Weekly Wrap
The House of Representatives was back in Harrisburg for the first time in over a month for three session days this week.
Starting on Monday, the House Human Services Committee held a public hearing on HB 561 (Madden, D-Monroe), which would allow county jails to utilize all FDA-approved medications for treatment of substance abuse disorder. The House Transportation Committee held an informational meeting on the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and open road tolling.
One bill of note was reported from the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee; HB 861 (Pashinski, D-Luzerne), which would extend the sunset date and source of funding to pay for medication testing under the Race Horse Development Trust Fund until June 30, 2028.
The House Consumer Protection, Technology, and Utilities Committee reported out two bills of note: HB 81 (Venkat, D-Allegheny), which would amend the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law to prohibit any person, partnership, corporation, association, or other business entity from charging additional fees to consumers for a paper statement; and HB 825 (Ryncavage, R-Luzerne), which would direct the Public Utility Commission to begin a rulemaking regarding “double poles” or “ghost poles”, those utility poles that are no longer in use when a new pole is installed. The bill would also create a registry with current contacts for companies with pole attachments.
Two bills were reported from the House Energy Committee: HB 362 (Fiedler, D-Philadelphia), which would allow the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority to use the $156 million it was awarded from the Environmental Protection Agency for a low-income residential solar installation program under the federal Solar for All grant competition; and HB 660 (O’Mara, D-Delaware), which would set energy efficiency and water conservation standards for commercial and residential appliances sold in the Commonwealth.
The House Insurance Committee reported out four bills that would incorporate provisions of the Federal Affordable Care Act into state law:
- HB 404 (Pashinski, D-Luzerne), which would provide health insurance coverage to dependents up to age 26;
- HB 535 (Frankel, D-Allegheny), which would prohibit annual and lifetime limits for health insurance;
- HB 618 (Haddock, D-Luzerne), which would prohibit the denial of health insurance coverage for preexisting conditions; and
- HB 755 (Warren, D-Bucks), which would require health insurance policies to cover preventive health care services without cost-sharing.
There was a full agenda for the House Housing and Community Development Committee, as they reported out:
- HB 273 (Merski, D-Erie), which would establish a municipal codes enforcement grant program;
- HB 316 (Williams, D-Chester), which would give local governments the power to deny a permit if one of the company’s principals has tax delinquencies in the municipality;
- HB 643 (Dougherty, D-Philadelphia), which would raise the $100 million limit on Realty Transfer Tax funds deposited into the Pennsylvania Housing and Rehabilitation Enhancement (PHARE) Fund to $110 million in FY 2028-29 and each fiscal year thereafter;
- HB 734 (Madsen, D-Dauphin), which would require a landlord to pay a permanently displaced tenant a relocation payment equal to six months’ rent if the rental property has code violations that require the condemnation of the property, or the property is deemed unfit for human habitation; and
- HB 743 (Salisbury, D-Allegheny), which would allow a municipality to designate a blighted or abandoned property as available for acquisition by a land bank.
Three bills of note passed finally on the House floor and will go to the Senate for consideration:
- HB 33 (Frankel, D-Allegheny), which would provide for requirements and testing oversight of medical marijuana laboratories;
- HB 111 (Curry, D-Delaware), which would prohibit insurance companies from denying, canceling, or refusing to renew an application for, or a current life insurance policy, based solely on the fact that the applicant or enrollee obtained or filled a prescription for an opioid overdose reversal agent; and
- HB 240 (Benninghoff, R-Centre), which would remove the hearing aid test requirement for school bus drivers.
Tuesday, the House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee held an informational meeting on the Comprehensive Aging Performance Evaluation (CAPE) monitoring program of Area Agencies on Aging.
The House Commerce Committee reported out the following bills:
- HB 78 (Neilson, D-Philadelphia), which would give consumers rights when it comes to their personal data and require certain businesses to protect consumer privacy and limit the collection of consumer data;
- HB 685 (Moul, R-Adams), which would require cash to be an acceptable form of payment for admission to school-sponsored activities; and
- HB 881 (Conklin, D-Centre), which would expand the Money Transmission Business Licensing Law to require virtual currency to be treated similarly to money transmissions.
HB 789 (Ciersi, D-Montgomery), which would expand the Property-Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program to include electric vehicle charging infrastructure as an eligible project, was reported from the House Environmental and Natural Resource Protection Committee.
Two bills were on the agenda for the House Labor and Industry Committee, as they reported out: HB 200(Miller, D-Allegheny), which would establish a statewide paid family and medical leave insurance program; and HB 265 (Powell, D-Allegheny), which would provide unemployment compensation for education support professionals during the summer months.
Wednesday, the House Local Government Committee reported out HB 620 (Isaacson, D-Philadelphia), which would increase the recycling fee that landfill operators pay from $2 per ton to $5 per ton on waste received at their landfills.
Then two bills of note passed finally and will go to the Senate for consideration:
- HB 60 (Borowski, D-Delaware), which would allow pharmacies to make a one-time transfer of a prescription for a controlled substance to another pharmacy without requiring a new prescription; and
- HB 157 (Rapp, R-Warren), which would establish a grant program for entities in rural counties and designated medically underserved areas to pay for the education debt of their employed practitioners.
The Week Ahead
Both chambers will be in session next week, so expect a heavy agenda.
On Monday, the House Consumer Protection, Technology, and Utilities Committee will hold an informational meeting on the Public Utility Commission.
The House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee will consider:
- HB 372 (Schmitt, R-Blair), which would require the Department of Aging to annually publish Area Agencies on Aging’s compliance report; and
- HB 923 (Rivera, D-Lancaster), which would extend the PACE/PACENET Social Security cost-of-living adjustment moratorium until December 31, 2027.
In the Senate, the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee will consider bills including SB 349 (Yaw, R-Lycoming), which would establish decommissioning and bonding requirements for project developers who seek to install or operate commercial solar electric generation facilities.
Tuesday, the House Labor and Industry Committee will consider HB 630 (Shusterman, D-Chester), which would: (1) prohibit employers from paying workers less because of their gender, race, or ethnicity; (2) protect employees from retaliation in any wage discrimination matters; and (3) curtail the practice by prospective employers of using salary history in pay-setting decisions for new employment. The committee will also consider HB 926 (Krueger, D-Delaware), which would establish the Health Care Workplace Violence Prevention Act.
The Senate State Government Committee will consider SB 472 (Phillips-Hill, R-York), which would limit the maximum period an Acting Secretary of a Department may serve to 90 days unless they are awaiting Senate confirmation.
Wednesday, the House Housing and Community Development Committee will hold an informational meeting with the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency. Also, the House Finance Committee will hold an informational meeting on the Property Tax Rent Rebate Program.
The Senate Transportation Committee will consider SB 65 (Baker, R-Luzerne), which would extend the stopping distance requirement for a school bus with flashing red lights and develop a tiered penalty system for a second or subsequent offense.
A full list of committee meetings can be found here:
In Other News
- Attorney General Dave Sunday announced his nomination of Darryl Lawrence to serve as Pennsylvania’s Consumer Advocate.
- The Department of Aging announced the rollout of the Comprehensive Agency Performance Evaluation (CAPE), an innovative tool designed to boost transparency and accountability of the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) network.
- The Department of Revenue launched a new online petition center for taxpayers to file appeals.
