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June 17, 2009
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Bill Honoring Local Soldier Clears Senate

Committee approves measures to protect state park services

The Senate approved a bill renaming Mercer County Bridge in honor of a local soldier as part of its activities during the session week of June 15, according to Senator Bob Robbins (R-50).

House Bill 988 designates the Walnut Street bridge over the Shenango River in Sharpsville, Mercer County, as the Sgt. David W. Wallace III "WALLEYE" Memorial Bridge. Sgt. David W. Wallace gave his life in the line of duty on Jan. 27, 2009, in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

"I was pleased to support this bill honoring the sacrifice of Sergeant Wallace," Senator Robbins said. "This is a lasting tribute to him and his family."

The bill now returns to the House for concurrence to Senate amendments.

Other bills approved by the Senate during the session week of June 15 include:

Senate Bill 112 would consolidate in Title 61 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, the acts relating to prisons, probation and parole, and make conforming amendments to the Judicial Code.

Senate Bill 287 legislation co-sponsored by Senator Robbins to simplify annual financial reporting requirements to prevent duplication with the annual audit filed by local education agencies.

Senate Bill 301, co-sponsored by Senator Robbins, which reduces the required number of days of consecutive active military service overseas needed to be eligible for the annual $1 fishing license for deployed military from 180 to 60 days.

Senate Bill 302, co-sponsored by Senator Robbins, reduces the consecutive days of required overseas service for a $1 National Guard Hunting License from 180 to 60 days.

House Bill 985 protects employees in the banking industry from retaliation if the employee makes a good faith report of a violation of law or cooperates in an investigation.

Committee Roundup

The Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee unanimously approved legislation co-sponsored by Senator Robbins that would ensure funding for services at state parks is not reduced as a result of budget constraints.

The measures would permit the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to utilize funding from the Environmental Stewardship/Growing Greener Fund Senate Bill 962 and Key '93 realty transfer tax revenue Senate Bill 963 for the operation and maintenance of Pennsylvania's 117 state parks.

Non-profit and local government organizations which typically receive funding from these programs continue to benefit from the $625 million Growing Greener Bond approved by voters and the General Assembly in 2005.

The committee also unanimously approved two additional bills:

Senate Bill 235 authorizes the state Department of Environmental Protection to implement flood protection measures using nonstructural alternatives including acquisition of land and structures; demolition, removal, relocation, elevation and flood proofing of structures; and floodplain clearance and restoration.

Senate Bill 880, co-sponsored by Senator Robbins, authorizes the Secretary of Environmental Protection to enter into redevelopment agreements with developers who remediate brownfield sites.  Developers may be eligible to receive a reimbursement of up to 75 percent of the remediation costs.

The Senate Finance Committee approved Senate Bill 1, legislation intended to fundamentally reform Pennsylvania's budgeting process while increasing transparency and accountability in state government.

The legislation, co-sponsored by Senator Robbins, would establish a Legislative Fiscal Office (LFO), a non-partisan bi-cameral agency with expertise in financial matters.  The LFO would have access to the same agency and department financial information as the Governor's Budget Office.

Senate Bill 1 also requires state agencies and departments to submit their budget requests to the LFO at the same time they submit them to the Office of the Budget. Pennsylvania is currently one of only eight states where the Legislature does not receive the agency budget requests.

The LFO would also develop performance measures for state programs and departments and evaluate the performance reviews of those programs and departments as reported by the Administration.

Other bills approved by the Finance Committee include:

Senate Bill 122 would increase the employer Job Creation Tax Credit from $1,000 to $3,000 for each new job created between the effective date of this bill and June 30, 2010.

Senate Bill 639, co-sponsored by Senator Robbins, would provide for permanent tax exempt status for volunteer firefighter relief associations. Under current law, relief associations must renew their tax exemption every five years.

Senate Bill 778 would change the deadline by which homeowners must apply for a property tax exemption between the time the building permit is issued and six months following the date of the initial occupancy of the property.

Senate Bill 892, co-sponsored by Senator Robbins, is a companion bill to Senate Bill 1. This legislation amends the Administrative Code, providing that the General Assembly is authorized to stipulate that the performance measurements recommended and developed by the Legislative Fiscal Office must be undertaken and reported on by each executive agency as a condition to receiving its prospective appropriation.

House Bill 1182 would add convictions for two additional offenses, "Institutional Sexual Assault" and "Contraband" to the list of offenses which triggers the forfeiture of pension benefits for public employees.

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved five bills during its meeting on Monday:

Senate Bill 55 establishes a lifetime ban on working in schools for those who have been convicted of serious violent offenses, including sexual violence and crimes against children.  The legislation also includes a 10-year school employment ban for those convicted of first-degree misdemeanors.

Senate Bill 56 would reform the Safe Schools Law requirement of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between school entities and police.  Aside from the strengthening of the MOU which is required by the Safe Schools Act, this bill would assure that crimes occurring on school property are reported accurately to police and the Department of Education and hold administrators accountable for intentional failure to comply with the Law.

Senate Bill 303 establishes the Volunteer Emergency Service Partnership Grant Program Act. This five-year program will provide incentives to encourage volunteer emergency service organizations to consolidate, merge or form partnerships to provide emergency services in a more effective manner.

Senate Bill 574 would require a special permit for fishing in waters that flow into the tributaries of Lake Erie or Presque Isle Bay. The permit fee would be $8 or $6 when combined with the purchase of a trout/salmon stamp. Proceeds from the fees, anticipated at $3,000 to $4,000 annually, will be used for protecting or improving fish habitat on Lake Erie, Presque Isle Bay and their tributaries.

Senate Bill 783 amends the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Funding Act to change the date the annual report on the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund is due from August 31 to December 31.  The bill was amended to also require any fines imposed under the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act (HSCA) to be deposited into the HSCA Fund.

Contact:

Michael Hengst
(717) 787-1322

 

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