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WEEKLY SESSION NOTES
Senate Republican Policy Committee
Sen. Jake Corman, Chairman
Executive Session
Monday, June 18, 2007
Senate Bill 726 (Browne) would amend the Mechanics Lien Law of 1963
to allow the waiver of the right to file a lien on any residential
property, regardless of the cost of the project. Currently, a
contractor or subcontractor may waive his or her right to file a claim
against residential property when the total contract price is less than
one million dollars. The bill would also change the definition of
“residential building” in the act to “residential property.”
Residential property would include property on which there is or will
be constructed a building not more than three stories in height, not
including the basement, regardless of whether a portion of the basement
is at grade level. The measure would also establish provisions to limit
claims to the unpaid balance of the contract between the owner and the
contractor. Additional provisions are also included for limits on
claims by subcontractors and other parties. Passed: 50-0.
Senate Bill 810 (Musto) would authorize the Department of General
Services to convey 0.51 acres and a one-story building in Pittston,
Luzerne County to the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Pittston
for fair market value as determined by an independent appraisal. No
portion of the conveyance could be used as a licensed gaming facility or
it would revert to the Commonwealth. In the event the conveyance is not
executed within six months of the effective date of the act, DGS is
authorized to dispose of the property in accordance with section 2406-A
of the Administrative Code of 1929. Passed: 50-0.
Senate Bill 929 (Armstrong) would make a number of appropriations to
the Trustees of the Pennsylvania State University for the 2007-2008
Fiscal Year. These appropriations would include: $263,499,000 for
education and general expenses; $25,094,000 for the cost of agricultural
research; $29,787,000 for the cost of agricultural extension services;
$454,000 to enhance the recruitment and retention of disadvantaged
students; $12,659,000 for the Pennsylvania College of Technology; and,
$1,389,000 for debt service related to the former Williamsport Area
Community College. Passed: 48-2.
Senate Bill 931 (Armstrong) would make appropriations to the
Trustees of Temple University for the 2007-2008 Fiscal Year. These
appropriations would include $172,475,000 for education and general
expenses and $442,000 to enhance the recruitment and retention of
disadvantaged students. Passed: 48-2.
Senate Bill 932 (Armstrong) would appropriate $13,786,000 to the
Trustees of Lincoln University for the 2007-2008 Fiscal Year. The
monies would be used for educational and general expenses. Passed:
48-2.
Senate Bill 933 (Armstrong) would appropriate $7,002,000 to the
Trustees of Drexel University in Philadelphia for instruction and
student aid during the 2007-2008 Fiscal Year. Passed: 48-2.
Senate Bill 934 (Armstrong) would make a number of appropriations to
the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania for the 2007-2008 Fiscal
Year. These appropriations would include: $1,088,000 for dental
clinics; $4,057,000 for instruction in the Doctor of Medicine program;
$39,450,000 for veterinary activities; $3,216,000 for the Center for
Infectious Disease; and $1,609,000 for cardiovascular studies. The sum
of $231,000 would also be appropriated for the general maintenance of
and purchase of equipment for the University of Pennsylvania Museum.
Passed: 48-2.
Senate Bill 935 (Armstrong) would appropriate $7,759,000 to the
Philadelphia Health and Education Corporation for the College of
Medicine for the 2007-2008 Fiscal Year for instruction in the Doctor of
Medicine program. The bill would also appropriate $1,727,000 for the
Colleges of Medicine, Public Health, Nursing and Health Professions;
$307,000 for minority educational and recruitment programs; $712,000 for
continued pediatric outpatient and inpatient treatment of severe
physically disabling diseases; $149,000 for continued support of the
handicapped children’s clinic; and $2,011,000 for operating expenses.
Passed: 48-2.
Senate Bill 936 (Armstrong) would appropriate $5,592,000 to the
Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia for instruction in the
Doctor of Medicine program during the 2007-2008 Fiscal Year. The bill
would also appropriate $4,260,000 for the general maintenance of the
university. Passed: 48-2.
Senate Bill 937 (Armstrong) would appropriate $6,576,000 to the
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine for instruction in the
Doctor of Osteopathy program during the 2007-2008 Fiscal Year. Passed:
48-2.
Senate Bill 938 (Armstrong) would appropriate $1,693,000 to the
Pennsylvania College of Optometry in Philadelphia for instruction during
the 2007-2008 Fiscal Year. Passed: 48-2.
Senate Bill 939 (Armstrong) would appropriate $1,214,000 to the
University of the Arts in Philadelphia for instruction and student aid
during the 2007-2008 Fiscal Year. Passed: 48-2.
Senate Bill 940 (Armstrong) would appropriate $1,504,000 to the
Trustees of the Berean Training and Industrial School in Philadelphia
for the operation and maintenance of the school during the 2007-2008
Fiscal Year. Passed: 46-4.
Senate Bill 941 (Armstrong) would appropriate $194,000 to the
Johnson Technical Institute of Scranton for the operation and
maintenance of the school during the 2007-2008 Fiscal Year. Passed:
46-4.
Senate Bill 942 (Armstrong) would appropriate $71,000 to the
Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades in Delaware County for the
operation and maintenance of the school during the 2007-2008 Fiscal
Year. Passed: 46-4.
Senate Bill 943 (Armstrong) would appropriate $1,861,000 to the Lake
Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Erie for instruction in the Doctor
of Osteopathy program for the 2007-2008 Fiscal Year. Passed: 48-2.
Senate Bill 944 (Armstrong) would appropriate $776,000 to the Fox
Chase Institute for Cancer Research in Philadelphia for the operation
and maintenance of the cancer research program during the 2007-2008
Fiscal Year. Passed: 48-2.
Senate Bill 945 (Armstrong) would appropriate $214,000 to the Wistar
Institute in Philadelphia for the operation and maintenance of the
institute during the 2007-2008 Fiscal Year. The bill would also
appropriate $92,000 to the institute for research on acquired immune
deficiency syndrome. Passed: 48-2.
Senate Bill 946 (Armstrong) would appropriate $130,000 to the
Central Penn Oncology Group for the 2007-2008 Fiscal Year. Passed:
48-2.
Senate Bill 947 (Armstrong) would appropriate $59,000 to the
Lancaster Cleft Palate for outpatient-inpatient treatment during the
2007-2008 Fiscal Year. Passed: 48-2.
Senate Bill 948 (Armstrong) would appropriate $418,000 to the Burn
Foundation in Philadelphia for outpatient and inpatient treatment during
the 2007-2008 Fiscal Year. Passed: 48-2.
Senate Bill 950 (Armstrong) would appropriate $970,000 to The
Children’s Institute in Pittsburgh for the 2007-2008 Fiscal Year for the
treatment and rehabilitation of children and young adults with disabling
diseases. Passed: 48-2.
Senate Bill 951 (Armstrong) would appropriate $451,000 to The
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for comprehensive patient care for
children from birth through age 19 and for general maintenance and
operation of the hospital during the 2007-2008 Fiscal Year.
Passed: 48-2.
Senate Bill 952 (Armstrong) would appropriate $105,000 to the Beacon
Lodge Camp for services to the blind during the 2007-2008 Fiscal Year.
Passed: 48-2.
Senate Bill 953 (Armstrong) would appropriate $231,000 to the
Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh for the Carnegie Museum of Natural
History for maintenance and the purchase of apparatus, supplies and
equipment during the 2007-2008 Fiscal Year. The bill would also
appropriate $231,000 for the Carnegie Science Center for the general
operation of the planetarium and center. Passed: 39-11.
Senate Bill 954 (Armstrong) would appropriate $699,000 to the
Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia for maintenance of the
institute during the 2007-2008 Fiscal Year. None of the appropriation
could be used in support of the institute’s research laboratories.
Passed: 39-11.
Senate Bill 955 (Armstrong) would appropriate $428,000 to the
Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia for the maintenance of the
academy during the 2007-2008 Fiscal Year. Passed: 39-11.
Senate Bill 956 (Armstrong) would appropriate $326,000 to the
African-American Museum in Philadelphia for operating expenses,
including maintenance and the purchase of apparatus, supplies, and
equipment, during the 2007-2008 Fiscal Year. Passed: 38-12.
Senate Bill 957 (Armstrong) would appropriate $42,000 to the
Everhart Museum in Scranton for operating expenses, including
maintenance and the purchase of apparatus, supplies, and equipment,
during the 2007-2008 Fiscal Year. Passed: 38-12.
Senate Bill 958 (Armstrong) would appropriate $178,000 to the Mercer
Museum in Doylestown for operating expenses, including maintenance and
the purchase of apparatus, supplies, and equipment, during the 2007-2008
Fiscal Year. Passed: 38-12.
Senate Bill 959 (Armstrong) would appropriate $128,000 to the
Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts in Harrisburg for operating
expenses, including maintenance and the purchase of apparatus, supplies,
and equipment, during the 2007-2008 Fiscal Year. Passed: 38-12.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Senate Bill 612 (Greenleaf) would amend the Landscape Architects’
Registration Law to increase the continuing education requirement from
10 hours of mandatory continuing education during each two-year license
period to 24 hours. The bill would also eliminate a grandfather
provision permitting the State Board of Landscape Architects to grant a
license to individuals without examination who have ten years of active
experience and a degree from an approved institution or persons with 15
years of active experience and a degree from a non-approved
institution. This provision is no longer necessary because all persons
subject to the grandfather clause are believed to be licensed. Passed:
46-3.
Senate Bill 737 (Rafferty) would extend the provision added to the
Crimes Code by Act 141 of 2002 which permits the use of underage
enforcement officers in the Bureau of Liquor Control in the Pennsylvania
State Police to attempt to purchase, transport or possess alcoholic or
malt and brewed beverages for investigation purposes. The provision
would be extended by ten years until December 31, 2017. Passed: 49-0.
Senate Bill 846 (Armstrong) would amend the General Appropriations
Act of 2006 to provide supplemental General Fund and federal funds
appropriations for Fiscal Year 2006-2007. General Fund supplemental
appropriations total $183,026,000. Federal supplemental appropriations
would augment the General Fund by $93,917,000; the Lottery Fund by
$300,000 and the PACE fund by $10,500,000. Passed: 42-7.
Senate Bill 930 (Armstrong) would make a number of appropriations to
the Trustees of the University of Pittsburgh for the 2007-2008 Fiscal
Year. These appropriations would include: $164,312,000 for educational
and general expenses; $435,000 for student life initiatives; $442,000 to
enhance the recruitment and retention of disadvantaged students;
$523,000 for the teen suicide center at the Western Psychiatric
Institute and Clinic; and, $2,157,000 for rural education outreach.
Passed: 47-2.
Senate Resolution 137 (Brubaker) recognizes the importance of
pollinators to ecosystem health and agriculture in the Commonwealth, as
well as the need to increase awareness about protecting and sustaining
pollinators by designating the week of June 24 through 30, 2007 as
“Pennsylvania Pollinator Week.” Adopted by Voice Vote.
Senate Resolution 138 (Pippy) designates June 19, 2007 as “Oval Race
Track Day” in Pennsylvania. Adopted by Voice Vote.
Executive Session
Nominations to Various Boards and Commissions. (See Attached)
Confirmed: 49-0.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Senate Bill 87 (Tomlinson) would amend Title 62 (Procurement) of the
Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes to provide for contracting with
veteran-owned businesses. Among other provisions, the bill would:
- Require each
state purchasing agency to have an annual goal of not less than
five percent participation by veteran-owned businesses.
- Impose a number
of duties upon the Department of General Services designed to
facilitate the five percent participation goal, including a duty to:
- Provide staff to assist veteran-owned businesses
in learning how to do business with Commonwealth agencies and develop
training programs for veterans;
- Provide publicity on procurement procedures and
issue publications designed to assist veterans;
- Compile and maintain a list of veteran-owned
businesses;
- Place veteran-owned businesses on solicitation
mailing lists;
- Assure that veteran-owned businesses are
solicited on each procurement for which the businesses may be suited;
- Develop training programs to assist
veteran-owned businesses in learning how to do business with
Commonwealth agencies; and,
- Assure that participation by veteran-owned
businesses is appropriately factored into the evaluation of proposals
for supplies, services or construction when a purchasing agency uses the
competitive sealed proposals method under Section 513.
- Require the Department to certify businesses that have been
identified as “veteran work force utilization businesses” defined as
businesses which develop and implement special processes and procedures
for recruiting, retaining, training or developing veteran employees and
whose workforce is no less than 10 percent veterans.
- Permit a purchasing agency to reduce bonding requirements
and to make special provisions for progress payments to encourage
procurement from veteran-owned businesses.
- Authorize the Department to establish business assistance
offices throughout the Commonwealth to assist and carry out the
provisions of this bill.
- Require each purchasing agency to report annually in writing
to the Senate and House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness
Committees concerning the awarding of contracts to veteran-owned
businesses during the preceding fiscal year. Passed: 50-0.
Senate Bill 399 (Musto) would amend the Public School Code to expand
the eligible uses for Pennsylvania Accountability Grants. The
additional options include:
- Foreign language instruction in early grades,
either in immersion classrooms or as separate periods of
instruction;
- Programs to enhance
educational technology, including the acquisition of laptop
computers and other state-of-the-art resources;
- Programs to strengthen
high school curricula by creating rigorous college and career
preparatory programs, increasing academic achievement, offering
additional advanced placement courses and providing school based
counseling and professional development; and,
- Programs to provide
intensive teacher training, professional development opportunities
and teaching resources to elementary level science teachers.
The bill would require the Department of Education to notify school
districts about the newly authorized programs. School districts could
amend their Accountability Grant Plans to take into consideration the
newly expanded list of program options. Passed: 50-0.
Senate Bill 648 (D. White) would authorize the Department of General
Services (DGS) to make the following two conveyances with the approval
of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and the Governor:
- 2.86 acres and a building in Ligonier,
Westmoreland County. The Department could sell the property through
an invitation for sealed bids or by public auction. The proceeds
from the sale would be deposited in the State Treasury Armory Fund;
and,
- The National Guard Armory, 108 West Washington
Avenue, Connellsville, Fayette County to the City of Connellsville for
$50,000. The proceeds from the sale would be deposited in the State
Treasury Armory Fund. No portion of the property conveyed could be used
as a licensed gaming facility or it would revert to the Commonwealth.
In the event the conveyance is not executed within six months of the
effective date of the act, DGS is authorized to dispose of the property
in accordance with section 2406-A of the Administrative Code of 1929.
Passed: 50-0.
Senate Bill 752 (Erickson) would amend the Regulatory Review Act to
require agencies submitting proposed regulations to the Independent
Regulatory Review Commission to provide a description of any data upon which
the regulation is based with a detailed explanation of how the data was
obtained and why the data is acceptable data. “Acceptable data” is defined
as empirical, replicable and testable data as evidenced in supporting
documentation, statistics, reports, studies or research. Agencies would be
responsible for proving that data is acceptable. The Commission, when
reviewing regulations for a determination of whether a regulation is in the
public interest, would be required to consider whether data used as the
basis of the regulation is acceptable data. Passed: 50-0.
Senate Resolution 131
(Scarnati) honors Dan Michaels, Kimio Nelson, Keith Sorensen and John
Zingone, deputy sheriffs in Warren County, Pennsylvania, for their prominent
role in the September 8, 2006 apprehension of a New York State fugitive who
later pled guilty to the fatal shooting of one New York State Trooper and
the wounding of two other troopers. Adopted by Voice Vote.
House Bill 1286 (D. Evans) is
the General Appropriation Act of 2007, which provides for the expenses of the
Executive, Legislative and Judicial Departments of the Commonwealth, the
public debt and for the public schools for the 2007-2008 Fiscal Year. The
measure proposes approximately $26.2 billion in General Fund spending, and
includes more than $15 billion in federal funds. Total spending represents
a modest 2.7 percent increase over last year’s budget. The measure also
makes state and federal appropriations for a variety of special funds and
includes supplemental appropriations for the 2006-2007 Fiscal Year. Among
other highlights, the measure would:
- Increase basic
education spending by $176 million, which is $10 million more than the
amount requested by the Governor;
- Increase funding
for the Education Accountability Block Grants by $25 million; and,
- Restore some
funding for epilepsy support services, lupus treatment, trauma center
certification, agricultural research, and self-employment assistance.
Passed: 49-1.
Executive Session
Denise M. Shope – Board
of Trustees of Danville State Hospital. Confirmed: 50-0.
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