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What's Happening in the #PAHouse week of December 16, 2019

House to Wrap Up 2019 with Smart Justice Reforms

The final House session week of 2019 will focus on probation, parole and criminal justice reforms. Many of the bills scheduled to run are the culmination of multi-year looks at improving and modernizing the overall criminal justice system. Legislation such as House Bill 1555 take a bipartisan approach to making sure the probation system works to help those who are on the right track thrive outside of prison, not unfairly burden them. Other bills strengthen penalties for those convicted of violent crimes and child rape.

The Weekly Schedule

Identified by bill number, the sponsors and summaries for votes scheduled in committee or on the House floor are posted below. More information regarding these votes can be found here.

Monday, December 16, 2019

Committee Meetings/Hearings:

Judiciary, 9:30 a.m., 205 Ryan Office Building

· HB 95 (Rep. Russ Diamond, R-Lebanon): Would establish a process to allow courts to more swiftly act on strategic lawsuits against public participation.

Transportation, 10 a.m., B-31 Main Capitol

· HB 1541 (Rep. Frank Farry, R-Bucks): Would create the “Air Medal Plate” to be issued by PennDOT.

· HB 1715 (Rep. Natalie Mihalek, R-Allegheny/Washington): Would create the Navy and Marine Corps Medal plate to be issued by PennDOT.

· HB 2088 (Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Greene/Fayette/Washington): Would designate the Sheriff Brian A. Tennant Memorial Bridge in Greene County, the PFC Joseph Frank Duda Memorial Interchange in Fayette County, and the CPL Denny Ray Easter Memorial Interchange in Fayette County.

· HB 2116 (Rep. Matthew Dowling, R-Fayette/Somerset): Would designate a bridge on a portion of State Route 669 in Somerset County as the Sergeant Stephen M. Minick Memorial Bridge.

· HB 2117 (Rep. Matthew Dowling, R-Fayette/Somerset): Would designate the bridge on a portion of State Route 2004 in Somerset County as the Airman Michael L. Menser Memorial Bridge.

· HR 607 (Rep. Mark Gillen, R-Berks/Lancaster): Would designate Dec. 1, 2019, as “Penske Truck Leasing Day” in Pennsylvania.

· SB 742 (Sen. Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland): Would exempt from emissions inspection requirements new vehicles up to eight years from the year of manufacture.

Insurance, 11:30 a.m., 60 East Wing

· HB 2106 (Rep. Michael Puskaric, R-Allegheny/Washington): Would repeal the PA Civil Disorder Authority and property insurance assessment to pay for authority bonds.

State Government, Call of the Chair, 60 East Wing

· HR 206 (Rep. Matt Gabler, R-Clearfield/Elk): Would call for a Convention of States, or a Convention for Proposing Amendments, under Article V of the U.S. Constitution.

Tourism and Recreational Development, Call of the Chair, B-31 Main Capitol

· HR 616 (Rep. David Maloney, R-Berks): Recognizes Roger Penske for being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

· HR 621 (Rep. Steve Mentzer, R-Lancaster): Would designate January 2020 as "Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month" in Pennsylvania.

SESSION:

On Monday, session will begin at 1 p.m.

Votes on Second Consideration:

· HB 1223 (Rep. John Lawrence, R-Chester/Lancaster): Would allow for the creation of Keystone Opportunity Dairy Zones to encourage new or additional processing capacity for Pennsylvania milk.

· HB 1224 (Rep. John Lawrence, R-Chester/Lancaster): Would allow the Milk Marketing Board the ability, but not the requirement, to collect and distribute milk premiums.

· HB 1781 (Rep. Stephanie Borowicz, R-Clinton/Centre): Would allow the governing authority of a county to permit its county corrections officers to carry and store a handgun and ammunition in a vehicle at a county correctional institution.

· HB 1855 (Rep. Aaron Bernstine, R-Lawrence/Beaver/Butler): Would preclude the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole (PBPP) from paroling an inmate at the expiration of his or her minimum sentence if the inmate was convicted of a violent offense or an obstruction of justice offense while incarcerated.

· HB 1879 (Rep. Keith Gillespie, R-York): Would amend the aggravated assault statute in order to add “a health care practitioner or technician.”

· HB 1946 (Rep. Jonathan Hershey, R-Juniata/Franklin/Mifflin): Would designate a bridge on a portion of State Route 3012 over Back Creek on the border of Hamilton Township and St. Thomas Township, Franklin County, as the Sergeant Melvin G. Ehrhart Memorial Bridge.

· SB 166 (Sen. Vincent Hughes, D-Montgomery/Philadelphia): Would authorize the maximum amount of additional debt to be incurred during the current fiscal year for capital projects itemized by the General Assembly.

· SB 432 (Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill, R-York): Would amend the Achieving Better Care by Monitoring All Prescriptions program to allow Medicaid Managed Care Organizations to query the system.

· SB 500 (Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Luzerne/Susquehanna/Wayne/Wyoming): Would create a County Adult Probation and Parole Advisory Committee.

· SB 501 (Sen. Tom Killion, R-Chester/Delaware): Would update the process for paroling people who receive a short sentence and would revise sentencing laws and the direction that the General Assembly gives to the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing.

· SB 502 (Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Beaver/Greene/Washington): Would update the Crime Victims Act providing improved information and compensation to crime victims and allow counties to retain supervision fees they collect.

· HR 178 (Rep. Joseph Petrarca, D-Westmoreland/Armstrong/Indiana): Would urges that the House of Representatives recommend the Department of Corrections (DOC) provide identification badges for its corrections officers.

· HR 425 (Rep. Todd Stephens, R-Montgomery): Would recognize the month of June 2019 as “National Myasthenia Gravis Awareness Month” in Pennsylvania.

· HR 442 (Rep. Lynda Schlegal Culver, R-Northumberland/Snyder): Would recognize Oct. 7, 2019, as “World Habitat Day” in Pennsylvania.

· HR 527 (Rep. Bob Brooks, R-Westmoreland/Allegheny): Would recognize Oct. 6-12, 2019, as "National Newspaper Week" in Pennsylvania.

Votes on Third Consideration:

· HB 137 (Rep. Chris Quinn, R-Delaware): Would provide immunity to any individual who experiences an overdose event only if the individual obtains a screening and referral for treatment.

· HB 616 (Rep. Clint Owlett, R-Tioga/Bradford/Potter): Would place the drug carfentanil, a fentanyl analogue, in Schedule II of the Controlled Substances, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act.

· HB 1290 (Rep. Todd Polinchock, R-Bucks): Would update child protective services law to require county agencies to include in the required written report of suspected child abuse information pertaining to whether the subject of the report is a service member.

· HB 1597 (Rep. Mark Gillen, R-Berks/Lancaster): Would designate the highway interchange of U.S. Route 222 in Berks County as the Pvt. Mahlon L. Fink Iwo Jima Memorial Highway Interchange.

· HB 1750 (Rep. Wendi Thomas, R-Bucks): Would provide reimbursement of newly elected commissioners prior to officially taking office to attend any conference, institute, school or convention dealing with the duties and functions of their office.

· HB 1751 (Rep. Wendi Thomas, R-Bucks): Would provide reimbursement of newly elected officers prior to officially taking office to attend any conference, institute, school or convention dealing with the duties and functions of their office.

· HB 1770 (Rep. Cris Dush, R-Jefferson/Indiana): Would designate a bridge on a portion of S.R. 286 in Indiana County as the SFC Randy McCaulley Memorial Bridge.

· HB 1782 (Rep. Frank Burns, D-Cambria): Would designate a bridge on a portion of S.R. 1002 in Cambria County as the PFC Cyril T. Yeckley Memorial Bridge.

· SB 316 (Sen. John Gordner, R-Columbia/Luzerne/Montour/Northumberland): Would provide reimbursement of newly elected supervisors prior to officially taking office to attend any conference, institute, school or convention dealing with the duties and functions of their office.

· SB 841 (Sen. Scott Martin, R-Lancaster): Would reauthorize and modernize the PA Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4).

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Committee Meetings/Hearings:

Commerce, 9 a.m., 205 Ryan Office Building

· HB 1769 (Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh/Berks): Would amend the Charitable Gift Annuity Exemption Act to define “de-risking annuity contract.”

· HB 2009 (Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, D-Philadelphia): Would establish the Cybersecurity Coordination Board to streamline and modernize the Commonwealth’s cybersecurity standards, policies and procedures.

· HR 617 (Rep. Neal Goodman, D-Schuylkill): Would recognize December 2019 as “Made in PA Month.”

· HR 624 (Rep. Karen Boback, R-Luzerne/Lackawanna/Wyoming): Would recognize the observance of “National Women’s Small Business Month.”

Labor and Industry, 9:30 a.m., 60 East Wing

· Public hearing on HBs 1746, 1840 and 2041, bills related to apprenticeship and training reforms.

Local Government, 9:30 a.m., 205 Ryan Office Building

· HB 2073 (Rep. Dan Moul, R-Adams): Would modernize and recodify the First Class Township Code.

· SB 690 (Sen. Scott Hutchinson, R-Butler/Clarion/Forest/Venango/Warren): Would increase from $1,500 to $6,000 the value of municipal real property below which an incorporated town need not publicly advertise for bids when selling its real property.

· SB 691 (Sen. Scott Hutchinson, R-Butler/Clarion/Forest/Venango/Warren): Would increase from $1,500 to $6,000 the value of municipal real property below which a second-class township need not publicly advertise for bids when selling its real property.

· SB 692 (Sen. Scott Hutchinson, R-Butler/Clarion/Forest/Venango/Warren): Would increase from $1,500 to $6,000 the value of municipal real property below which a borough or third-class city need not publicly advertise for bids when selling its real property.

Transportation, 9:30 a.m., B-31 Main Capitol

· Informational meeting on passenger rail service.

SESSION:

On Tuesday, session will begin at 11 a.m.

Votes on Second Consideration:

· HB 44 (Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Washington/Fayette): Would require that a corrections officer employed by the Department of Corrections provide a written statement, or testify, regarding whether an inmate should be paroled.

· HB 256 (Rep. Carl Metzgar, R-Somerset/Bedford): Would increase penalties for inmates who assault correctional facility employees.

· HB 257 (Rep. Carl Metzgar, R-Somerset/Bedford): Would require any inmate who commits an assault against a detention facility or correctional facility employee that results in serious bodily injury be sentenced to a mandatory minimum sentence of five years’ incarceration.

· HB 285 (Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Butler): Would amend the Tax Reform Code to define income relating to distributions from an Employee Stock Ownership Plan.

· HB 440 (Rep. Tedd Nesbit, R-Butler/Mercer): Would mandate the expungement of an individual’s record if he or she has been pardoned or acquitted of all charges, based on the same conduct or arising from the same alleged criminal episode.

· HB 1348 (Rep. Barbara Gleim, R-Cumberland): Would protect agritourism business from lawsuits where no party is at fault for injuries or damages.

· HB 1477 (Rep. Sheryl Delozier, R-Cumberland): Would create a fair, modern set of rules for the consideration of criminal records in occupational and professional licensure, which will enable employers to have a new set of skilled, qualified workers.

· HB 1555 (Rep. Sheryl Delozier, R-Cumberland): Would reform probation by prohibiting sentences of probation consecutive to another sentence of probation. Also, a court could not impose a probationary sentence greater than five years for a felony or two years for a misdemeanor.

· HB 1796 (Rep. Martina White, R-Philadelphia): Would increase the authorized net operating loss (NOL) carry-forward period for businesses with certain tax liabilities in the City of Philadelphia from three years to 20 years.

· HB 1849 (Rep. Andrew Lewis, R-Dauphin): Would designate a portion of State Route 39 in Dauphin County as the Officer Mark Gaspich Memorial Highway.

· HB 1868 (Rep. Matt Gabler, R-Clearfield/Elk): Would designate a bridge on U.S. Route 219 in Clearfield County as the Lance Corporal Robert Clyde Gontero Memorial Bridge.

· HB 2040 (Rep. Jordan Harris, D-Philadelphia): Would create the PA Second Chance Jobs website to provide a free and voluntary website where employers may advertise employment opportunities for former offenders.

· SB 750 (Sen. Josepeh Scarnati, R-Cameron/Clearfield/Clinton/Elk/Jefferson/McKean/Potter/Tioga): Would require the Department of General Services to sell the residence of the Lieutenant Governor.

· HR 515 (Rep. Tom Murt, R-Montgomery/Philadelphia): Would direct the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to study access to community mental health services for Pennsylvania families.

· HR 619 (Rep. Joanna McClinton, D-Philadelphia): Would direct the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to conduct a study to collect and organize data regarding historic funding and caseloads relating to indigent criminal defense in PA.

· HR 620 (Rep. Barry Jozwiak, R-Berks): Would direct the Joint State Government Commission to conduct a study regarding identifying and evaluating all categories of individuals authorized by PA law to exercise arrest or other police powers.

· HR 634 (Rep. Jordan Harris, D-Philadelphia): Would create a Task Force on Technical Probation Violations to review procedures throughout PA relating to technical probation violations and to make recommendations for procedural rule changes.

Votes on Third Consideration:

· HB 1223 Lawrence)

· HB 1224 (Lawrence)

· HB 1781 (Borowicz)

· HB 1855 (Bernstine)

· HB 1879 (Gillespie)

· HB 1946 (Hershey)

· SB 166 (Hughes)

· SB 905 (Browne)

· SB 432 (Phillips-Hill)

· SB 500 (Baker)

· SB 501 (Killion)

· SB 502 (Bartolotta)

Votes on Concurrence:

· HB 1542 (Rep. Stan Saylor, R-York): Would amend the Liquor Code to add days for holders of special occasion permits and provide for other changes regarding special occasion permits.

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Committee Meetings/Hearings:

Agriculture and Rural Affairs, 9 a.m., 60 East Wing

· HB 1971 (Rep. Gary Day, R-Lehigh/Berks): Would consolidate the process of inspection of water bottles.

· HB 1972 (Rep. Gary Day, R-Lehigh/Berks): Additional component to consolidating inspection process of water bottles.

Aging and Older Adult Services, 9:30 a.m., 205 Ryan Office Building

· HB 1930 (Rep. Tim Hennessey, R-Chester/Montgomery): Would amend the Older Adults Protective Services Act to update the law and to specifically address issues pertaining to criminal background checks and denial of employment in certain circumstances.

Professional Licensure, 9:30 a.m., 60 East Wing

· Informational meeting on HB 1930, which would address issues pertaining to criminal background checks and denial of employment.

SESSION:

On Wednesday, session will begin at 11 a.m.

Votes on Second Consideration and Third Consideration are TBA.

All of House session and most committee meetings will stream live on PAHouseGOP.com.