WEEKLY SESSION NOTES
Senate Republican Policy Committee – Joe Conti, Chairman

Monday, October 31, 2005 

Senate Bill 235 (Vance) would amend the Professional Nursing Law to establish a continuing education requirement for registered nurses.  The State Board of Nursing would be required to promulgate rules and regulations to require registered nurses to complete 30 hours of continuing education as a condition of license renewal.  Under the bill, nationally certified education courses would be considered as creditable.  An individual applying for licensure for the first time would be exempted from the requirement for the biennial renewal period following initial licensure.  The Board would be permitted to waive all or a portion of the continuing education requirement for a licensee who demonstrates that he or she was unable to complete the requirement due to serious illness, military service, or other demonstrated hardship.  A licensee seeking to reinstate an inactive or lapsed license would be required to comply with the continuing education requirement for the preceding biennium.  The Board would approve all courses, locations, instructions and providers and would be prohibited from granting credit for office management courses.  Certified nurse practitioners and dietetics-nutrition licensees would continue to meet the requirements for continuing education in accordance with Sections 8.1 and 11 of the act.  School nurses who must meet continuing education requirements under the School Code could submit evidence of completion of those courses in satisfaction of these requirements.  Passed:  49-0. 

Senate Bill 665 (Pileggi) would amend Title 20 (Decedents, Estates and Fiduciaries) to add redevelopment authorities to the list of persons who may seek letters of administration.  A redevelopment authority would be last in the order of persons who may qualify for letters of administration.  A redevelopment authority granted letters of administration would have the power to take, clear, combine or transfer title to real property of the estate as necessary to return the property to productive use, and upon payment of fair market value of the property in its current state, to the estate.  Passed:  49-0. 

Senate Bill 869 (D. White) would amend Title 51 (Military Affairs) to provide for the extension of insurance benefits for military personnel who are full-time students at the time of deployment and insurance is provided through a parent's health insurance policy.  In order to be eligible for the extended benefits, a student would have to be a National Guard member or reservist who is called to active duty or active state duty for a period of 30 consecutive days or more.  The eligibility would be extended for a period equal to the duration of the eligible student's service on active duty or until he or she is no longer a student.  In order to qualify for the extension, an eligible individual would have to provide certain notifications to the insurer, including that he or she has re-enrolled as a full-time student for the first term or semester starting 60 or more days after release from active duty.  Nothing in the act would preclude the voluntary option of continuing a health insurance policy and benefits in effect at the eligible individual's own expense by paying for them at the same rates paid by the employer.  Passed:  49-0.

Executive Session 

Nominations to Various Boards and Commissions.  (See Attached)  Confirmed:  49-0. 

Tuesday, November 1, 2005 

Senate Bill 583 (Boscola) would amend the Crimes Code to prohibit a person convicted of arson or a related offense from serving as a volunteer firefighter or from being certified as a firefighter under the State Fire Commissioner Act.  Passed:  50-0. 

Senate Bill 595 (Waugh) would amend Title 15 (Corporations and Unincorporated Associations) to permit nonprofit corporations organized primarily for recreational or youth development and delinquency prevention purposes for the benefit of individuals 18 years of age or younger to amend their articles of incorporation to include one or more directors on their boards who are 16 or 17 years of age.  If a nonprofit corporation amends its articles of incorporation to include directors who are 16 or 17, the total number of such directors could not exceed one half of the total number of directors required for a quorum for the transaction of business.  In addition, the directors who are 16 or 17 could not become officers of the board.  Passed:  39-11. 

Senate Bill 759 (Armstrong) would amend the Domestic Relations Code to establish that the State Employees' Retirement System, the Public School Employees' Retirement System, or the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System are not obligated to issue duplicate death benefit or retirement payments following the death of a party if the original payments were made prior to the receipt of a court order.  A person who receives a death benefit or retirement to which he or she is not entitled would be solely liable to any person otherwise entitled to the benefit.  The person entitled to the benefit could seek further redress in a court of competent jurisdiction.  The changes would apply retroactively to January 28, 2005.  Passed:  50-0. 

Senate Resolution 198 (Costa) recognizes the month of November 2005 as "Pennsylvania Epilepsy Awareness Month."  Adopted by Voice Vote. 

House Bill 127 (Sather) would create the Resource Family and Adoption Process Act to ensure that individuals serving as resource (foster) parents are treated equitably during all stages of a foster child's placement, including adoption.  The bill would require that resource family parents be given an interview with the appropriate county or private agency when:  the agency that placed the child with the family has changed the child's goals from foster care to adoption; the resource family is interested in becoming an adoptive resource for the child; and, the child has resided with that family for six months or more.  In addition to information obtained from other prospective adoptive families, the agency would also be required to convey information obtained from the resource family to the county agency responsible for making the determination as to adoptive placement of the child.  When more than one adoptive resource is available, the county agency would have to document its reasons for placing the child with the selected adoptive parents in the child's case file.  An otherwise eligible resource parent could not be denied consideration as an adoptive parent solely because of the inability of the agency to access that individual as a resource family parent in the future.  The Department of Public Welfare could promulgate regulations to implement the act.  Passed:  50-0.

House Bill 761 (Fairchild) would amend the invasion of privacy provisions of the Crimes Code to prohibit the use of additional technologies that allow electronic viewing or recording without a person's knowledge for the purpose of arousing or gratifying the sexual desire of another person.  The measure would expand the definition of invasion of privacy to include viewing or recording the intimate parts of another person, whether covered by clothing or undergarments, which that person does not intend to be visible by normal public observation without that person's knowledge or consent.  An additional change would expand the offense to prohibit the transfer or transmission of an image obtained in violation of these provisions by live or recorded telephone message, electronic mail, the internet, or by any other transfer or medium on which the image is stored.  The measure would also amend Title 42 to add a section to protect the manufacturer or provider of a product or service used to commit an offense of invasion or privacy from any cause of action.  Concurrence in House Amendments, as Amended:  50-0. 

House Bill 1579 (Hickernell) would create the Resource Family Care Act.  Under the provisions of the bill, county and private agencies would be required to provide the following to resource (foster) families: 

• Notification of scheduled meetings concerning a child residing with a resource family in order to participate and have input in the service and permanency planning process regarding the child;

• Support services to assist in the care of the child;

• Open, complete and timely responses when contacted by the resource family;

• Information about the child's medical history, behavior and relationship with his or her parents;

• Consultation in the development of the permanency plan and any decision to release the resource family's address to the child's parent;

• Assistance with the coordination of services that may be deemed necessary due to resulting family loss and separation upon a child's departure from the resource family's home when the departure is not the result of an immediate threat to the health and safety of the child caused by the resource family;

• Information on all county and private agency policies and procedures that relate to the role of a resource family;

• Any appropriate training deemed necessary to enhance the performance of the resource family;

• Information on how to receive services and reach county or agency personnel at all times;

• Confidentiality regarding allegations of abuse involving a member of the resource family when it does not interfere with the safety of the child;

• Opportunity to be heard regarding agency decisions or practices involving a child residing with the resource family

An agency could not discharge, threaten, or otherwise retaliate against a resource family for an appropriate inquiry regarding the decisions or practices of an agency that affect a child residing with the resource family.  The bill would require the appropriate county or private agency to provide a copy of the responsibilities outlined in the act to all resource families upon their approval as a resource family.  Passed:  48-2. 

Wednesday, November 2, 2005 

Senate Bill 384 (Piccola) would amend the Public School Code to allow the Public School Employees' Retirement Board to provide certain data relating to annuitants to an active employee association or an annuitant association, such as the Pennsylvania Association of School Retirees.  The bill would entitle the groups to receive member's names and home addresses for the purpose of promoting membership in the association.  The information could not include the name and address of the member's designated beneficiary.  Within 30 days of the effective date of these provisions, the Board would be required to provide all members with written notice of the disclosure of information pursuant to the new subsection and an opportunity to refuse to allow the disclosure.  Members would have 90 days to respond.  Each new member would be given notice of the disclosure with their application for entry into the system and an opportunity to refuse to allow the disclosure.  The Board would be required to disclose the information to the groups by the tenth of each month unless the association agrees to a less frequent schedule.  The associations would be required to reimburse the Board for any cost the Board incurs in providing the information.  Any information provided to the associations would be held in confidence and could not be shared with other entities.  The Attorney General or any active employee or annuitant could bring civil action against an association that intentionally violates these provisions.  Passed:  50-0. 

Senate Bill 862 (Pippy) would amend Title 4 (Amusements) to modify the provisions governing slot machine gaming.  Among other provisions, the bill would: 

• Provide for the removal of a board member for misconduct in office, willful neglect of duty, incompetence or upon conviction of a felony or infamous crime, an offense under the act or an equivalent offense under federal law or the law of another jurisdiction; 

• Allow the ex-officio members of the board to send a designee to board meetings if the person is a deputy secretary or in an equivalent position; 

• Provide that the financial interest of an immediate family member in a gaming entity or other subject of a proceeding before the board is grounds for recusal by the board member; 

• Establish that in the case of a collective vote on all initial applications for slot machines, a member who disqualifies himself from voting on a particular license would be disqualified from voting on any other application for that category of license;

• Require the board to conduct a conflict review prior to the commencement of proceedings to determine if a member has a conflict that requires disqualification from voting;

• Require each appointing authority to appoint an alternate member who will vote in the place of the member who has disqualified himself;

• Prohibit members, employees, or independent contractors of the board from engaging in any incompatible position or employment;

• Broaden disclosure requirements for board members by requiring disclosure of any known financial interest in a licensed gaming entity held by a spouse, parent, brother, sister, or child;

• Require board members to divest, with limited exceptions, any financial interest in a licensed gaming entity, including any interest held by a spouse or minor or un-emancipated child;

• Add a disclosure and divestiture requirement for employees of the board; 

• Require board members, employees, and independent contractors to sign confidentiality agreements; 

• Prohibit board members, board employees, and certain government employees with regulatory authority over gaming from certain activities; 

• Clarify that certain statutes, such as the Sunshine Law, the Ethics Act, and the Regulatory Review Act, apply to the board; 

• Allow each member of the board to employee two special assistants whose classification and compensation would be established by the board; 

• Require the board to adopt a comprehensive code of conduct for members, their immediate families, employees and independent contractors prior to consideration of any license or permit application; 

• Provide for the transfer of $3.5 million annually from the Gaming Fund to the Department of Public Welfare for domestic violence programs; 

• Require licensure fees and slot machine revenues to be appropriated by the General Assembly; 

• Clarify that expediting the remittance of revenue would not be grounds for an emergency procurement; 

• Require the board to approve, approve with condition, or deny all initial applications for conditional Category 1 licenses prior to accepting or considering any applications for Category 1, Category 2, or Category 3 slot machine licenses;

• Provide for licensing of principals and key employees of applicants and prohibit certain individuals from accepting complimentary services or discounts not otherwise available to the general public;

• Require the Ethics Commission to publish a list of all state, county, and municipal positions that meet the definition of "public official" or "executive-level public employee";

• Clarify that regulated individuals and entities are prohibited from making political contributions in the Commonwealth;

• Require the board to publish the names of all regulated licensees and their affiliated on their internet website; and,

• Add and clarify numerous definitions. 

Passed:  50-0. 

Senate Bill 925 (Thompson) would amend the Pennsylvania Cancer Control, Prevention and Research Act to extend its expiration date from June 30, 2006 to June 30, 2016.  Passed:  50-0.

Senate Bill 929 (Robbins) would create the Truth in Music Advertising Act.  The measure would make it unlawful for any person to advertise or conduct a live musical performance or production through the use of a false, deceptive or misleading affiliation, connection or association between a performing group and a recording group.  Among other exceptions, the provisions would not apply if the performing group is the authorized registrant and owner of a federal service mark for that group registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office; at least one member of the performing group was a member of the recording group and has a legal right to use the group name; the performance is identified in all advertising as a salute or tribute; the advertising does not relate to a live musical performance taking place in the Commonwealth; or, the performance is expressly authorized by the recording group.  The Attorney General or a district attorney could bring an action against individuals violating the act and seek either a temporary or permanent injunction to restrain the prohibited activity.  When a court issues a permanent injunction to restrain violations of the act, the court could direct the defendant to make restoration to the injured parties.  A civil penalty ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 per violation is provided for individuals who violate the act.  Passed:  50-0. 

Senate Bill 940 (Waugh) would amend the Agricultural Area Security Law to provide that each fiscal year up to $200,000 from the Agricultural Conservation Easement Purchase Fund could be utilized to reimburse eligible land trusts for expenses incurred in acquiring agricultural conservation easements.  Reimbursement for eligible expenses would be limited to $5,000 per easement.  The measure would also repeal two sections of Act 159 of 1982 and re-enact those provisions as Sections 14.7 and 14.8 of Agricultural Area Security Law.  The re-enacted provisions would change the annual cap on the amount of Agricultural Land Conservation Assistance Grants a county could receive from $25,000 to $10,000.  Passed:  50-0.

Senate Resolution 169 (Scarnati) urges Congress to take appropriate action to address the hydrogen shortage in the United States due to factory shutdowns caused by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.  Adopted by Voice Vote. 

Senate Resolution 199 (Rafferty) recognizes the month of November 2005 as "Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania.  The Smith-Lemli-Opitz/RSH syndrome (SLO/RSH) is a genetic disorder that affects the development of children before and after birth.  Adopted by Voice Vote. 

House Bill 515 (Reed) would amend the Tax Reform Code of 1971 to: 

• Reduce the Personal Income Tax rate from the current level of 3.07 percent to 3.03 percent for 2007 and to 2.98 percent beginning January 1, 2008;

• Increase the Net Operating Loss cap to $7.5 million in 2006 and to $20 million for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2006;

• Reduce the Corporate Net Income (CNI) Tax rate from 9.99 percent to 9.59 percent for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2006;

• Increase the weight of the sales factor under the CNI used to apportion business income of multi-state corporations from 60 percent to 75 percent for 2006 and then to 90 percent in 2007 and thereafter; and,

• Exempt "clean rooms" and their component systems that are utilized in the manufacturing process from the sales and use tax.  Passed:  31-19.

House Bill 1361 (Hasay) would amend the Community Services Block Grant Act to extend its expiration date from December 31, 2006 to December 31, 2011.  Passed:  50-0. 

House Bill 1539 (Nickol) would amend the Fiscal Code to make a number of changes.  Among other provisions, the bill would: 

• Modify the reporting requirements for city and county officers to submit their revenue reports to the Secretary of Revenue;

• Establish the Emergency Energy Assistance Fund with one mill of the utilities gross receipts tax for the purpose of providing emergency energy assistance in situations where the Governor declares an emergency due to weather conditions, man-made or natural disasters, high energy prices, or a combination of any of these that has created a threat to public health.  The funding would only be used if federal home energy assistance funds are not sufficient to meet this need.  The Governor would be required to publish the emergency declaration in the Pennsylvania Bulletin along with the criteria and emergency regulations for the program; and,

• Repeal Act 44 of 2005 which provided modified salary provisions for state officials.  The measure would return the salaries, mileage and expenses to those in effect on July 1, 2005.  On July 1, 2006, and each December 1 thereafter, the salaries would be increased by the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers for the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland area for the most recent 12-month period for which figures have been reported.  Individuals designated as deputy whips in the Senate would receive the same salary as that designated for the Policy Chairmen.  Passed:  50-0.  (Note:  House Bill 1539 was further amended by the House of Representatives to remove the salary provisions for the Senate deputy whips and to add a section specifying that the provisions of the act are non-severable and if any provision of the act is held invalid, the remaining provisions of the act would be void.  The bill was passed by the House and returned to the Senate.  The Senate further amended the bill to remove the non-severability provisions and replaced them with a section indicating that the provisions of the bill are severable and that if one provision is held to be invalid, the invalidity would not affect the rest of the act.  The Senate then concurred in the House amendments, as amended by the Senate, by a vote of 50-0 and returned the bill to the House.)

House Bill 1606 (Kenney) would create the Pennsylvania Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Screening Act.  The bill would establish the Pennsylvania Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Screening Program in the Department of Health to provide annual breast cancer and cervical cancer screening services for low-income underinsured and uninsured women who are 40 to 49 years of age.  The program would be targeted towards women who are at high risk for breast and cervical cancer.  To be eligible for the program, a woman would have to be 40 to 49 years of age, have a family income that does not exceed 250 percent of the federal poverty level, and have no health insurance coverage for the early screening services.  The Department could promulgate regulations to implement the program.  Services provided under the act would not be considered an entitlement and would be subject to available funds appropriated for the program.  The Department would be required to report annually to the General Assembly on the implementation of the act.  Passed:  50-0. 

House Bill 1743 (Mustio) would amend the Second Class County Code to require property tax rates to be adjusted following a countywide reassessment or revaluation to ensure that the reassessment is revenue neutral.  After the tax rates have been adjusted, the governing body of the applicable taxing authority would be required to cast a separate vote if it wants to raise the tax rate consistent with the limitation placed on the increase.  The rate could be fixed at a level that limits the total amount of property tax revenue to 105 percent of the amount of property tax revenue received in the previous year.  A political subdivision could increase the tax rate above the limit with the approval of the court of common pleas.  A political subdivision would be required to refund, with interest, any excess taxes paid by homeowners.  The measure would further clarify that an appeal taken from an assessment would not prevent the collection of taxes based on the assessment.  Additional changes would establish "payment under protest" provisions and require the segregation in a separate account of 25 percent of the amount of the tax paid.  Upon final disposition of the appeal, the amount of the overpayment found to be due the appellant would be refunded to the appellant by the same taxing district.  Passed:  50-0.