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Welcome to "Mike's Memo," an update on what's
happening in the 48th Legislative District, the State Capitol, and the progress
of my legislative priorities. If you haven't done so already, please take a few
moments to visit my website at
www.senatorfolmer.com to learn more about issues that may affect you and
your family.
Week of October 24, 2016
Bills Pass Senate, Go to House for Further Consideration
All bills passed unanimously unless otherwise noted.
Senate Bill 535 – (47-3)
permits municipal police to use radar for speed enforcement;
Senate Bill 840 – active work zone safety pilot program on limited access
highways;
Senate Bill 976 – (45-5)
enables police officers to use body cameras;
Senate Bill 1266 – updates the
Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act;
Senate Bill 1271 – requires courts ensure children in foster care remain in
the same school district for educational stability unless a child’s safety or
well-being is at risk;
Senate Bill 1300 – establishes uniform residency requirements for military
personnel seeking elected office;
Senate Bill 1313 – clarifies the Guaranteed Energy Savings Act;
Senate Bill 1330 – (30-19)
restricts local jurisdictions from imposing firearm ordinances more restrictive
than state laws;
Senate Bill 1365 – (46-2)
adds a Court of Common Pleas judge in Bucks, Montgomery, Washington and Wayne
counties;
House Bill 869 – requires animals of convicted animal abusers be forfeited
to a shelter and not returned to the abuser.
Bills Pass Senate, Go to Governor for Further Action
All bills passed unanimously unless otherwise noted.
Senate Bill 286 – (37-13)
Delaware River Port Authority reforms;
House Bill 49 – extends emergency responder death benefits to the
PA Civil Air Patrol;
House Bill 447 – protects tenants and their families from “death penalty”
contracts;
House Bill 683 – eliminates veterans’ disability payments in calculating
eligibility under the
Property Tax Rent Rebate Program;
House Bill 1581 – creates the crime of felony strangulation;
House Bill 1619 – allows Pennsylvania to join the
Interstate Medical Licensure
Compact;
House Bill 1734 – one year extension of the continuing professional
education compliance deadlines for public schools, teachers and administrators;
House Bill 1841 and
House Bill 1842 – changes to perfusionist permits under the
Medical Practice Act of 1985 and the
Osteopathic Medical Practice Act.
Adoption of Senate Resolutions 385 and 448
The Senate adopted
SR 385 (27-21) directing the Joint State
Government Commission to study which PA environmental laws and regulations
have more stringent standards than required by federal Law. The Senate
unanimously adopted
SR 448 commemorating the 200 th legislative session of the
Pennsylvania General Assembly.
Thank America’s Teachers: Support for Mr.
Ludwig, Lebanon High School!
Farmers Insurance is giving $1 million to
teachers through the
Thank America’s Teachers program with 180 $2,500 grants, and six $100,000
grants. Fifteen teacher proposals are posted on the
Thank America’s
Teachers website and the community can vote on who should be awarded the
grant. One of 15 finalists for the $100,000 Dream Big Teacher Challenge is
Dale Ludwig, a teacher at Lebanon High School.
Vote for Mr. Ludwig daily! Voting tabulation will be done the first week of
November.
Highlights of Mr. Ludwig’s
proposal include: “The Great Lebanon Community Project” is to work closely with
the Lebanon Mayor on a community-wide waterway and watershed project that would
benefit both the PA
Department of Environmental Protection and the
Environmental Protection Agency. Students
would test water quality, assist with storm water drains, and public service
announcements developing the skills necessary to be good citizens in the 21st
century.
Column: The Impact of Small Reforms
One of the key principles of my “Promise to Pennsylvania” is improving
state government openness, transparency, and accountability. That’s why I’m
pleased one of my reform measures (Senate
Bill 644) was signed into law as
Act 15 of 2016.
This law focuses on the costs – not the details – associated with the
Commonwealth’s collective bargaining agreements. The goal is to ensure both
elected officials and taxpayers have information on the costs before these
agreements are signed. It does this by empowering the
Independent Fiscal Office to
provide cost analyses of each proposed agreement 20 days prior to their
execution. Previously, whatever was negotiated by a Governor was ultimately
covered by budget appropriations paid for by taxpayers.
The first of the Independent
Fiscal Office’s analyses was recently released for two of the largest state
unions, AFSME Council 13 and SEIU Local 668 (http://www.ifo.state.pa.us/Releases.cfm).
These reports analyze both contracts, which have the same basic changes:
- 2.75% pay increase October 1, 2016;
- 2% pay increase effective July 1, 2017;
- A biweekly increase in the employer healthcare contribution (from $455
to $473) in July 2017;
- An increase in the employee contribution rate for healthcare benefits
from 2% to 2.25% in July 2017;
- 2.25% step increase effective January 1, 2018;
- A biweekly increase in the employer healthcare contribution (from $473
to 486) in July 2018;
- An increase in the employee contribution rate for healthcare benefits
from 2.25% to 2.5% in July 2018;
- 2.5% pay increase effective July 1, 2018, and;
- 2.25% step increase effective January 1, 2019.
Over the next three years, these changes will total $525.2 Million: $53.2
Million this fiscal year, $167.1 Million next fiscal year, and $304.9 Million
the budget year after that.
The reports also note benefits paid to employees result in about 40% in
indirect costs (40.7% for AFSME and 40.2% for SEIU): employer pension
contributions, Social Security and Medicare taxes, and Workers’ Compensation
payments. So, for each $1 increase in wages, there’s an additional 40% in
additional indirect costs.
Thanks to
Act 15, the General Assembly and the general public have more information on
the potential impacts these agreements will have.
I look forward to future
Independent Fiscal Office analyses for the other collective bargaining
agreements and I thank them for their efforts to bring more openness,
transparency, and accountability to state government actions.
Prior to passage of my legislation, opponents claimed these changes were not
broad solutions to reforming state government. I disagree; every effort to
improve openness, transparency, and accountability helps to ensure government is
being a better steward of taxpayers’ moneys.
I also look forward to advancing additional reforms during the 2017–2018
legislative Session.
Nominations Now Being Accepted for the Lebanon County Women’s Hall of
Fame
The Lebanon
County Commission for Women is accepting applications through November 30
for the
Women’s Hall of Fame, which honors women who have made significant
contributions to Lebanon County through their profession and/or volunteerism
while serving as role models. Women being considered must live or work in
Lebanon County, or; have played an integral part in the implementation of
project(s) benefiting the Lebanon Valley, or; have worked as hidden heroes
touching lives in a positive way. Nominees may be living or deceased, and
previous inductees and Commission members are not eligible. The categories
include: Leadership; Creating Community; Promoting Agriculture; Advocating
Athletics; Working for Justice; Promoting Healthy Lifestyles or Healthcare;
Contributing to the Arts; Innovating in Education; Serving the Military, and;
Fostering Advancements in Science/Technology. Click
here for the nomination form.
Contact Information
Please feel free to contact me at any time on state-related issues that are
of concern to you. I may be reached through my
website or my Lebanon or Harrisburg offices.
When contacting my office by
e-mail, mail, or telephone, please be sure to share your e-mail, telephone
number, and address so that we can follow up with you in a timely manner. Many
inquiries can be handled with a phone call or email.
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