House State Government Committee

Transcription

1 House State Government Committee Legislative Session Summary The Honorable Daryl Metcalfe, Majority Chair

2 State Government Committee Legislative Session Bills (Including Joint Resolutions) Referred to Committee: 277 Bills Reported Out of Committee: 60 Bills Enacted into Law: 13 Resolutions Referred to Committee: 28 Resolutions Reported Out: 7 Resolutions Adopted by House: 3 Voting Meetings: 40 Informational Meetings: 18 Public Hearings: 11 HOUSE STATE GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE ACCOMPLISHMENTS bills enacted House Bill 1009 Act 63 of 2017 Walsh Authorizes the release of Project 70 restrictions on land located in West Newton Borough, Westmoreland County, and Upper Uwchlan Township, Chester County. House Bill 1175 Act 2 of 2018 Cutler Amends the lobbying disclosure provisions of Title 65 to increase penalties that may be imposed on lobbyists or principals for violations of the law. House Bill 1287 Act 47 of 2017 Schlegel Culver Authorizes the conveyance of land in Delaware Township, Northumberland County.

3 Senate Bill 1 Act 5 of 2017 Corman Establishes a side-by-side hybrid retirement benefit plan, containing defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) components, for most future state and public school employees. Establishes DC-only plans for future state and public school employees, which may be elected in lieu of the hybrid plan. Senate Bill 133 Act 3 of 2017 K. Ward Establishes the Pennsylvania REAL ID Compliance Act, under which Pennsylvanians will have the option to obtain either a REAL ID/Compliant Driver s License or photo ID card; or a standard driver s license or photo ID card. Senate Bill 299 Act 127 of 2018 Alloway Amends the PA Election Code to exempt a sitting Magisterial District Judge (MDJ) from the requirement to file a nominating petition with 100 or more signatures for re-election; and to instead allow the filing of a certificate of nomination for reelection, with the proviso that the MDJ incumbent utilizing this procedure may not challenge the nominating petition of another MDJ candidate. Senate Bill 353 Act 128 of 2018 Rafferty Authorizes the conveyance of Commonwealth-owned real property in: East Vincent Township, Chester County Collegeville Borough, Montgomery County Whitemarsh Township, Montgomery County South Strabane Township, Washington County Chambersburg Borough, Franklin County City of Harrisburg, Dauphin County Senate Bill 527 Act 29 of 2017 Aument Creates an independent Office of Inspector General and empower the Inspector General to make investigations and reports relating to the administration of programs and the operation of executive agencies. Senate Bill 748 Act 133 of 2018 Argall Creates the Public Safety Facilities Act to statutorily establish notice and procedural requirements for the Department of Corrections and the PA State Police to follow whenever either department considers closing a public safety facility. Senate Bill 817 Act 66 of 2018 Rafferty Authorizes: The Department of General Services (DGS) to extend the terms of a lease of a portion of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Veterans Center property. The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) to convey a parcel of land in Nockamixon Township, Bucks County. DGS to enter into long-term leases of five parcels of land located in the bed of the Delaware River, in the City of Philadelphia.

4 Senate Bill 921 Act 82 of 2017 Browne Authorizes the conveyance of Commonwealth real property in Bethlehem and Allentown, Lehigh County, and in the Borough of Kane, McKean County. Senate Bill 1037 Act 71 of 2018 Folmer Amends Title 71 (State Government) to transfer duties relating to merit-based hiring, civil service applications, certifications, examinations and promotions from the Civil Service Commission to the Office of Administration; and to retain duties relating to appeals of employment decisions, hearings and Civil Service Act compliance within the Commission. Senate Bill 1078 Act 156 of 2018 Tomlinson Amends the open meetings requirements in the Sunshine Act to allow an additional use of executive sessions, where deemed necessary for emergency preparedness, public safety or security of property. BILLS THAT PASSED THE HOUSE House Bill 110 Warner Proposes to amend the Constitution of PA to establish limitations on the spending of Commonwealth funds. House Bill 153 Knowles Proposes to amend the Constitution of PA to reduce the size of the House of Representatives and the size of the Senate. House Bill 157 Metcalfe Amends Title 37 (Historical and Museums) to modernize the History Code with regard to the administration of the State Archives, archival records and other matters. House Bill 171 Saccone Permits a registered voter of the Commonwealth to be appointed as a poll watcher in any election district located in PA. House Bill 205 Phillips-Hill Amends the Public School Employees Retirement Code to make PA School Boards Association (PSBA) employees hired after the effective date of the bill ineligible to be members of the Public School Employees Retirement System (PSERS).

5 House Bill 209 Phillips-Hill Establishes the Independent Office of the Repealer to review statutes and regulations for possible revision/repeal. House Bill 253 Kauffman Proposes to amend the Constitution of PA to reduce the size of the Senate of Pennsylvania. House Bill 410 Warner Establishes the Performance-Based Budgeting Act, creates a Performance-Based Budget Board and directs the Board to initiate a program of performance-based budget reviews as part of the annual budget preparation and program evaluation processes. House Bill 444 Gabler Amends the PA Election Code to: Designate the number of signatures that candidates for school director must collect on their nomination petitions. Establish that a valid nomination petition or nomination paper signature is one that includes the elector s voter registration address. House Bill 453 Ryan Amends the Fiscal Code to require agencies audited by the Auditor General to respond to any recommendations within 120 days. House Bill 482 Roae Eliminates future assignment of state-owned vehicles to members of the General Assembly. House Bill 638 Simmons Amends the Election Code to no longer permit cross-filing for school board candidates. House Bill 922 Tallman Amends Title 71 to prohibit future employees of the Susquehanna River Basin Commission from being members of the State Employees Retirement System (SERS). House Bill 1095 Heffley Establishes the Proof of Citizenship for Receipt of Public Benefits Act and requires an individual who applies directly to an agency for state or local public benefits to provide proof of identification and affirmation that the individual is either a citizen or a non-citizen who is eligible for public benefits.

6 House Bill 1237 Keefer Amends the Regulatory Review Act to: Establish a process whereby a concurrent resolution is ultimately required to approve an economically significant final-form or final-omitted regulation. Ensure that the timelines for review and consideration of concurrent resolutions disapproving of regulations include an adequate number of legislative session days. Establish that a regulation is deemed withdrawn if there the applicable statute does not explicitly authorize the promulgation of such regulation. House Bill 1460 B. Miller Establishes standardized management fee reporting for SERS and PSERS developed by the Institutional Limited Partners Association's (ILPA) Fee Transparency Initiative. House Bill 1692 Kaufer Amends Title 62, Chapter 35 (Iran-Free Procurement) to change the guidelines under which the chapter expires. House Bill 1773 Gabler Repeals portions of the General Road Law of 1836 relating to private roads. House Bill 1787 Causer Authorizes the conveyance of two parcels located in the Borough of Kane, McKean County. House Bill 1792 Benninghoff Gives the General Assembly the ability to initiate the repeal of any regulation in effect in PA, by a concurrent resolution and prohibits that regulation from being promulgated in the future unless authorized by law. House Bill 1843 Grove Amends Title 72 (Taxation and Fiscal Affairs) to increase the Commonwealth s fiscal transparency by requiring public and legislative access to budget documents, revenue and expenditure trends. House Bill 1959 Rothman Reforms the administration of permits by state agencies by creating accountability and transparency. The bill creates a permit application tracking system and requires each agency to compile and publish an overview of the requirements of each permit. House Bill 1960 Ellis Requires each state agency to appoint a regulatory compliance officer.

7 House Bill 2030 Bernstine Standardizes the process for billing municipal electric customers in boroughs situate in more than one county. House Bill 2489 Mackenzie Authorizes: The release of Project 70 land use restrictions on a parcel of land in the Borough of Topton, Berks County. The release of Project 70 land use restrictions on four parcels of land in Upper Uwchlan Township, Chester County. The conveyance of two parcels of Project 70 land by Lehigh County to Whitehall Township. The conveyance of Commonwealth real property in Stroud Township, Monroe County. The conveyance of a public sanitary sewer easement and public water supply system easements in East Stroudsburg Borough, Monroe County. BILLS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE House Bill 14 Knowles Amends Title 24 (Education) regarding sanctuary campuses. The bill prohibits an institution of higher education from adopting a rule, order or policy which prohibits enforcement of a federal or state law relating to an immigrant or immigration. House Bill 28 White Amends Titles 42 (Judicial Code) and 53 (municipalities) to define sanctuary municipalities, establish liability for damages, and set reporting requirements for municipalities and DCED. House Bill 466 Marshall Grants trained sheriffs and deputy sheriffs the ability to make warrantless arrests for all crimes and offenses while fulfilling their respective county court-related obligations. House Bill 821 B. Miller Amends the Right-to-Know Law to exempt from public access agency financial institution account information; and to expand the exemption for personal financial information. House Bill 1174 Cutler Establishes that public employers subject to the Public Employe Relations Act or the Public School Code cannot collect political money from employee wages.

8 House Bill 1479 Roae Amends the Prevailing Wage Act to exempt school districts identified for financial watch status and districts in financial recovery status. House Bill 1531 Christiana Amends the Sunshine Act to require a public agency to post public meeting agendas on the Internet no later than 24 hours prior to a meeting, and to prohibit an agency from taking official action on items not in the meeting agenda. House Bill 1642 Phillips-Hill Instructs the Department of General Services to annually inventory state communications assets and to allow lease agreements to expand broadband access in unserved/underserved areas. House Bill 1704 Grove Amends Title 71 to strengthen the state government cybersecurity and consolidation of IT services. House Bill 1849 Bloom Prohibits the use of project labor agreements in Commonwealth public works projects and political subdivision public works projects. House Bill 1894 Dush Amends the Right-to-Know Law to add a criminal offense for the intentional alteration or destruction of records subject to a request under the law. House Bill 1970 Walsh Prohibits the appointment of members of Congress and the state legislature as solicitor for a political subdivision. House Bill 2101 Grove Amends Title 71 (State Government) to establish the new Commonwealth Office of Management and Budget, transferring to it all the duties from the Office of the Budget, the Department of General Services, the Office of Administration and the Governor s Office of Policy and Planning. House Bill 2102 Ryan Amends Title 71 (State Government) to establish the new Department of Business, Tourism and Workforce Development, which will perform all of the current duties of the Department of Labor and Industry and some, but not all, current duties of the Department of Community and Economic Development and the Department of State.

9 House Bill 2103 Dowling Amends Title 71 (State Government) to establish the Department of Local Government and Community Affairs, transferring to it specific powers from the Department of Community and Economic Development and the Department of State. House Bill 2104 Bloom Amends Title 71 (State Government) to establish the Department of Health and Human Services, which will perform all of the current duties of the Department of Health and the Department of Human Services. House Bill 2105 Fritz Abolishes various outdated boards, commissions, and other entities established by law and makes related repeals. House Bill 2209 Ryan Establishes the Lean State Government Act to require performance audits of all state agencies conducted by experienced performance auditors contracted by the Auditor General; and to require state agencies to implement a lean process improvement system to improve operations in response to the audit. House Bill 2457 Ryan Requires that auditors employed by the Auditor General be appropriately qualified to conduct such audits; and permits the Auditor General to conduct forensic and fraud audits. House Bill 2519 Walsh Amends the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act to ban cash gifts; reduce the reporting threshold for hospitality, transportation and lodging from $650 per source per year to $100 per source per year; and ban gifts valued at more than $50 in the aggregate from a single source, with exceptions. Senate Bill 166 Eichelberger Prohibits public employers in the Commonwealth from deducting a political contribution from the wages of employees. Senate Bill 1034 Scarnati Repeals Act 131 of 2011, which established the 2011 Congressional Redistricting Act.

10 RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE HOUSE House Resolution 43 Kaufer Expresses opposition to the passage of an anti-israel resolution in the United Nations Security Council, and calls upon the current and future presidential administrations to support Israel. House Resolution 287 Bernstine Condemns the Syrian government s April 4, 2017, chemical weapons attack in Khan Sheikhoun, Syria and Russian support for the Syrian regime of Bashar Al-Assad. House Resolution 522 Ryan Urges the Treasurer of PA to petition the Federal Reserve to remit $24 billion to the Commonwealth for lost earnings in the state and municipal pension plans due to the Federal Reserve s policy of quantitative easing. RESOLUTIONS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE House Resolution 83 Roae Directs the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee (LBFC) to study vote-recording systems for the House of Representatives. House Resolution 284 Moul Urges Congress to repeal the Environmental Protection Agency s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) program. House Resolution 429 Phillips-Hill Resolution to establish a legislative task force to recommend strategies to improve broadband access in PA. Senate Resolution 154 Vogel Disapproves the portion of Real Property Disposition Plan No. 1 of 2013 that authorized the Department of General Services (DGS) to sell a parcel of surplus state land in Shenango Township, Lawrence County.

11 The jurisdiction of the House State Government Committee includes a wide range of statutes and subject matter, including the following: Election Code and the Pennsylvania Voter Registration Act. State Employees Retirement Code and Public School Employees Retirement Code. Commonwealth Procurement Code, which governs the purchase of goods, services and construction by agencies of the Commonwealth. Right-to-Know Law, which provides for access to government records. Sunshine Act, which provides for open state and local government agency meetings. Public Official and Employee Ethics Act, which requires disclosure of certain financial interests by public officials and employees. Lobbying Disclosure Act, which requires registration and reporting by lobbyists. Regulatory Review Act, which provides for public and legislative review of regulations. Provisions of the Public Employee Relations Act relating to payroll deductions of public employees. Provisions of the Administrative Code, the Civil Service Act and other laws relating to the hiring, promotion, compensation and conduct of state employees and the operation of state agencies. Public Official Compensation Law, which establishes the salaries of state officials, including judges, legislators and executive branch officials, including the governor. Human Relations Act, which prohibits discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations. Notary Public Law. The conveyance or lease of state-owned land and the release of Project 70 land use restrictions on state- and local government-owned lands. Proposals making official designations (e.g., official state flower). Official English legislation. The calling of a constitutional convention Proposed amendments to the Constitution providing for: Reducing the size of the General Assembly. Legislative and congressional reapportionment. Legislative term limits. Intergovernmental relations and mandates (federal to state, and state to local). State sovereignty. Interstate compacts.

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