United States: News From 2nd & State

Weekly Wrap

Although the budget won't be done before the June 30 deadline, there was still a lot that happened in Harrisburg this week. As the House of Representatives, Senate, and Administration work towards an agreement, additional session days have been added on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. With education spending and allocating funds from the American Rescue Plan being two open issues, the hope is that things finish up before July 4. Stay tuned for more updates as the budget process plays out.

On Tuesday, the House Health Committee reported out S.B. 924 (Brooks, R-Mercer), which would impose a moratorium on the scheduled closing of the Polk and White Haven State Centers. Additionally, two bills of note were reported from the House Consumer Affairs Committee:

• H.B. 2606 (Miller, R-Lancaster), which would require a public utility to notify a landlord when utilities are being terminated due to lack of payment by the tenant; and
• H.B. 2691 (Matzie, D-Beaver), which would require the Department of Human Services to expend all of the federal money it receives for the Low-Income Heating Assistance Program.

The House Transportation Committee reported out: S.B. 1093 (Gebhard, R-Lebanon), which would authorize energy efficient lighting on outdoor advertising signs; and S.B. 1199 (Robinson, R-Allegheny), which would change the makeup of the Port of Pittsburgh Commission Board. In the Senate Transportation Committee S.B. 167 (Bartolotta, R-Washington), which would removal DUI penalties for legal medicinal cannabis use, was reported out.

The Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee reported out H.B. 2679 (Hickernell, R-Lancaster), which would permit pharmacists and pharmacy interns to administer COVID-19 and influenza immunizations. There are three bills to highlight that were reported from the Senate State Government Committee:

• H.B. 2219 (Rowe, R-Snyder), which would require each authority that initially authorized a regulatory suspension due to COVID-19 that was previously extended to issue an updated report on whether the suspension should be extended or enacted permanently into statute or regulation;
• H.B. 2485 (Grove, R-York), which would require agencies to provide the Treasury Department with a copy of any contract involving $10,000 or more; and
• S.B. 488 (Mastriano, R-Franklin), which would increase the information made public under the Right-to-Know Law for state-related universities.

Wednesday, the Senate Appropriations Committee reported out S.B. 1203 (Argall, R-Schuylkill), which would restrict the Commonwealth from entering into contracts or providing grants or tax credits to entities associated with Russia or Belarus.

On the House floor, the following bills passed finally and will now be considered by the Senate:

• H.B. 2619 (Topper, R-Bedford), which would establish a performance-based funding incentive for state-related universities.
• H.B. 2667 (Mercuri, R-Allegheny), which would provide for the regulation of remote mortgage brokers.
• S.B. 818 (Ward, R-Blair), which would amend the Health Care Facilities Act regarding surgical procedures at ambulatory surgical centers.
• S.B. 1094 (Gebhard, R-Lebanon), which would make omnibus changes regarding commercial motor vehicle matters.

Furthermore, the House adopted the following resolutions:

• H.R. 212 (Farry, R-Bucks), which would establish a legislative task force and direct the Joint State Government Commission to study current services to individuals with intellectual disabilities;
• H.R. 213 (Metcafle, R-Butler), which would urge Congress fund measures to protect the power grid from electromagnetic pulse attacks and solar flare incidents; and
• H.R. 216 (Kail, R-Beaver), which would establish a Select Committee to investigate, review and make recommendations on rising crime rates, law enforcement, and enforcement of crime victim rights in the City of Philadelphia.

In the upper chamber, the Senate sent the following bills to the House for consideration:

• H.B. 331 (Brown, R-Monroe), which would authorize financial institutions to conduct savings promotion programs and provide banking options for legitimate cannabis-related businesses;
• H.B. 2157 (Farry, R-Bucks), which would amend the Fireworks Law as it pertains to sales, operations, and setback requirements;
• S.B. 225 (Phillips-Hill, R-York), which would streamline the prior authorization and step therapy processes for medical treatment; and
• S.B. 1152 (Mastriano, R-Franklin), which would establish a procedure for reporting drug overdose incidents and entering the incidents into a mapping system.

Thursday, the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee reported out H.B. 2644 (Causer, R-McKean), which would allocate federal funds for a grant program to address oil and gas well plugging and conventional well bonding amounts. Also, the Senate Transportation Committee reported out S.B. 965 (Langerholc, R-Cambria), which would provide for the testing and deployment of highly automated vehicles.

The Senate passed H.B. 2097 (Hamm, R-Lycoming), which would provide a staffing exception for basic life support ambulances. The bill now goes back to the House for a concurrence vote.

Making its way to the Governor's desk was H.B. 1561 (Farry, R-Bucks), which would amend the Mental Health Procedures Act, and H.B. 1563 (Cutler, R-Lancaster), which would update the Drug and Alcohol Abuse Control Act. The bills would provide for the appropriate sharing of treatment information for the purposes of treatment, operations and payment.

Other bills awaiting the Governor's signature so they can become law are:

• H.B. 723 (Mizgorski, R-Allegheny), which would amend the Workforce Development Act to bring it into compliance with federal requirements;
• S.B. 861 (Stefano, R-Fayette), which would enter Pennsylvania into the Emergency Medical Services Personnel Licensure Interstate Compact;
• H.B. 1935 (White, R-Philadelphia), which would renew the authorization of the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority Act for the City of Philadelphia;
• H.B. 2401 (Wheeland, R-Lycoming), which would authorize certified registered nurse practitioners and physician assistants to order and oversee orders for home health services, and provide for the extension of COVID-19 waivers; and
• S.B. 635 (Yudichak, I-Luzerne), which would expand the Property-Assessed Clean Energy Program (C-PACE).

In Other News

• Governor Wolf announced that PennDOT) and Norfolk Southern reached an agreement to expand passenger rail access in western Pennsylvania.
• The Governor announced that the state received a grant from the Federal Transit Administration to expand its Find My Ride online tool, Pennsylvania's "one-stop shop" for access to human services transportation.
• The Department of Human Services announced a funding opportunity for home and community-based service providers to improve and strengthen programs and services.

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