Below is a recap of this week’s legislative activity in the Senate. There were limited floor votes, but several pieces of legislation moved through committees.

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Bob Mensch

In this Issue...

Senate Approves Purely Public Charities Constitutional Amendment
Senate Approves Bill Promoting Conventional Oil Production in PA
Committee Hearing Focuses on “True Costs of E-911”
Next Week

Senate Approves Purely Public Charities Constitutional Amendment

The Senate passed a proposal on Tuesday that would amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to give the General Assembly the power to determine whether an institution is a purely public charity and thus exempt from paying local property taxes. 

Senate Bill 4 specifies that the General Assembly, not the judiciary, has the exclusive right to set the parameters for an organization to qualify as a purely public charity. The measure is necessary following a 2012 Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling which created a great deal of confusion among charities and local governments regarding the criteria for an organization to qualify for a tax exemption. 

Because the bill would amend the state Constitution, the proposal must pass in two consecutive legislative sessions before being decided by the voters via referendum. The proposal was already approved once by the General Assembly during the 2013-14 session. 

Senate Approves Bill Promoting Conventional Oil Production in PA

The Senate approved legislation on Wednesday that will protect and promote conventional oil and natural gas production in Pennsylvania. 

Senate Bill 279, legislation to protect the conventional oil and gas production industry from state regulations intended for companies extracting Marcellus Shale gas, now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration. 

SB 279 would establish the Penn Grade Crude Development Advisory Council, a panel empowered to study existing regulations and assist the Department of Environmental Protection in making changes that better address the differences between conventional and unconventional oil and gas production. 

Also on Wednesday, the Senate approved Senate Bill 397, a measure that would privatize and regulate the Bail Bondsman industry in Pennsylvania.

Committee Hearing Focuses on “True Costs of E-911”

With the end of the Emergency Telephone Act looming at the end of June, the Senate Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee held a public hearing on Wednesday to gather testimony on the “True Costs of E-911” in Pennsylvania. 

Substantial changes in technology and society since the original enactment of the law in 1990 have increased equipment and personnel costs for county dispatch centers, while whittling away at the funding sources that were intended to support those operations, according to state and county officials. 

Testifiers included representatives from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, Legislative Budget & Finance Committee, County Commissioners Association of PA, and a panel consisting of officials from the Allegheny, Philadelphia, Tioga, and Westmoreland County E-911 centers. 

The committee also considered and approved House Bill 152, a measure amending the Emergency and Law Enforcement Personnel Death Benefit Act by extending the filing period for the death benefit from 90 days to three years. That bill now goes to the full Senate for consideration. 

Click here for the committee’s agenda, written testimony and hearing video.

Next Week

The Senate reconvenes Monday at 1 p.m. Session is streamed at PASenateGOP.com. 

Complete Senate Committee Schedule

Twitter and Facebook: I post regular updates on legislative action, committee developments, useful state-related information, happenings in the 24th Senatorial District and more on Twitter @SenatorMensch and on my Facebook page.
 

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