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Weekly Recap–Week of October 7, 2024

Oct 11, 2024

Weekly Recap

With the end of the two-year legislative session nearly a month away, legislators were busy trying to get important bills a committee or floor vote this week so they could be signed into law or teed up to finalize when they return to session at the end of the month.

Monday, the House Consumer Protection, Technology, and Utilities Committee reported out one bill of note: SB 1237 (Baker, R-Luzerne), which would make several changes to the Underground Utility Line Protection (PA One Call) Law, including eliminating the current sunset date of December 31, 2024. The Senate Consumer Protection, Technology and Utilities Committee reported out HB 2189 (Matzie, D-Beaver), which would do the same.

They also reported out HB 2294 (Venkat, D-Allegheny) and HB 2295 (Venkat, D-Allegheny), which would amend the Osteopathic Medical Practice Act and Medial Practice Act respectively, to allow a licensed physical assistant to be supervised by a doctor licensed under either act.

The House Education Committee reported out HB 2567 (Probst, D-Monroe), which would task the Department of Education with developing a strategic plan for a statewide computer science education program.

The House Transportation Committee reported out HB 1613 (Mullins, D-Lackawanna), which would allow PennDOT to contract with a vendor for the design and sale of specialty license plates that meet state safety and legibility standards. The companion bill, SB 1113 (Stefano, R-Fayette), was reported from the Senate Transportation Committee on Wednesday.

The House Committee also reported out: HB 1043 (Ciresi, D-Montgomery), which would provide a penalty for blocking or not properly utilizing an electric vehicle charging station; and HB 1436 (Kutz, R-Cumberland), which would allow motor vehicle owners the same amount of time as commercial vehicle owners to correct inspection violations and ensure the vehicle is safe

Additionally, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee reported out: HB 2283 (Khan, D-Philadelphia), which would require hospitals and ambulatory surgical facilities to implement policies to prevent exposure to surgical smoke; and HB 2344 (Borowski, D-Delaware), which would require health care facilities to notify the Attorney General prior to entering into a merger or acquisition agreement and allows the Attorney General to conduct a public hearing on the proposed transaction.

HB 2536 (Sappey, D-Chester) passed finally in the House and will go to the Senate for consideration. The bill would amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to permit counties to establish Longtime Owner-Occupant Programs (LOOP), allowing homeowners who have lived in their homes for at least 10 years to be exempt from or defer property tax increases, even if their home assessments rise.

Tuesday was highlighted by a last minute voting meeting of the House Transportation Committee to report out HB 2625 (Neilson, D-Philadelphia), which would increase the existing sales tax revenue transferred to the Public Transportation Trust Fund from 4.4% to 6.16% and allow the total financial assistance provided to each local transportation organization to exceed the 20% cap of the prior year’s allocation.

The Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee reported out two bills of note: HB 1304 (Solomon, D-Philadelphia), which would modernize the 911 law and adds the Pennsylvania Career Fire Chiefs as non-voting members of the 911 Advisory Board; and HB 2407 (Solomon, D-Philadelphia), which would make changes to the Fire Company and EMS Grant Program, including providing firefighters flexibility when it comes to testing for Firefighter I, increasing and adjusting the loan thresholds, and making future adjustments on a biennial basis.

On the House floor, HB 2412 (Delloso, D-Delaware) passed finally and heads to the Senate for consideration. The bill would establish the Employee Misclassification Working Group to coordinate enforcement strategies and allow the Department of Revenue to provide state tax information upon request to certain offices within the Department of Labor and Industry.

In the Senate, the following bills of note passed finally and will go to the House for consideration:

  • SB 1277 (Argall, R-Schuylkill), which would require the Department of General Services to develop a plan for the divestiture of the Hamburg Center, Polk Center, and White Haven Center;
  • SB 1300 (Langerholc, R-Cambria), which would increase cap of potential awards in lawsuits against the state and local governments in cases stemming from catastrophic accidents; and
  • SB 1320 (DiSanto, R-Dauphin), which would include virtual currency under the oversight of the Department of Banking and Securities and require business entities who transmit virtual currency for a fee to be licensed as a money transmitter.

In addition, the Senate adopted SR 334 (Coleman, R-Lehigh), which would require Secretary of Revenue Pat Browne to comply with a subpoena to come before the Senate to provide tax information pertaining to Allentown’s Neighborhood Improvement Zone. After the vote, four members of the Senate Democratic Caucus filed suit to halt the subpoena.

Wednesday, the House Labor and Industry Committee held an informational meeting on the Federated Mutual Insurance Company v. Summit Pharmacy case, where the Commonwealth Court rejected the use of the “Red Book”, a privately published pharmaceutical pricing index that the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation uses to determine average wholesale prices. The case will now go to the state Supreme Court on appeal.

The House Commerce Committee reported out two bills: HB 2081 (Waxman, D-Philadelphia), which would provide consumer protections for those investing in cryptocurrency; and HB 2481 (Cabell, R-Luzerne), which would establish rules for using blockchain and digital assets.

HB 1283 (Daley, D-Philadelphia), which would require parked vehicles to be positioned in the direction of authorized traffic if there is an on-street pedestrian plaza or bicycle lane, was reported from the Senate Transportation Committee. Similar language is included in SB 1147 (Bartolotta, R-Washington), which passed finally in the House as amended. The Bartolotta bill is now in the Senate Rules and Executive Nominations Committee, a necessary stop prior to Senate concurrence in House amendments to the Senate bill.

The Committee also reported out: HB 1833 (Neilson, D-Philadelphia), which would authorize PennDOT and the Turnpike Commission to utilize Design Build Best Value (DBBV) as an alternative procurement process for highway and bridge design and construction; and SB 1338 (Langerholc, R-Cambria), which would establish an interstate compact with, at least, the State of Alaska to integrate the Commonwealth in a long-range relationship for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) safety, testing, training and education.

The following bills passed finally on the House floor and will go to the Senate for consideration:

  • HB 1608 (Cephas, D-Philadelphia), which would provide Medical Assistance coverage for certified doulas and establish a Doula Advisory Board;
  • HB 2562 (Frankel, D-Allegheny), which would prohibit insurers from imposing annual and lifetime limits on medical care costs;
  • HB 2563 (Pashinski, D-Luzerne), which would codify the Affordable Care Act (ACA) provision that allows individuals to remain on their parents’ health insurance plans until the age of 26;
  • HB 2564 (Haddock, D-Luzerne), which would codify into state law the ACA provision that prohibits insurers from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions; and
  • SB 1232 (Pennycuick, R-Montgomery), which would allow workers’ compensation payments to be made via direct deposit.

Three bills of note passed in the Senate and head to the House for consideration:

  • HB 2381 (Markosek, D-Allegheny), which would allow a licensing board or commission under the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs to promulgate one-time temporary regulations that are necessary for the implementation of each interstate licensure compact enacted by the General Assembly;
  • SB 365 (Bartolotta, R-Washington), which would amend the Workers’ Compensation Act to provide first responders with post-traumatic stress injury (PTSI) coverage; and
  • SB 1230 (Baker, R-Luzerne), which would recognize the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) A17.1-2016 as the elevator code for the Commonwealth and allows the Elevator Safety Board to recommend modifications prior to the code taking effect on July 1, 2025.

Lastly, throughout the week, the following bills crossed the finish line and once signed by both chambers will go to the Governor’s desk:

  • HB 155 (Sanchez, D-Philadelphia), which would allow two-way video calls to satisfy the face-to-face requirement for job interviews for direct care workers;
  • HB 2084 (Briggs, D-Montgomery), which would allow virtual manufacturers to be licensed as wholesale distributors of prescription drugs;
  • HB 2127 (Fiedler, D-Philadelphia), which would require hospitals, birthing centers, and midwives to provide patients with a fact sheet about postpartum depression and counseling resources;
  • HB 2268 (Markosek, D-Allegheny), which would require health insurance companies to cover speech therapy for childhood stuttering;
  • HB 2561 (Howard, D-Chester), which would give the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission additional time to act on temporary regulations pending the outcome of litigation related to federal horseracing safety standards;
  • SB 169 (Baker, R-Luzerne), which would mandate that courts hold disposition review hearings at least every three months to ensure children in out-of-home placements are receiving the necessary services and treatment;
  • SB 170(Baker, R-Luzerne), which would allow for the expungement of juvenile records under specific circumstances;
  • SB 668 (Ward, R-Blair), which would require the Department of Health to establish a medication aide training and certification program for nurse aides in long-term care facilities;
  • SB 801 (Aument, R-Lancaster), would require educator preparation program instructors who teach reading and literacy education programs to prospective educators to be trained in interventions based on structured literacy;
  • SB 1051 (Hutchinson, R-Venango), which would make changes to the tax appeals process conducted by the Board of Finance and Revenue and clarifies that the tax deduction for medical cannabis businesses includes an entity that has an active grower/processor permit or dispensary permit;
  • SB 1080 (Culver, R-Northumberland), which would authorize practical nurses to pronounce the death of patients receiving hospice care; and
  • SB 1118 (Stefano, R-Fayette), which would provide a community service alternative to satisfy fees and fines related to driver’s license suspensions for certain offenses.

The Week Ahead

Both chambers recessed until Monday, October 21. Although the committee schedule is blank at this moment, some meetings could pop up between now and then.

A full list of committee meetings can be found here:

House

Senate

In Other News

  • Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt announced dramatic reductions in processing times for multiple professional and occupational licenses.
  • Governor Josh Shapiro announced that Moody’s Ratings upgraded Pennsylvania’s credit rating to Aa2 from Aa3.
  • Treasurer Stacy Garrity announced that the Rainy Day Fund has generated $400 million in earnings since October 2023.

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