United States: News From Second & State

Weekly Wrap

The House of Representatives and Senate held three session days this week to cap off the last scheduled session week of the 2019-20 legislative session (additional session days may be added). Legislators will be back in Harrisburg on November 10, which is a day typically reserved for leadership elections and retirement speeches. Between now and then, members will be in their district focusing on campaigning in the homestretch before the November 3 general election. Stay tuned next week for our pre-election preview.

On Monday, the House Education Committee held a joint public hearing with the House Appropriations on the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) system redesign implementation plan. The plan would combine California University, Clarion University, and Edinboro University into one institution and Bloomsburg University, Lock Haven University, and Mansfield University into one institution. The Senate Appropriations Committee and Senate Education Committee held a similar hearing on Wednesday.

The House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee reported out S.B. 1268  (Ward, R-Blair), which would enable temporary nurse aides hired during the COVID-19 emergency declaration to transition to certified nurse aides. Furthermore, the Senate Transportation Committee reported out H.B. 2065  (White, R-Philadelphia), which would increase reporting requirements and provide for additional transportation related-services under the Public-Private Transportation Partnership program. 

Tuesday, the House Human Services Committee reported out H.B. 1919 (Murt, R-Montgomery), which would authorize a home health or hospice agency to accept expired prescription medications for proper disposal for individuals under their care, and S.B. 983 (DiSanto, R-Dauphin), which would expand the list of mandatory screenings and establish follow-up services for newborn children. Also, the Senate Communications and Technology Committee held a roundtable discussion on state broadband internet access and the future of increased connection.

On Wednesday, the House Consumer Affairs Committee held a public hearing on H.B. 1970 (Mizgorski, R-Allegheny), which would establish a local solar energy program.

In addition to committee meetings, there was a flurry of activity in the House and Senate as bills moved across chambers and to the Governor's desk.

The following bills passed in the House and will go to the Senate for consideration:  

• H.B. 100 (Topper, R-Bedford), which would establish the certified registered nurse practitioner (CRNP) pilot program to allow CRNP's to practice independently in health professional shortage areas;
• H.B. 1342 (Brown, R-Monroe), which would require first-time students to have a vision screening prior to their first day of school and that school entities must perform student vision screenings annually through fifth grade and at least every other year through twelfth grade;
• H.B. 2862  (Delozier, R-Cumberland), which would convert the Banking Fund and the Institution Resolution Account into trust funds; and
• H.B. 2868  (Helm, R-Dauphin), which would make changes to the COVID Relief – Mortgage and Rental Assistance Grant Program.

The following bills passed in the Senate and will go to the House for consideration:

• H.B. 616 (Owlett, R-Tioga), which would amend the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act by adding carfentanil to the list of schedule II drugs;
• H.B. 770 (DeLuca, D-Allegheny), which would address pharmacy technician and pharmacy technician trainee registration, qualifications and supervision;
• H.B. 941 (Heffley, R-Carbon), which would provide for financial disclosures for pharmacy services, including allowing the Department of Human Services to conduct an audit of or to review an entity that provides pharmacy services to a managed care organization;
• H.B. 1662 (DiGirolamo, R-Bucks), which would amend the Methadone Death and Incident Review Act to include deaths and incidents attributable to suboxone;
• H.B. 2296 (Mizgorski, R-Allegheny), which would make various changes to the Vehicle Code, including providing for additional commercial driver's license training requirements and a time extension for a commercial learners' permit; and
• S.B. 1112 (Phillips-Hill, R-York), which would modernize and streamline regulations relating to landline telephone companies.

The following bills passed in both chambers and will go to the Governor's desk once signed in both chambers:

• H.B. 81 (Kauffman, R-Franklin), which would provide for the certification of central service technicians and surgical technologists;
• H.B. 440  (Delozier, R-Cumberland), which would expunge an individual's criminal history record if the individual has been acquitted of all charges based on the same conduct or arising from the same criminal episode following a trial and a verdict of not guilty;
• H.B. 716 (Galloway, D-Bucks), which would establish a task force to investigate the practice of employers illegally misclassifying employees as independent contractors;
• H.B. 1439  (Kaufer, R-Luzerne), which would require insurers to attest to efforts to comply with federal laws and regulations pertaining to mental health and substance use disorder parity;
• H.B. 1696  (Murt, R-Montgomery), which would require insurers to attest to efforts to comply with federal and state laws pertaining to mental health parity and substance use disorder treatment benefits;
• H.B. 2370 (Keller, R-Perry), which would permit electronic notarization of documents;
• H.B. 2438  (Owlett, R-Tioga), which would provide for broadband services over existing easements and existing infrastructure;
• H.B. 2561 (Culver, R-Northumberland), which would update the definition of "practice of optometry" and revise the therapeutic drug approval process under the Optometric Practice and Licensure Act;
• S.B. 30 (Killion, R-Delaware), which would provide for reports and restrictions in city revitalization and improvement zones (CRIZ) and provide for the Pennsylvania Housing Tax Credit;
• S.B. 273 (Ward, R-Blair), which would remove the cap on funds which can be obtained by federally qualified health centers;
• S.B. 1110 (Ward, R-Westmoreland), which would establish reporting requirements for cases of communicable diseases in healthcare facilities and personal care homes;
• S.B. 1164  (Ward, R-Blair), which would require deaths suspected of being caused by COVID-19 to be referred to the county coroner for investigation; and
• S.B. 1199 (Aument, R-Lancaster), which would authorize the use of personal delivery devices (drones) on a roadway or pedestrian area to deliver goods from business to business or a business to residence.

In Other News

• Governor Wolf announced a plan to waive liquor license fees to provide financial relief to restaurants and bars.
• 16 drinking water, wastewater and non-point source projects across 12 counties received a total of $181 million through the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST).
• The Department of Environmental Protection announced the availability of grant funding for energy efficiency and pollution prevention projects for small business owners and farmers.
• The Department of State is urging Pennsylvanians who plan to vote by mail to complete and return their mail ballot over the weekend.

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