While it was a quiet session week generally speaking, a few committees held voting meetings and public hearings. Most notably, since last week’s Senate session ended, both chamber’s Transportation Committees held hearings on transportation funding, particularly focused on providing funding for roads, bridges and mass transit.
The debate around transportation funding is hardly new in the Commonwealth. Most recently, under former Governor Tom Wolf, the Transportation Revenue Options Commission was established to propose a strategic, comprehensive Commonwealth transportation funding scenario. Members of the Commission represented a cross-section of geographical areas, transportation modes, local and state governments, and environmental, energy, and industry interests.
The Commission’s report found that there is a $9.35 billion state-level funding gap, which is growing each year; $8.15 is billion needed for highway and bridges and $1.2 billion is needed for multimodal programs. Of that $1.2 billion, $1.1 billion is needed for public transportation and passenger rail.
While “minor” factors such as emergency repairs, deferred maintenance, and inflation have contributed to the transportation funding deficit, there are two main issues escalating the problem. First, gas tax revenue, which funds 75% of PennDOT’s highway and bridge funding, continues to shrink. Second, state laws such as Act 44 of 2007 and Act 89 of 2013 haven’t fully solved service demands and infrastructure maintenance and rehabilitation issues.
While debate continued after the Commission’s report was released in 2021, no legislative solutions were adopted and the problems persisted. This year, we saw some significant discussions around the funding of mass transit and transportation projects, which may lead to at least a partial solution. The 2024-2025 budget included a $161 million increase in transportation funding, with $80.5 million directed to the Public Transportation Trust Fund to assist transit agencies in addressing the immediate funding shortfall, and $80.5 million was allocated for road and bridge repairs.
But money alone won’t solve the problem, so the legislature has taken to the road. Since the budget’s passage in July, the House Transportation Committee has held seven meetings under the “Moving PA Forward” initiative, focusing on investments in roads, bridges, and transit. These meetings have taken place across the state to gather stakeholder feedback on those key transportation issues.
Additionally, the Senate Transportation Committee held a public hearing on the state’s transportation infrastructure needs and has a follow-up hearing scheduled for October 1 to gather additional feedback specifically related to mass transit funding.
While some members are hopeful that we’ll see a comprehensive transportation funding package by year’s end, each chamber has only 11 session days scheduled between now and the end of November. Some are optimistic that we will at least find a way to close the gap in mass transit funding, since according to some agencies, the budget has left them underfunded despite the increase in funds. For example, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) stated that the one-time investment they received in this year’s budget is less than one-fourth of what they need.
Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R-Indiana) has repeatedly stated that any talk of a transit spending increase must be accompanied by discussion of more money for roads and bridges. Likewise, there would need to be a new revenue stream which will not place additional pressure on the General Fund. Possible revenue streams that have been floated recently include a tax on skill games, linking vehicle registration fees to traveled mileage, and a fee on packages delivered. However, all of this remains a heavy lift with limited session days and an intervening election between now and November 30.
The Week Ahead
Both the House and Senate return to Harrisburg next week for the first week together since passing the budget in July.
On Monday, the House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee will hold a public hearing on HB 2320 (Venkat, D-Allegheny), which would establish timelines for the Department of Human Services and County Assistance Offices to process Medical Assistance applications for older adults entering long term care and allow providers to receive a portion of their reimbursement while the application is pending. Also, the House Human Services Committee will consider HR 519 (O’Mara, D-Delaware), which would recognize “National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month” and “World Suicide Prevention Day”.
The House Consumer Protection, Technology, and Utilities Committee will consider:
- HB 116(Ciresi, D-Montgomery), which would amend the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law to address the automatic renewal of subscription services by requiring companies to provide a notification before each automatic renewal, be transparent about renewal terms, and allow subscribers to cancel their subscription services exclusively online if they initially subscribed over the Internet;
- HB 1077(Matzie, D-Beaver), which would reauthorize Chapter 14 of the Public Utility Code, providing for responsible consumer protections;
- HB 1578(Mullins, D-Lackawanna), which would require retail electric and natural gas suppliers and their representatives to be certified through a training and education course in marketing electric and natural gas products to consumers;
- HB 2189(Matzie, D-Beaver), which would reauthorize PA One Call; and
- HB 2557(Borowski, D-Delaware), which would amend the Unfair Trade Practices Act to require companies that provide a subscription trial to allow an “opt-in” at the end of the trial, instead of forcing a consumer to opt-out.
The House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee will consider HB 2561 (Howard, D-Chester), which would give the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission an extension until October 2028 to adopt permanent regulations under the federal Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act of 2020. The extension is necessary since the federal law remains under litigation.
The House Education Committee will consider HB 2547 (Schweyer, D-Lehigh), which would clean up the drafting of language included in the this year’s omnibus Public School Code bill that subjects cyber charter schools to certain provisions Code; and SB 1242 (Ward, R-Blair), which would require the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs to implement an electronic continuing education tracking system for use by each licensing board.
The House Insurance Committee will consider:
- HB 2562 (Frankel, D-Allegheny), which would prohibit insurers from imposing annual and lifetime limits on the cost of medical care;
- HB 2563 (Pashinski, D-Luzerne), which would provide in state law the federal Affordable Care Act provision that individuals may stay on their parents’ health insurance coverage until the age of 26;
- HB 2564 (Haddock, D-Luzerne), which would provide in state law the federal Affordable Care Act provision that individuals cannot be denied health insurance coverage for pre-existing conditions; and
- SB 1241 (Gebhard, R-Lebanon), which would remove the requirement that prior to taking the insurance producer licensing examination, an individual must take at least 24 hours of pre-examination courses.
Tuesday, the House Insurance Committee will hold a public hearing on HB 1663 (Venkat, D-Allegheny), which would provide for the regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) use in health insurance claims processes. The House Republican Policy Committee will hold a public hearing on “Fighting to Keep the Light on in PA”, with PJM testifying.
The House Commerce Committee will consider two bills:
- HB 759(Solomon, D-Philadelphia), which would: (1) mandate any company or entity that maintains personal information take reasonable measures to secure that information from hacking and compensate consumers in the event the information is breached; and (2) provide for a private right of action so that consumers have recourse for damages they suffer due to a data breach; and
- HB 2535(Mullins, D-Lackawanna), which establish “Right-to-Repair” legislation to require original equipment manufacturers of electronics and appliances that contain embedded software to make available to consumers and independent repair shops the information and parts needed to repair those devices and fully disclose any contract provision standing in the way of full repair and reuse.
Additionally, the House Finance Committee will consider:
- HB 2536 (Sappey, D-Chester), which would amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to allow all counties to create Longtime Owner-Occupant Programs (LOOP) to allow homeowners that lived in their home for at least 10 years to be exempt from or defer property tax increases even if their home assessment values increase in the future;
- HB 2565 (Samuelson, D-Northampton), which would update the Semiconductor Manufacturing Tax Credit Program to allow more business to become eligible; and
- HB 1994 (Briggs, D-Montgomery) and SB 1051 (Hutchinson, R-Venango), which would make changes to the Board of Finance and Revenue appeals process.
The House Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee will consider:
- HB 1541 (Harkins, D-Erie), which would prohibit persons from distributing, manufacturing, offering for sale, producing or selling firefighting personal protective equipment that contains an intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) starting January 1, 2028;
- HB 1571 (Scott, D-Philadelphia), which would require warning labels to be affixed to products containing PFAS and require manufacturers and purchasers of the equipment to retain a written notice on file for at least three years from the date of purchase; and
- SB 144 (Yaw, R-Bradford), which would prohibit discharge or usage of a class B firefighting foam that contains an intentionally added PFAS chemical for testing purposes or training purposes.
The House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee will consider one bill of note: HB 2277 (Otten, D-Chester), which would implement the Pennsylvania Reliable Energy Sustainability Standard (PRESS), part of the Governor’s Energy Plan. PRESS raises the target for the cleanest and renewable energy projects in Tier I to 35% by 2035; it raises the target for Tier II to 10%, and it creates a new Tier III that includes alternative sources of power like co-blended or low emission natural gas and other step-stone resources, with a 5% target by 2035.
On Wednesday, the House Human Services Committee will hold a public hearing on HB 2560 (Pickett, R-Bradford), which would: (1) allow on-site psychiatric time to be performed by either a psychiatrist or an advanced practice professional; (2) permit the Department of Human Services to issue waivers to fully remote providers; and (3) incorporate mobile mental health services delivered by clinical professionals into Medicaid. Afterwards, the committee will hold a voting meeting to consider the bill.
The House Finance Committee will consider SB 1056 (Argall, R-Carbon), which amends the Fiscal Code to extend the “prudent person investment standard” for the Treasury Department until December 31, 2034.
The House Health Committee will consider:
- HB 2094 (Howard, D-Chester), which would ensure spouses, children, and parents are only held liable for outstanding medical bills of an indigent individual if the indigent individual has colluded with the family member to hide assets within the past five years, or if the family member fails to cooperate in the Medical Assistance process;
- HB 2549 (Borowski, D-Delaware), which would require autopsies to include an inquiry to determine whether the death was a direct result of a seizure or epilepsy;
- SB 840 (Brown, R-Monroe), which would establish a permanent Alzheimer’s Disease, Dementia and Related Disorders Office and Advisory Committee within the Department of Aging; and
- SB 1080 (Culver, R-Northumberland), which would authorize licensed practical nurses (LPNs) to pronounce the death of patients in hospice care.
The House Judiciary Committee will consider two bills of note:
- HB 2525 (Rabb, D-Philadelphia), which would prohibit corporations from deceptive environmental marketing claims; and
- SB 267 (Brooks, R-Crawford), which would give urgent care centers protection under the Safe Haven Law.
A full list of committee meetings can be found here:
