House to Take Up State-Based Health Care Exchange Bill
June session rolls on next week in the House with budget negations and meetings continuing. The House will also take up House Bill 3, a proposal endorsed by both the Trump and Wolf administrations to move Pennsylvania out of the national health insurance exchange and launch a state-based exchange and reinsurance program. The bill is co-sponsored by Majority Leader Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster) and Minority Leader Frank Dermody (D-Allegheny/Washington) and is proven in other states to lower insurance costs and premiums. It is scheduled for second consideration Monday.
The Weekly Schedule
Monday, June 10, 2019
Committee Meetings/Hearings:
Gaming Oversight, 10 a.m., 205 Ryan Office Building
• Public hearing on PA games of skill machines and HB 1407, updating definition and regulations of “slot machines”.
Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness, 10:30 a.m., 14 East Wing
• Informational meeting with Veterans services organizations, the State Association of County Veteran’s Affairs Directors and the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
Education, 11:30 a.m., G-50 Irvis Office Building
• HB 994 (Rep. Mindy Fee, R-Lancaster): Would allow school districts to use a public health dental hygiene practitioner to fulfill the requirements of the Public School Code relating to dental screenings and dental hygiene.
• HB 1276 (Rep. Dave Hickernell, R-Lancaster): Would create a tuition and mandatory fees waiver program for youth who are or were in foster care.
• SB 144 (Sen. Scott Martin, R-Lancaster): Would create the Keystone Telepresence Education Grant Program for the purpose of awarding grants to intermediate units for the purchase of telepresence equipment and related support services for the educational support of homebound students.
Transportation, 11:30 a.m., B-31 Main Capitol
• HB 37 (Rep. Rosemary Brown, R-Monroe/Pike): Would prohibit a person from operating a motor vehicle on a highway or trafficway in this Commonwealth while using an interactive wireless communications device while the vehicle is in motion.
• HB 792 (Rep. David Maloney, R-Berks): Would make changes to vehicle parking regulations when parking in a curbside bike lane.
• HB 1392 (Rep. Mike Carroll, D-Luzerne/Lackawanna): Would eliminate the alternative fuels tax on electricity and replaces it with annual electric vehicle road fees of $150 for noncommercial electric vehicles and $250 for commercial electric vehicles.
• HB 1479 (Rep. Jonathan Fritz, R-Wayne/Susquehanna): Would designate a bridge on a portion of S.R. 3041 in Wayne County as the PFC Raymond P. Schwesinger Memorial Bridge.
• HB 1510 (Rep. Barry Jozwiak, R-Berks): Would designate a portion of S.R. 183 in Berks County as the Trooper Wayne C. Ebert Memorial Highway.
• HB 1574 (Rep. Jeff Pyle, R-Armstrong/Butler/Indiana): Would designate the highway interchange of U.S. Route 422 with S.R. 66 in Armstrong County as the Senator Donald C. White Interchange.
• SB 117 (Sen. Wayne Langerholc Jr., R-Bedford/Cambria/Clearfield): Would designate a bridge on a portion of S.R. 3016 over Solomon Run in Cambria County as the Seaman Apprentice Kenneth D. Scaife Memorial Bridge.
• SB 338 (Sen. Wayne Langerholc Jr., R-Bedford/Cambria/Clearfield): Would increase the maximum allowable width for certain farm equipment.
SESSION:
On Monday, session will begin at 1 p.m.
Votes on Second Consideration:
• HB 3 (Rep. Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster): Would create a PA state-based health insurance exchange and a reinsurance program.
• HB 374 (Rep. Garth Everett, R-Lycoming/Union): Establishes the “Keystone Tree Fund” as a means to fund a TreeVitalize program and a riparian forest buffer grant program and allows a person to make a $3 contribution to the fund when electronically renewing a driver’s license, ID card or vehicle registration through PennDOT’s website.
• HB 786 (Rep. Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster): Would address declining outcomes and inequitable funding formulas for trauma centers.
• HB 849 (Rep. Kate Klunk, R-York): Would establish the Disclosing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Act, prohibiting employers from requiring employees and prospective employees to sign a nondisclosure agreement related to sexual harassment as a condition of employment.
• HB 1298 (Rep. Rich Irvin, R-Huntingdon/Centre/Mifflin): Would designate a portion of Route 747 over the Juniata River in Mount Union Borough, Huntingdon County, as the Captain Joseph S. Giacobello Memorial Bridge.
• HB 1437 (Rep. Mark Keller, R-Perry/Cumberland): Would update the Rural Jobs and Investment Tax Credit Program.
• HB 1461 (Rep. Mindy Fee, R-Lancaster): Would amends the Administrative Code to allow the Office of Inspector General (OIG) to investigate and combat all avenues of public benefits fraud.
• HB 1524 (Rep. Jack Rader, R-Monroe): Would provide for auctioned liquor licenses to be transferred to designated tourist development projects.
Votes on Third Consideration:
• HB 1005 (Rep. Jim Cox, R-Berks/Lancaster): Would amend the Achieving Better Care by Monitoring All Prescriptions Program (ABC-MAP) Act to include the administration of naloxone in a patient’s record on the ABC-MAP database.
• SB 43 (Sen. Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland): Would designate a portion of U.S Route 30 in Westmoreland County as the J. Edward “Hutch” Hutchinson Memorial Bypass.
• HB 783 (Rep. Jim Marshall, R-Beaver/Butler): Would establish the infant CPR and Choking Education and Prevention Program.
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
Committee Meetings/Hearings:
Finance, 9 a.m., B-31 Main Capitol
• HB 1100 (Rep. Aaron Kaufer, R-Luzerne): Would create the Energy and Fertilizer Manufacturing Tax Credit.
• HB 1103 (Rep. Jonathan Fritz, R-Wayne/Susquehanna): Would expand the Pipeline Investment Program.
• HB 1583 (Rep. Michael Peifer, R-Pike/Wayne): Would require any paid tax preparer to include his or her preparer tax identification number on state income tax returns filed on behalf of another taxpayer.
• SB 478 (Rep. Elder Vogel Jr., R-Beaver/Butler/Lawrence): Would provide a personal income tax credit for landowners who lease or sell their land, buildings and equipment to beginning farmers.
Urban Affairs, 9 a.m., 60 East Wing
• HB 896 (Rep. Thomas Caltagirone, D-Berks): Would establish “housing first” practices in Pennsylvania, expanding neighborhood assistance program eligibility and partnerships between banks and private sector organizations to address homelessness and lack of housing.
• HB 897 (Rep. Thomas Caltagirone, D-Berks): Would add a homelessness housing component to the scope of powers of a land bank.
• HB 1559 (Rep. Doyle Heffley, R-Carbon): Would amend the Real Estate Tax Sale Law in regard to registration requirements in order to bid at a tax sale.
• HB 1578 (Rep. Sue Helm, R-Dauphin/Lebanon): Would amend portions of Real and Personal Property law, within the Uniform Condominium Act, the Real Estate Cooperative Act and the Uniform Planned Community Act.
Health, 9:30 a.m., 205 Ryan Office Building
• HB 941 (Rep. Doyle Heffley, R-Carbon): Would require the Department of Human Services (DHS) to approve the contracts between managed care organizations in the Medicaid program and pharmacy benefit managers and provide for ongoing oversight by allowing the department to collect information about the terms of the contracts.
• HB 942 (Rep. Seth Grove, R-York): Would update the current membership of the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee within the Department of Human Services.
• HB 943 (Rep. Valerie Gaydos, R-Allegheny): Would allow pharmacists to disclose information to an insured individual about the comparative costs of medications.
• HB 944 (Rep. Jonathan Fritz, R-Wayne/Susquehanna): Would allow the Department of the Auditor General to conduct full-scale audits and reviews of pharmacy benefit managers that subcontract with Medical Assistance Managed Care Organizations.
Environmental Resources and Energy, 10 a.m., B-31 Main Capitol
• HB 1557 (Rep. Matt Gabler, R-Clearfield/Elk): Would amend the Coal Refuse Disposal Control Act (Act 318 of 1968) to address temporary cessation.
Judiciary, 10 a.m., G-50 Irvis Office Building
• SB 399 (Sen. Wayne Langerholc Jr., R-Bedford/Cambria/Clearfield): Would expand the current list of rights for survivors of sexual assault and address anonymous submissions of sexual assault evidence and submissions for which jurisdiction is unknown.
• SB 469 (Sen. Daniel Laughlin, R-Erie): Would allow out-of-court statements from crime victims with intellectual disabilities or autism under certain circumstances.
• SB 479 (Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Luzerne/Pike/Susquehanna): Would expand the list of offenses in which the courts may admit into evidence an out-of-court statement by a child victim or witness.
• HB 1538 (Rep. Martina White, R-Philadelphia): Would amend the Prisons and Parole Code to require that sex offenders must wait three years from the date of the current application to reapply for parole.
Commerce, Call of the Chair, 205 Ryan Office Building
• HB 1176 (Rep. Mary Jo Daley, D-Montgomery): Would prohibit establishments from offering plastic straws except upon the specific request of a customer.
• HB 1208 (Rep. Mike Carroll, D-Luzerne/Lackawanna): Would provide a tax credit to businesses creating jobs on otherwise unused airport real estate.
• HB 1221 (Rep. Angel Cruz, D-Philadelphia): Would ban the use of Bisphenol A (BPA) in all food and beverage containers manufactured, sold or distributed in Pennsylvania.
SESSION:
On Tuesday, session will begin at 11 a.m.
Votes on Second Consideration:
• HB 355 (Rep. Mike Reese, R-Westmoreland/Somerset): Would update provisions of the Charter School Law related to increasing ethical requirements of members of the board of trustees and administrators of charter schools, and financial transparency of charter schools.
• HB 356 (Rep. Matt Dowling, R-Fayette/Somerset): Would update provisions of the Charter School Law related to charter school facilities, including the use of sectarian facilities, purchase of school district facilities, operation of more than one charter school location and access to testing facilities.
• HB 357 (Rep. Jesse Topper, R-Bedford/Franklin/Fulton): Would establish uniform processes and procedures related to charter applications, renewals, amendments, enrollment and attendance records.
• HB 358 (Rep. Jim Marshall, R-Beaver/Butler): Would permit charter schools and area vocational-technical schools to enter into dual enrollment agreements with institutions of higher education.
• HB 448 (Rep. Aaron Kaufer, R-Luzerne): Would add additional members to the Pennsylvania Commission for the United States Semiquincentennial.
• HB 1502 (Rep. Seth Grove, R-York): Would codify the Treasurer’s transparency portal, requiring state agencies to post budget documents online. It would also create Commonwealth Financial Watch, which would show the public the top 20 largest cost drivers and 10 agencies with the largest budget appropriations.
• SB 144 (Sen. Scott Martin, R-Lancaster): Would create the Keystone Telepresence Education Grant Program for the purpose of awarding grants to intermediate units for the purchase of telepresence equipment and related support services for the educational support of homebound students.
• SB 613 (Sen. Bob Mensch, R-Berks/Bucks/Montgomery): Would require all agencies with employees or contractors that have access to federal tax information to comply with enhanced security procedures, including a criminal history background check.
Votes on Third Consideration:
• HB 3 (Cutler)
• HB 374 (Everett)
• HB 786 (Cutler)
• HB 849 (Klunk)
• HB 1298 (Irvin)
• HB 1437 (Keller)
• HB 1461 (Fee)
• HB 1524 (Rader)
Wednesday, June 12, 2019
Committee Meetings/Hearings:
Environmental Resources and Energy, 9 a.m., 205 Ryan Office Building
• HB 707 (Rep. David Zimmerman, R-Lancaster): Would amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to clarify that religious institutions are not public water systems when they are relying upon their privately-own water wells as their water source.
Aging and Older Adult Services, 9:30 a.m., G-50 Irvis Office Building
• HB 298 (Rep. Jared Soloman, D-Philadelphia): Would establish the Older Adult Mentor Volunteer (MVP) Program to allow seniors to volunteer and mentor in schools.
• HB 974 (Rep. Michael Piefer, R-Pike/Wayne): Would authorize municipalities across the Commonwealth to implement senior citizen tax incentive volunteer exchange programs.
• HB 1076 (Rep. Tim Hennessey, R-Chester/Montgomery): Would authorize school districts to set up programs in which senior citizens volunteer in the school district in which they reside and receive a partial credit against their school property tax in exchange for their services.
Local Government, 9:30 a.m., B-31 Main Capitol
• HB 1444 (Rep. Justin Walsh, R-Westmoreland): Would amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to allow the governing body of a local government unit to petition the Court of Common Pleas requesting the removal of a member of the governing body who attends fewer than 50% of all scheduled public meetings in a calendar year.
• HB 1563 (Rep. Dan Moul, R-Adams): Would amend the Municipal Authorities Act to allow owners of multiple properties or buildings with multiple units that are served by a single meter to request a rate study using a years’ worth of usage data to determine if an adjustment is needed in the amount that the property owner pays.
• HB 1564 (Rep. Joe Emrick, R-Northampton): Would require counties to properly assess the value of manufactured homes during a countywide reassessment.
Consumer Affairs, 10 a.m., 140 Main Capitol
Public hearing on wireless small cell siting legislation.
State Government, Call of the Chair, 60 East Wing
• HB 1069 (Rep. Aaron Bernstine, R-Lawrence/Beaver/Butler): Would require the posting of agendas by state agencies prior to public meetings wherein official business is conducted.
• SB 130 (Sen. John Gordner, R-Columbia/Luzerne/Montour/Northumberland/Snyder): Would authorize the release of agricultural land use restrictions on a parcel of land in the Borough of Danville and the Township of Mahoning, Montour County.
SESSION:
On Wednesday, session will begin at 11 a.m.
Votes on Second Consideration and Third Consideration are TBA.
More information regarding these votes can be found at PAHouseGOP.com by clicking on the “House Business” tab.