January 30, 2017

“Fourteen years after SR 60, Pennsylvania’s first responders face many of the same challenges now as they did back then, such as the loss of volunteers and the exorbitant costs of apparatus and training. With the start of the legislative session, the timing is right to ‘reboot’ this process by reviewing the 23 recommendations made by the SR 60 Commission. We need to see what was accomplished and what remains to be done.”

Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee Chairman Randy Vulakovich (R-Allegheny) on committee approval of a measure to review Pennsylvania’s progress in providing essential support to its volunteer fire departments and EMS organizations.

Preview

Senate Reconvenes Today at 1 p.m.

The Senate kicks off this week’s voting session today at 1 p.m. Expected to come up for vote is the Oil and Gas Lease Protection Package, sponsored by Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming).

Senate Bill 138 allows royalty interest owners the opportunity to inspect records of the gas company to verify proper payment. Senate Bill 139 prohibits a gas company from retaliating against a royalty interest owner by terminating the lease agreement or ceasing development because a landowner questions the accuracy of the royalty payments.

Committee Activity Streamed live at PASenateGOP.com:

Tuesday 10:30 a.m. East Wing, Hearing Room 8E-A
Senate Education Committee, chaired by Sen. John Eichelberger (R-Blair): Meeting to consider Senate Bill 227, Senate Bill 228, and Senate Bill 229.

Tuesday 11:30 a.m. East Wing, Hearing Room 8E-B
Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Sen. Stewart Greenleaf (R-Montgomery): Meeting to consider Senate Bill 8, Senate Bill 146, Senate Bill 176, Senate 221, and Senate Bill 222.

Tuesday 12:30 p.m. East Wing, Hearing Room 8E-A
Senate State Government Committee, chaired by Sen. Mike Folmer (R-Lebanon): Meeting to consider Senate Bill 9, Senate Bill 166, Senate Bill 167 and Senate Bill 169.

Wednesday 10 a.m. East Wing, Hearing Room 8E-B
The Senate Game and Fisheries Committee, chaired by Sen. Pat Stefano (R-Fayette): Meeting to consider Senate Bill 30, Senate Bill 123 and Senate Bill 192.

Full Senate Committee Schedule

Review

Committees Explore Impact of State Prison Closures

A joint Senate hearing on Monday reviewed the Wolf administration’s January 6 announcement on the pending closure of state correctional institutions.

The Senate Majority Policy Committee, chaired by Sen. David Argall (R-Schuylkill), and the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Sen. Stewart Greenleaf (R-Montgomery), held the hearing to look at various aspects of the proposed closings including cost to taxpayers, public safety, transparency, prison overpopulation and the impact on local communities.

On Thursday, the Department of Corrections announced that it would close SCI Pittsburgh in June to save money and merge a shrinking prison population across the Commonwealth.

Committee Acts to Review PA Progress in Supporting Volunteer Firefighters/EMS

The Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee, chaired by Sen. Randy Vulakovich (R-Allegheny), on Wednesday approved a measure to review Pennsylvania’s progress in providing essential support to its volunteer fire departments and EMS organizations.

Senate Resolution 6, sponsored by Senator Vulakovich, calls for a “reboot” of Senate Resolution 60 of 2003, the comprehensive study of fire and EMS issues completed in 2004. SR 6 calls for a new commission made up of legislators, first responders and representatives from municipalities. The panel would follow up on the impact of SR 60 and study issues currently affecting first responders. The commission would then provide its recommendations to the General Assembly by June 30, 2018.

Senator Vulakovich and his fellow chairmen of the Senate and House Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committees held a news conference Monday to unveil SR 6 and discuss a 16-bill package of legislation to complement and build on previous efforts to help Pennsylvania’s first responders. More

Committee Approves Rafferty DRPA Bill Despite Governor’s Efforts to Halt Reforms

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The Senate Transportation Committee, chaired by Sen. John Rafferty (R-Montgomery), on Tuesday approved an important government reform bill sponsored by Senator Rafferty that would bring greater transparency and accountability to the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA). Senator Rafferty said the committee’s quick action on Senate Bill 170 signals his determination to have the bill signed into law, despite Governor Wolf’s veto of the legislation last session that halted every critical reform measure.

Senator Rafferty: “This bill focuses on transparency and the public’s trust and will bring long-needed reforms at DRPA, which has been facing multiple accounts and investigations of corrupt and unacceptable practices. It had overwhelming, bipartisan support in the Legislature last session and should not fall victim to the governor protecting the status quo of corruption, mismanagement and nepotism at DRPA.” More

The committee also held a public hearing on PennDOT, PA Turnpike and local government winter preparedness and modernization, and approved two other bills. More

Local Government Committee Acts to Bar PA Sanctuary Cities

The Senate Local Government Committee, chaired by Sen. Scott Wagner (R-York), approved legislation that prevents municipalities and counties from designating themselves as “sanctuary cities” in order to thwart federal efforts to combat illegal immigration.

Under Senate Bill 10, sponsored by Sen. Guy Reschenthaler (R-Allegheny), any law enforcement agency, municipality, or county that refuses to enforce a constitutional order shall not be eligible for any state grants or be eligible to participate in the sale of state surplus property. More

Senator Mensch Re-Introduces Performance-Based Budgeting Bill

Sen. Bob Mensch (R-Montgomery) on Wednesday re-introduced his Performance-Based Budget bill, Senate Bill 181, which would streamline and justify discretionary and state government spending.

SB 181 would require departments and agencies to justify their budget requests, beginning with dollar one, for all existing as well as proposed programs for each fiscal year, before they can receive consideration for budget funding.

The bill would create a performance-based budget board to review the performance-based budget plans of Pennsylvania agencies and make recommendations on how each agency’s programs may be made more transparent, effective, and efficient. More

Greenleaf Re-Introduces Legislation to Protect Child Victims of Human Trafficking

Sen. Stewart Greenleaf (R-Montgomery) on Wednesday announced the re-introduction of his “Safe Harbor” legislation that would require that sexually exploited children be diverted from the criminal justice system to more appropriate human services.

The legislation follows Senator Greenleaf’s Act 105 of 2014 (S.B. 75) that rewrote the Commonwealth’s human trafficking statute to better enable prosecutors to charge human traffickers and increased penalties for human trafficking.

More than 100,000 children are exploited through prostitution in the United States each year. Adults psychologically manipulate these children, often with the use of illegal drugs. As a consequence, children have been charged with prostitution, drug possession, loitering, and other offenses that are inherently related to prostitution. More

Vulakovich, Bartolotta Seek Tax Breaks for Disabled Vets

Legislation calling for a state constitutional amendment to expand the Property Tax Exemption Program for Disabled Veterans has been introduced by Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee Chairman Randy Vulakovich (R-Allegheny) and Sen. Camera Bartolotta (R-Washington).

Currently, an honorably discharged veteran must be 100 percent disabled to receive a 100 percent exemption from property taxes. The senators’ proposal would provide tax exemptions to all disabled veterans — with at least a 50 percent disability — at a percentage corresponding to their level of disability, as determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. More

Langerholc to Introduce Legislation to Protect Responsible Gun Owners

Sen. Wayne Langerholc (R-Cambria) announced Wednesday that he will be introducing legislation that would protect law-abiding gun owners from gun laws enacted by local municipalities that go above and beyond state law.

Senator Langerholc: “Municipalities do not have the authority to make up laws that contradict existing state laws and our Constitution. When local officials overstep their boundaries by enacting overly restrictive gun laws, it can be a problem for average law-abiding citizens to go through the process to fight their citation, not to mention to get the unjust law overturned.” More

Scavello, Scarnati Introduce Measure to Modernize PA History Code, Preserve Items

Sen. Mario Scavello (R-Monroe) and Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R-Jefferson) introduced legislation Tuesday to update laws governing Pennsylvania historic preservation.

Senate Bill 178 will amend Title 37 (Historical & Museums) to update and modernize the History Code. Key provisions include those adding a new section on the protection and recovery of historical Commonwealth and local government records, and opening access to older public records after 75 years, unless specifically prohibited by law. More