Pennsylvania Senate Republican News Brief

"The budget that the governor proposed and that the House passed is unconstitutional. We are going to send a letter to the governor asking him to submit a new budget, one than reflects the deficit of today."

-- Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Jake Corman (R-Centre) on revenue projections showing a year-end deficit twice as large as included in the governor's proposed budget.

Preview

COMMITTEE TO EXPLORE MARCELLUS SHALE PIPELINE ISSUES

On Tuesday, May 11, the Senate Majority Policy Committee, chaired by Sen. Ted Erickson (R-Delaware), will hold a public hearing in Williamsport on issues related to pipelines in the Marcellus Shale region.

The committee will receive testimony from pipeline representatives as well as state and federal regulators.

Review

Senate Approves High Risk Pool Legislation

The Senate overwhelmingly approved legislation May 3 sponsored by Sen. Mike Folmer (R-Lebanon) to establish a state High Risk Pool (HRP).

Many states have some version of a high risk pool, which does not allow public funds to pay premiums. Senate Bill 507 sought to apply this provision to Pennsylvania law while establishing an independent board of directors to oversee the operations of the pool and ensure it is self-sustaining. The new federal health care law forced changes to the bill.

Senator Folmer said: "The goal of Senate Bill 507 was to create an independent, self-sustainable entity capable of providing affordable coverage to all consumers – especially younger, healthier people. Hopefully, Pennsylvania and other states will be able to still carry out this mission with the new federal care restrictions."

For more on the effort to make health insurance more affordable, please see In the Spotlight, below.

Senate Education Committee Acts on Charter School Oversight Bill

The Senate Education Committee, chaired by Sen. Jeffrey Piccola (R-Dauphin), unanimously approved a comprehensive overhaul of the state charter school law Tuesday.

Senate Bill 1314, sponsored by Senator Piccola, is designed to crack down on financial abuses and increase transparency among the state's 135 charter schools, which educate more than 70,000 children. Responding to news that a Philadelphia area charter school had been doubling as a nightclub on weekends, and that a city-sponsored investigation had uncovered numerous alleged improprieties among 13 of the city's 67 charter school operators, the original bill was redrafted to further strengthen its accountability measures.

The bill would create an Office of Charter and Cyber Charter Schools within the Department of Education, which would have the authority to receive and investigate complaints of fraud, waste, mismanagement, misconduct or persistently poor academic performance. The office would also be able to investigate the misuse of property; evidence of a pattern of wasteful spending or misappropriation of funds by board members, administrators or staff; mismanagement of school operations; and waste or abuse of state or local government property.

Senate Panel Approves Sen. McIlhinney's Bill to Prevent Layoffs

The Senate Labor and Industry Committee, chaired by Sen. John Gordner (R-Columbia), unanimously approved legislation Wednesday that would preserve Pennsylvania jobs by giving employers alternatives to layoffs.

Senate Bill 1205, sponsored by Sen. Chuck McIlhinney (R-Bucks), would allow employers who are facing the prospect of layoffs to implement a temporary shared-work program that would reduce employee hours and allow those employees to receive proportionate unemployment compensation benefits in certain cases.

In cases where at least 10 percent of a unit would be affected by layoffs, the proposal would allow employers to reduce normal weekly hours by no less than 20 percent and no more than 40 percent. The shared-work plan would be voluntary for employers and would have to be reviewed and approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry and the union of any affected employees.

Senate Approves Bill to Establish State Licensing of Plumbing Contractors

The state Senate approved legislation Tuesday to establish state licensing of plumbing contractors.

Under Senate Bill 288, sponsored by Sen. Ted Erickson (R-Delaware), a State Board of Plumbing Contractors would be created to issue licenses, develop regulations, and administer the provisions of the law.

Senate Bill 288 would establish minimum standards that individuals who provide plumbing services must meet, and improve reciprocity with other states that license plumbers. The costs of implementation, administration and enforcement of the provisions would be covered by the fees set by the Board, as well as the fines and penalties deposited into a restricted account.

AIDING FOOD BANKS: TAX CREDITS, CAPITOL HUNGER GARDEN

Sen. Mike Brubaker (R-Lancaster) introduced legislation that would dedicate existing state tax credits to regional food banks.

Senate Bill 1353 would dedicate a portion of the Department of Community and Economic Development's Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP) tax credits to food banks. The NAP program offers tax credits to serve as incentives for businesses to contribute to worthy causes in the community, such as food banks, affordable housing, crime prevention, education and job training.

NAP tax credits allocated to Pennsylvania food banks dropped from $4.2 million in 2008-09 to $2.8 million in 2009-10. DCED recently communicated to food banks that their awards will be reduced to $1.8 million in 2010-11. Senator Brubaker's legislation would ensure that the incentive for businesses to offer substantial donations of food and funds under NAP will continue.

The legislative Hunger Caucus, co-chaired by Senator Brubaker, broke ground Wednesday on the Hunger Garden at the state Capitol Building. The Hunger Garden will rely on volunteers to grow fresh vegetables to be donated to local food banks. The garden is located adjacent to the Capitol Building between the Governor's entrance and the Ryan Office Building.

Senators Seek to Reduce Burden of Mandates on Local Governments, Taxpayers

Senate Local Government Committee Chairman John Eichelberger (R-Blair) and Sen. Mike Waugh (R-York) have introduced a measure to establish a task force to study the impact of state mandates on Pennsylvania's boroughs, townships, cities and counties.

Under Senate Resolution 323, the task force would be composed of experts familiar with the funding and operation of programs implemented by local government units, including elected officials, representatives from local government associations, academicians, program directors, finance officers, and other administrators from both state and local government.

The task force would also be responsible for making recommendations on ways to reduce unfunded mandates and legislation that could address the issue. Those findings would be turned over to the Senate within one year.

In the Spotlight

Senate Bill 507 is a key component of Healthy PA, Senator Folmer's plan to reduce health care costs and enhance the quality and access to care for Pennsylvanians.

Senator Folmer likened the health care High Risk Pool to the auto insurance market, where such a pool helps to assure the ability to appropriately match premiums to the cost of the underlying risk sold in the marketplace.

As originally introduced, the bill would also have allowed individuals to decide what, if any, of Pennsylvania's 50 existing health mandates they wanted to pay for.

Senator Folmer's Senate Bill 1312, would exempt Pennsylvania from many of the mandates of the new federal law -- for example, a 21-year-old single male who most likely would not need coverage for women's health issues. However, if he chooses to pay for them, he should have the option to add them through riders to his policy.

Fast Facts

SENATE BILL 1314: CHARTER SCHOOL OVERSIGHT BILL

Allows parents of charter school students to file a complaint in court if they believe that the charter school's board of trustees is failing in their duties.
Provides for mandatory training for all charter school administrators and trustee members.
Makes charter school administrators and trustee members "public officials" subject to the Ethics Act and the State Adverse Interest Act.
Clarifies that Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law and Open Meetings Law apply to all charter school and cyber charter school proceedings.
Prohibits certain business relationships between local school board members and charter school administrators, and between charter school administrators and their family members.
Allow charter schools and cyber charter schools to be subject to an audit conducted by the Office of Charter and Cyber Charter Schools, the local school board, the Department of Education or the Pennsylvania Auditor General without consent.