Pennsylvania Senate Republican News Brief

This edition of the Pennsylvania Senate Republican News Brief features some of the notable legislation the Senate has acted on in 2009.
 

BUDGET

House Bill 1416, amended by Sen. Jake Corman (R-Centre), is a balanced state budget bill which restores support for higher education and student aid without a personal income tax (PIT) increase.

REFORM

Senate Bill 1, sponsored by Sen. Pat Browne (R-Lehigh), would establish a Legislative Fiscal Office (LFO), a non-partisan bi-cameral agency with expertise in financial matters.  The LFO would have access to the same agency and department financial information as the Governor's Budget Office. 

Senate Bill 105, sponsored by Sen. Pat Browne (R-Lehigh), would direct the Department of the Treasury to create and maintain a searchable budget database-driven website of state spending records that the public can access for free.

Senate Bill 711, sponsored by Sen. Jane Earll (R-Erie), would make numerous changes to the law regulating casinos in Pennsylvania, including reestablishment of the prohibition on political campaign contributions by individuals and entities subject to the Gaming Act, a ban on outside employment by members of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, and extension of the ban on felons receiving gaming licenses.

Senate Bill 101, sponsored by Sen. Lloyd Smucker (R-Lancaster), would increase penalties for violating the "Sunshine Law" governing open, public meetings.  

Senate Bill 896, sponsored by Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R-Jefferson), would require the Department of State to post lobbyist disclosure filings online within seven days of receiving them.

Senate Bill 110, sponsored by Sen. Lloyd Smucker (R-Lancaster), would improve public access to, and expand information contained in, state plane logs. 

Senate Bill 136, sponsored by Sen. Ted Erickson (R-Delaware), would expand the scope of review by the Independent Regulatory Review Commission to include the examination of the quality of data, helping to ensure that state regulations are based on reliable data and sound science.

Senate Resolution 6, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware), prohibits Senate funds from being used for automated telephone -- or "robo" -- calls.

HEALTH CARE

Act 2 of 2009 will create a Mini-COBRA Small Employer Group Health Plan to extend continuation of group health insurance policies for former employees and their dependents, making the option available to approximately 150,000 individuals who work for employers with 2 to 19 employees and who change jobs. Senate version sponsored by Sen. Don White (R-Indiana).

Act 1 of 2009 permits health insurers to withhold payment to providers in the event of a preventable serious adverse event. Senate version sponsored by Sen. Don White (R-Indiana).

Act 4 of 2009, sponsored by Sen. Jake Corman (R-Centre), will extend health insurance to adult dependents up to the age of 30. Nearly half of all uninsured Pennsylvanians are age 18 to 34.

Senate Bill 464, sponsored by Sen. Pat Browne (R-Lehigh), would allow physicians, dentists, dental hygienists, nurses or certified registered nurse practitioners to apply volunteer time served in a community-based health care clinic towards the completion of 20 percent of their mandatory continuing education hours required by their individual licensure boards.

EDUCATION

Senate Bill 55 and Senate Bill 56, sponsored by Sen. Jeffrey Piccola (R-Dauphin), would make significant changes to Pennsylvania's Safe Schools Law by ensuring those with criminal records are banned from employment in public schools and improving the reporting requirements between school districts and local law enforcement.

Senate Bill 281, sponsored by Sen. Jane Orie (R-Allegheny), would prohibit the state from imposing any new statewide requirement for high school graduation without legislative approval.

Senate Bill 687, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware), explicitly states that all school property owned by a charter school or an associated non-profit foundation, or leased to a charter school at or below fair market value, which is used for public school purposes is exempt from real estate taxation.

Senate Bill 287, sponsored by Sen. Pat Browne (R-Lehigh), would simplify annual financial reporting requirements to prevent duplication with the annual audit filed by local education agencies.

Senate Bill 736, sponsored by Sen. Jane Orie (R-Allegheny), would allow students with severe allergies to carry epinephrine medication -- such as EpiPen auto-injectors -- upon approval by the student's physician and parents.

CRIME

Senate Bill 366, sponsored by Sen. Pat Browne (R-Lehigh), would allow for the denial of bail for offenses where the maximum sentence is life imprisonment or for cases where there are no conditions other than imprisonment that will reasonably protect public safety.

Senate Bill 124, Senate Bill 125, Senate Bill 126 and Senate Bill 127, sponsored by Sen. John Gordner (R-Columbia), will make it more difficult to obtain the ingredients necessary to produce methamphetamine, add new protections for children and clean up the environmental damage caused by illegal meth labs.

Senate Bill 383, sponsored by Sen. Jane Orie (R-Allegheny), authorizes problem solving courts, which include mental health courts and drug courts, to divert non-violent offenders from more costly jail cells and encourage rehabilitation through extensive supervision.

Senate Bill 949, sponsored by Sen. Lisa Baker (R-Luzerne), seeks to prevent further cases of corruption in county juvenile courts and restore public confidence by establishing an Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice.

Senate Bill 531, sponsored by Sen. Pat Browne (R-Lehigh), provides for county interagency sharing of juvenile records, including the contents of drug and alcohol, mental health, and education records.

Senate Bill 628, sponsored by Sen. Mary Jo White (R-Venango), establishes a pretrial procedure to determine if a defendant in a capital penalty trial is a person with mental retardation.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

The Senate approved several bills sponsored by Sen. Mary Jo White (R-Venango) increasing transparency and accountability in state spending on environmental initiatives:

Senate Bill 115 requires DEP to post and maintain all clean air State Implementation Plans on its website, and to provide the same to the standing Senate and House oversight committees.

Senate Bill 116 requires DEP to annually compile a comprehensive report on all of the special funds and restricted accounts that it administers.

Senate Bill 117 requires state agencies which receive funding under the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund Act (Key '93) to submit annual reports to the governor and General Assembly - including a description of projects and amounts requested - and post the information online.

Senate Bill 118 requires DEP to deposit any Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act-related fine money into the HSCA fund.

Senate Bill 829, sponsored by Sen. Mary Jo White (R-Venango), extends by three months the Oct. 9 deadline faced by DEP for submitting a Pennsylvania Climate Change Action Plan.

Senate Bill 275, sponsored by Sen. Don White (R-Indiana), would establish a special review board to arbitrate coal bed methane well disputes.

Senate Bill 297, sponsored by Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming), would expand requirements for reporting gas well data to DEP.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE

Senate Bill 240, sponsored by Sen. Lisa Baker (R-Luzerne), would modernize, standardize and improve Pennsylvania's Emergency Medical Services Law to ensure high levels of patient care and greater public safety.

Senate Bill 851, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware), clarifies that volunteer fire companies and other volunteer emergency responders will not be subject to the Right-to-Know Law except in cases where a contract exists with a government agency to provide such services.

CONSUMER PROTECTION

Act 10 of 2009, sponsored by Sen. Mike Brubaker (R-Lancaster), would prohibit a mortgage broker or originator from being the exclusive recipient of communications to a consumer, preventing brokers from withholding information about interest rates, fees or monthly payments.

Act 7 of 2009 would help to prevent fraud by protecting mortgage company employees who report illegal activities or take part in an investigation, hearing or inquiry. Senate version sponsored by Sen. Mike Brubaker (R-Lancaster).

Senate Bill 304, sponsored by Sen. Jake Corman (R-Centre), would eliminate the need for Pennsylvania consumers to re-register on the "Do Not Call" registry every five years.

Senate Bill 155, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware), would require state agencies and local governments to notify the public of data breaches involving personal information within one week.

TRANSPORTATION

Senate Bill 143, sponsored by Sen. Tommy Tomlinson (R-Bucks), would make it illegal for motorists to text while driving.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Senate Bill 282, sponsored by Sen. Jane Orie (R-Allegheny), would permit municipal authorities to enter into intergovernmental cooperation agreements with municipalities and/or other municipal authorities. 

Senate Bill 284, sponsored by Sen. Jane Orie (R-Allegheny), would provide municipalities with additional time to enact conforming ordinances after the adoption of a multi-municipal comprehensive plan.

VETERANS

Senate Bill 301, sponsored by Sen. Pat Vance (R-Cumberland), and Senate Bill 302, sponsored by Sen. Lisa Baker (R-Luzerne), expand eligibility guidelines for programs that allow National Guard members to qualify for free or reduced-price hunting and fishing licenses.

Senate Bill 674, sponsored by Sen. Mike Waugh (R-York), allows school districts to establish a program in order to award high school diplomas to honorably discharged Vietnam veterans who were unable to graduate due to their military service.

Senate Bill 206, sponsored by Sen. Chuck McIlhinney (R-Bucks), would prohibit any principal, superintendent or school official from denying any member of the military entry to school facilities because he or she is wearing a military uniform.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

Senate Bill 9, sponsored by Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R-Jefferson), would require any applicant for public benefits to sign an affidavit stating they are a legal alien and would have their status verified through the Federal Systematic Alien Verification of Entitlement Program.