Weekly Wrap
With both chambers in Harrisburg this week, things at the Capitol were busier than they’ve been the last month or so.
Starting out the week, on Monday, the Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee reported out SB 737 (Baker, R-Luzerne), which would give counties the option to create EMS authorities. The committee also reported out SB 1078 (Mastriano, R-Franklin), which would extend the Uniform 9-1-1 surcharge of $1.95 until February 1, 2029. The bill was then reported from the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday.
Other meetings included:
- The House Communications and Technology Committee held an informational meeting on digital content provenance;
- The House Local Government Committee held a public hearing on the Community Services Block Grant Program;
- The House Transportation Committee held an informational meeting on electronic driver’s licenses and ID cards; and
- The Senate State Government Committee held a public hearing on SB 125 (Dush, R-Cameron), which would amend the state constitution to give the General Assembly the authority to legislate venue in civil cases.
The House finally passed two bills of note that will now be considered by the Senate:
- HB 446 (Sanchez, D-Montgomery), which would require hospitals and ambulatory surgical facilities to provide a patient with any unused portion of facility-provided medication upon discharge; and
- HB 1512 (Mullins, D-Lackawanna), which would require original equipment manufacturers of electronics and appliances to make available to consumers and independent repair shops the information and parts needed to repair those devices.
Tuesday, the House Health Committee held an informational meeting on Pennsylvania’s Newborn Screening Program. The House Republican Policy Committee held a public hearing on “Powering the Mid-Atlantic: Restoring Energy Affordability and Reliability”.
HR 350 (Fiedler, D-Philadelphia) was reported from the House Energy Committee. The resolution would urge the President and Congress to maintain funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
The House Tourism, Economic, and Recreational Development Committee reported out HB 1286 (Young, D-Philadelphia), which would require hotels, motels, and third-party listing platforms to provide training to each employee and rental operator regarding human trafficking.
Three bills of note were reported from the House Professional Licensure Committee:
- HB 1251 (Curry, D-Delaware), which would amend the Physical Therapy Practice Act to allow nurse-midwives to refer patients for services;
- HB 1961 (Merski, D-Erie), which would authorize Pennsylvania to join the Physician Assistant Compact; and
- HB 1980 (Takac, D-Centre), which would require physicians to take one hour of continuing medical education in nutrition each two-year licensing period.
The Senate Health and Human Services Committee reported out SB 614 (Brooks, R-Mercer), which would create a primary care workforce initiative for Federally Qualified Health Centers.
HB 1425 (McNeill, D-Lehigh) was reported from the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill would establish an Electronic Nicotine Devices Directory and require annual manufacturer and product certifications.
The Senate Institutional Sustainability and Innovation Committee reported out:
- HB 157 (Rapp, R-Warren), which would establish a rural healthcare grant program;
- SB 804 (Boscola, D-Northampton), which would ban toxic additives in IV bags and medical equipment; and
- SB 998 (Brown, R-Monroe), which would provide funding for accredited nursing programs to expand faculty and increase the number of nurse preceptors.
Two bills were reported from the Senate Communications and Technology Committee: SB 431 (Pennycuick, R-Montgomery), which would prevent the malicious use of artificial intelligence to generate Right-to-know requests; and SB 491 (Phillips-Hill, R-York), which would modernize and streamline landline telephone regulations.
On the House floor, HB 1063 (Malagari, D-Montgomery) passed finally and will go to the Senate for consideration. The bill would prevent scalpers from using software to purchase items in bulk for the purpose of resale and not personal use.
Wednesday, the House Energy Committee held public hearing on HB 1539 (Madsen, D-Dauphin), which would establish a grant program to support school districts in transitioning from internal combustion engine school buses to electric school buses.
The House Human Services Committee reported out HB 1974 (Venkat, D-Allegheny), which would establish the Contingency Management Support Grant Program to address treatment for opioid use disorder and stimulant use disorder.
The House Consumer Protection, Technology, and Utilities Committee reported out:
- HB 1525 (Cepeda-Freytiz, D-Berks), which would require owners and operators of pipelines transporting steam located in public rights-of-way to register their assets with the One Call System;
- HB 1526 (Cepeda-Freytiz, D-Berks), which would require the PUC to work with natural gas pipeline operators to develop guidance and management programs to address potential threats to degrading plastic pipelines;
- HB 1530 (Burgos, D-Philadelphia), which would provide for privacy protections for genetic data testing; and
- HB 1924 (Burgos, D-Philadelphia), which would provide the PUC with authority and responsibility to: (1) review and validate load forecasts submitted by Pennsylvania utilities to PJM; (2) coordinate with PJM and other state regulators to ensure accuracy and prevent duplicative counting of projects and contracts; and (3) access all relevant materials, including confidential agreements, necessary to carry out this oversight.
Two bills of note passed finally in the House and will go to the Senate for consideration:
- HB 1123 (Gallagher, D-Philadelphia), which would require health insurance companies to provide coverage for colorectal cancer screenings without cost sharing for individuals beginning at age 45; and
- HB 1828 (Venkat, D-Allegheny), which would require health insurance policies to provide coverage of certain immunizations without cost-sharing.
Lastly, SR 177 (Mastriano, R-Franklin) was adopted by the Senate. The resolution would require the Joint State Government Commission to establish a legislative task force to review, update and codify Pennsylvania’s emergency management services law.
The Week Ahead
Pennsylvania’s Municipal Election will take place on Tuesday, with the state Supreme Court retention votes being the most talked about race. Due to the election and no session, the committee meeting schedule is light.
On Wednesday, the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee will hold a public hearing on the LNG export terminal proposed in Southeast Pennsylvania.
Friday, the Senate Labor and Industry Committee will hold a public hearing on nursing shortages and the role of private universities in developing a workforce pipeline.
A full list of committee meetings can be found here:
In Other News
- Governor Josh Shapiro and Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt led a bipartisan, multi-state response to the nation’s energy crisis by sending a series of recommendations for federal permitting reforms Congress.
- Governor Shapiro joined a coalition of 25 states and the District of Columbia in suing the Trump Administration for suspending the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
- The Governor joined a lawsuit against the Trump Administration seeking to reverse cuts to the Homeland Security Grant Program, which supports state, county, and local governments in preparing for and responding to acts of terrorism, natural disasters, and other major emergencies.
