation Committee will meet to consider bills, among them is S.B. 1152 (Browne, R-Lehigh), which would require that children under two years old be secured in a rear-facing child seat when traveling in a motor vehicle.

Read S.B. 1152 here: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/billinfo.cfm?syear=2015&sind=0&body=S&type=B&bn=1152

Tuesday looks a lot busier. The House Gaming Oversight Committee will hold a joint public hearing with the Senate Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee regarding the recent increase in the assessment charged to Pennsylvania casinos. The House Health Committee will meet to consider H.B. 1104 (Godshall, R-Delaware), known as “Right to Try” legislation— the bill would allow terminally ill patients to use investigational drugs. The House Judiciary Committee will also meet and will consider H.B. 30 (Petrarca, D-Armstrong), which would modernize Pennsylvania’s organ donation law, and also H.B. 1428 (Kampf, R-Chester), which would create the Fairness in Claims and Transparency (FaCT) Act which provides for additional disclosures in asbestos-related litigation. On the Senate side, the Senate Finance Committee will meet and consider S.B. 1161 (Reschenthaler, R-Allegheny), which would ensure that in the event of a budget impasse, corporations who apply for the  Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) Program, receive the credit for the fiscal year during which they applied.

Read H.B. 1104 here: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=H&type=B&bn=1104

Read H.B. 30 here: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=H&type=B&bn=0030

Read H.B. 1428 here: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=H&type=B&bn=1428

Read S.B. 1161 here:

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=S&type=B&bn=1161

On Wednesday, the House and Senate Education Committees will hold a joint public hearing on the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), and the House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee will hold an informational meeting on H.B. 2069 (Farry, R-Bucks), providing for PACE expansion and the Pharmacy Modernization Act.

Read H.B. 2069 here: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=H&type=B&bn=2069

On Thursday, the House Select Subcommtitee on Technical Education & Career Readiness will hold a public hearing in State College on H.R. 102 (Saylor, R-York) which establishes the subcommittee and allows them to investigate, review and make recommendations concerning career training programs.

Read H.R. 102 here: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=H&type=R&bn=0102

Also on Thursday, the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) will meet to consider a proposed regulation pertaining to the Implementation of the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act of 2004.

Read the proposed regulation: http://www.irrc.state.pa.us/regulations/RegSrchRslts.cfm?ID=3071

For a full listing of committee meetings, go to: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/session.cfm

For anticipated floor activity, check out The Week Ahead: http://wallaby.telicon.com/PA/library/2016/2016051276.PDF

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

In Other News: