Monday, June 4, 2007
Senate Bill 221 (Stack) would amend the Crimes Code to grant members
of the United States Armed Forces or the Pennsylvania National Guard on
federal active duty a 90-day extension of their license to carry a
firearm if they are deployed overseas when the license expires. The
extension would begin at the end of the deployment. Passed: 47-0.
Executive Session
The Honorable Robert M. Tomlinson – Council of Trustees of West
Chester University. Confirmed: 46-0.
Nominations to Various Boards and Commissions. (See Attached)
Confirmed: 47-0.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Senate Bill 8 (Wonderling) would create the "Medical Safety
Automation Fund (M-SAF) Act." The legislation would establish a medical
safety automation program to provide grants to health care providers (a
health care facility, health care practitioner, or community-based
health care provider) and to regional health information organizations
(a not-for-profit organization established to enable participation in a
program by multiple health care providers) to implement medical safety
automation systems. In order to be eligible for the program, health
care providers must provide medically necessary services regardless of
an individual's ability to pay and be a participating provider of
medical assistance.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health would administer the program,
develop an application, coordinate the program with the Department of
Public Welfare and other agencies, and award grants. Other duties,
as outlined in the bill, would include facilitating the implementation
of a statewide interoperable medical safety automation system among
providers, insurers and consumers; the development of a public
information program about the program; and auditing and assessing the
safety automation systems. Preference under the program would be
given to applications which provide regional medical safety automation
systems that link multiple providers and which have direct patient
access to health care information.
The program would provide grants for a two year term. Grants could
not exceed $1,000,000 and no less than 60 percent of available funds
would be used for grants to health care providers in fourth through
eighth class counties. A 50 percent local match would be required for
community-based health care providers and a 100 percent local match
would be required for all other recipients. The grants could be used
for: the purchase of health information or telecommunications
technology necessary to create interoperable and integrated medical
safety automation systems; payment of costs and expenses associated with
the preparation of plans, specifications, studies and surveys necessary to determine the scope of
a medical safety automation system and the practicality and
effectiveness of its use; and, training of personnel in the use of a
medical safety automation system. Grant recipients, within the first
year of the grant, would provide a report to the Department of Health
describing the development of the system and any reduction in medical
errors and increases in efficiency. The Department of Health would
submit an annual report to the Senate Public Health and Welfare
Committee and the House Health and Human Services Committee. The
program would be funded by appropriations made by the General Assembly
and from investment earnings on any amounts appropriated and deposited
into a restricted account known as the Medical Safety Automation Fund.
Passed: 47-0.
Senate Bill 100 (Tomlinson) would create the Home Improvement
Consumer Protection Act. Among other provisions, the bill would:
- Prohibit a person from holding himself out as a contractor
or from performing any home improvement without first registering with
the Bureau of Consumer Protection in the Attorney General's Office. The
bill excludes companies with a net worth of more than $50 million
dollars or an employee of the retailer that does not perform home
improvements and individuals who perform less than $5,000 worth of home
improvement work per year from registering as a contractor.
- Require a $50 application fee and provide for biennial
renewal of a contractor's license. The bill requires the applicant to
provide certain background information (criminal, financial, and work
history information covering a ten-year period prior to registration) to
the bureau as well as proof of personal liability insurance.
- Require home improvement contracts to be in writing with
certain elements as enumerated in the bill in order for the contract to
be enforceable against a homeowner. The bill would permit rescission of
the contract within three business days of the date of the signing of
the contract regardless of where the contract was signed.
- Make voidable a number of clauses limiting rights of the
property owner, including a hold harmless clause, a confession of
judgment, an allowance of attorney fees and costs clause, a mandatory
arbitration clause, etc.
- Declare as fraudulent a number of actions, including
misrepresenting one's real name, publishing a false or deceptive
advertisement, or damaging a person's property in order to induce the
homeowner to enter into a home improvement agreement. Violations are a
felony if the amount involved is more than $2,000 and a misdemeanor if
the amount involved is less than $2,000. In addition, a court may
revoke or suspend a contractor's license.
- Prohibit a number of other unacceptable actions, including
failure to register as a contractor, and failure to refund payments when
no substantial portion of the contracted work has been performed more
than 45 days after the starting date in the contract.
- Provide that nothing in the act shall preclude a contractor
from recovery of payment for the reasonable value of work performed if
the services were requested by an owner and a court determines that
denial of recovery would be inequitable.
- Make home improvement contracts subject to the Unfair Trade
Practices and Consumer Protection Law. Passed: 46-1.
Senate Bill 116 (Costa) would amend the Judicial Code to further
provide for the selection of prospective jurors. The bill would
establish a statewide jury information system within the Administrative
Office of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC). The Departments of Public
Welfare, Transportation, Revenue and State would be required to submit
certain information to AOPC annually for inclusion in the statewide
system. This information would include Commonwealth residents who
receive cash assistance or food stamps pursuant to a state or federal
program (Public Welfare); residents who have been issued a driver's
license (Transportation); residents who have filed a personal income tax
return (Revenue); and residents who are listed as registered voters
(State).
Lists submitted by the departments would be limited to the
individual's name, address, date of birth and the last four digits of
the individual's social security number. The court administrator would
collect the information annually for the statewide jury information
system and combine each department's list into a master list. The
administrator would be required to remove any information that
identifies the source of the information, arrange the names by county
and remove duplicates. Upon request, the administrator would make the
list of names available to the county. The court administrator and the
departments would be required to enter into agreements for the use of
the information. The departments would be required to provide the
information in an electronic format specified by the AOPC. The
information contained in the statewide jury information system would not
be considered public information under the Right to Know Law.
The legislation would also amend section 4521 of the Judicial Code to
provide that the master list of prospective jurors maintained by jury
selection commissions must contain the most recent available address for
prospective jurors. In addition, the current sources of optional
listings that may be incorporated into the list of prospective jurors at
the discretion of the counties would be amended to delete persons who
pay taxes or are assessed for taxes imposed by any political
subdivision. Passed: 47-0.
Senate Resolution 125 (Robbins) designates the month of June 2007 as
"Corrections Officers and Employees Month" in Pennsylvania. Adopted by
Voice Vote.
Senate Resolution 132 (Orie) commends the Heart of Gold Foundation
for raising awareness of sarcoidosis through its First Annual Walk-Run
for Sarcoidosis on June 10, 2007, in Highland Park, Pittsburgh.
Sarcoidosis involves inflammation that produces tiny lumps of cells in
various organs in the body. The condition can occur in almost any part
of the body, although it usually affects certain organs, such as the
lungs and lymph nodes, more than others. In some serious cases in which
vital organs are affected, sarcoidosis can result in death. Adopted by
Voice Vote.
