October 4, 2011
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Pennsylvania Senate Republican News Brief

"I am surprised and appalled that taxpayer dollars were used to pay for these things."

-- Sen. Pat Vance (R-Cumberland), who chaired a Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee Hearing that revealed a significant lack of fiscal oversight of funds meant to provide services for those with intellectual disabilities.

Preview

Tuesday: Electoral College, Drilling and Storm Impacts, Defining Child Abuse

The Senate State Government Committee, chaired by Sen. Chuck McIlhinney (R-Bucks), will hold a public hearing on Electoral College reform. In 2012, Pennsylvania will have 20 electoral votes, one for each of the 18 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the two U.S. Senators who represent the Commonwealth. Under a proposal by Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware), two presidential electors would be chosen based on the statewide vote. The other 18 would be chosen based on the vote for president in each Congressional district. (11 a.m. N. Office Bldg. Hearing Room 1)

The Senate Urban Affairs and Housing Committee, chaired by Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming), will hold a public hearing to discuss the impact on housing in Lycoming County as a result of Marcellus Shale drilling, and severe flooding caused by Tropical Storm Lee and Hurricane Irene. (9:30 a.m. Thompson Professional Development Center, PA College of Technology, Williamsport)

The Senate Aging and Youth Committee, chaired by Sen. Kim Ward (R-Westmoreland), will hold a public hearing in Pittsburgh to explore possible changes to the state's definition of child abuse or to the Commonwealth’s Child Protective Services system. The hearing is a follow-up to an August 26th hearing on child abuse. The committee could consider legislation in the fall.  (10 a.m. Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC)

Friday: Hearing to Examine Quail, Pheasant Management

On Friday, the Senate Game and Fisheries Committee, chaired by Sen. Richard Alloway (R-Franklin), will hold a public hearing regarding the PA Game Commission's Wild Pheasant Recovery Areas (WPRA), the implementation and administration of the Wild Pheasant Conservation Enhancement Program (CREP), and an overview of the Commission's Quail Management Program. (10 a.m. Whitetail Ski Resort, Mercersburg)

Review

Vance Committee Exposes Wasteful Spending

A hearing Wednesday by the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee, chaired by Sen. Pat Vance (R-Cumberland), revealed a significant lack of fiscal oversight of funds meant to provide services for those with intellectual disabilities.

The Office of Development Programs (ODP) in the Department of Public Welfare (DPW) provides those with intellectual disabilities, autism and their families with services and support in order to achieve greater independence and to enhance quality of life.

Examples of abuse disclosed by the Corbett Administration included:

• Flea dipping for a "therapeutic" cat
• Chandeliers
• A bowling alley
• Rental payments beyond market value
• Luxury cars

Over half of each new tax dollar generated in Pennsylvania is going toward human services. If this continues, the human services' system is expected to grow 11 percent per year until 2014. With a $4 billion budget shortfall expected in fiscal year 2012 and a structural deficit going forward, this growth is unsustainable.

Senate Vance: "Throughout the fall, our committee plans to hold further hearings to get to the bottom of these activities and stop them. This type of waste and abuse is not only unconscionable, but even more important, it is preventing those who need services from receiving them."
Watch Listen -1:08

Finance Committee Hearing Examines Pension Issues, Possible Solutions

The Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Sen. Mike Brubaker (R-Lancaster), took a closer look at the financial challenges of state and municipal pension systems and gathered suggestions for possible solutions during a public hearing Wednesday.

The committee heard from testifiers about the pros and cons of alternatives that include defined contribution plans, hybrid plans, and cash balance plans. According to testimony from several participants, the unfunded liabilities of the major state-run pension systems present a significant obstacle to reducing pension costs because those liabilities must be paid even if a switch is made to a different type of plan.

For more on the hearing, please see In the Spotlight, below.
Watch Listen - 1:54

Teen Driver Safety Bill Sent to Governor for Enactment

The Senate approved a measure last week designed to increase safety among Pennsylvania's most inexperienced drivers.

House Bill 9, as amended by the Senate, would limit the number of passengers who may ride in a vehicle operated by a junior driver. The House of Representatives concurred on Senate amendments and sent the bill to the Governor for enactment into law.

The measure would prohibit a junior driver from having more than one passenger under the age of 18 who is not a member of the junior driver's immediate family unless the junior driver is accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.  That provision would apply for the first six months after the issuance of a junior driver's license. After the six-month period expires, a junior driver would be limited to no more than three passengers under the age of 18 who are not members of the driver's immediate family unless the driver is accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

The bill also would require minors with a learner's permit to complete 65 hours of practical driving, including no less than 10 hours of nighttime driving and five hours of inclement weather driving before testing for a junior driver's license.

Package to Make Local Government Bidding Process Less Costly Approved

The Senate approved a multi-bill package September 27 that updates and increases the threshold for the formal bidding process for local and county governments and other public entities across the Commonwealth.

The bills would amend the various laws impacting local government entities -- including counties, cities, townships, boroughs and other public agencies -- by raising to $18,500 the level at which they must go through the formal bidding process.

Sponsors of the bills include Senate Local Government Committee Chair John Eichelberger (R-Blair), Sen. Bob Robbins (R-Mercer), Sen. Lisa Baker (R-Luzerne), Sen. Mike Folmer (R-Lebanon), Sen. John Gordner (R-Columbia), Sen. John Rafferty (R-Montgomery), Sen. Mike Brubaker (R-Lancaster) and Sen. Mike Waugh (R-York).

Additionally, the bills provide for adjustments of the bid limit thresholds by the Department of Labor and Industry based upon the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U).

For a complete list of bills in the package, please see Fast Facts, below.

Senate Approves Bill Opening Vital Statistics for Research

The Senate approved legislation September 27 that would make it easier for the public to research birth and death records maintained by the Commonwealth, after a suitable waiting period.

Senate Bill 361, sponsored by Sen. Bob Robbins (R-Mercer), would open birth records to the public 105 years after the date of birth and death records 50 years after the date of death. Currently, those records are considered by the state to be closed and only immediate family members are eligible to obtain a certified birth or death record.

Beginning in 1906 all births and deaths in Pennsylvania were recorded by the Commonwealth, with the exception of Philadelphia which compiled the records until 1915. From 1893 through 1905 births and deaths were recorded at the county level. These records have always been open to the public for research. 

Lawmakers Announce Agreement on Harrisburg Financial Recovery Legislation

Sen. Jeffrey Piccola (R-Dauphin) and Rep. Glen Grell (R-Cumberland) announced a compromise to address the Capital City's ongoing financial crisis by calling for an immediate recovery plan and state intervention.

The compromise would allow the Governor to declare a state of fiscal emergency in the city, and he would immediately direct the Department of Community and Economic Development to develop an emergency action plan to provide for the city's vital and necessary services, including police and emergency services, water and sewer services, trash pickup and other services.

The Governor will also have the ability to petition Commonwealth Court to appoint a receiver for the city in the event city council fails within a month of the declaration to adopt a plan to bring the city on the path to recovery.  The agreed-to amendment would also include an advisory panel responsible for providing feedback and reactions to the receiver as the plan is implemented. The bill would also prohibit the imposition of a commuter tax.

In the Spotlight

Public School Employees' Retirement System (PSERS) Executive Director Jeffrey Clay and State Employees' Retirement System (SERS) Director of Member Services David Durbin reported a combined total of more than $29 billion in unfunded liabilities in the two pension funds. They noted that the unfunded liabilities have been building for some time due to persistent underfunding of the systems, benefit increases and market downturns. Under current contribution rates, Clay said unfunded liabilities for PSERS alone could grow to $45 billion by 2018.

The directors said that the SERS and PSERS funds could not pay down existing unfunded liabilities through investment returns alone and added that significantly higher levels of funding would be required to keep the funds solvent. They said that any potential one-time cash infusions would need to be massive to make a difference and that cash infusions are not likely to be a viable solution on their own.

Public Employee Retirement Commission (PERC) Executive Director James McAneny said that municipal pension systems did not suffer as much as state systems in the aftermath of the market downturn in 2008 due to requirements for those plans to be fully funded. McAneny added that the cost of switching from the state's current defined benefit plan to the defined contribution plan favored by many private businesses would be prohibitive due to the current unfunded liabilities in the pension systems.

Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System (PMRS) Secretary James Allen noted that the system manages both defined benefit and cash balance plans for local governments. Allen discussed asset allocation and the differences between the six percent assumed rate of return for PMRS in contrast to the higher rates of return assumed by PSERS and SERS. He described the six percent assumption as conservative and suggested that it has worked for the system based on the requirements of its governing statute.

Fast Facts