Mike's Memo

Conference committee appointed to resolve budget differences

With the House's rejection of Senate amendments to House Bill 1416 (the state's most recent budget plan), both chambers appointed Conference Committee members to attempt to resolve the differences with the overdue state budget.  House Bill 1416 as passed by the House calls for $29.1 billion in spending, but fails to include funding for higher education.  The Senate version of HB 1416 is a $27.1 billion plan and includes higher education appropriations. 

Conference Committee members include:

• Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi
• Senate Appropriations Committee Majority Chairman Jake Corman
• Senate Appropriations Committee Minority Chairman Jay Costa 
• House Majority Leader Todd Eachus
• House Minority Leader Sam Smith
• House Appropriations Chairman Dwight Evans

"Non-Preferred" appropriation bills fall short of required support

Senate leadership attempted to move the budget process along by seeking passage of "non-preferred" bills from both chambers of the General Assembly.  The first vote – Senate Bill 1036, which provides funding for the University of Pittsburgh – failed to attain the required two-thirds votes needed (34 ‘yes' votes).  It, and the other non-preferred bills Senate Bill 1037 (Temple University); Senate Bill 1038 (Lincoln University); Senate Bill 1039 (veterinary school at the University of Pennsylvania); and Senate Bill 1040 (Penn State University) were passed over.  

Senate approves various bills

Last week the Senate unanimously confirmed George Cornelius as Secretary of the Department of Community & Economic Development (DCED), as well as passed numerous bills, including:

• Senate Bill 441, allows applications for teaching certificates to be signed by a certified registered nurse practitioner or physician assistant (in addition to a physician) and disqualifies applicants who engage in illegal use of controlled substances or alcohol.  The bill passed unanimously;
• Senate Bill 607, amends the Rural Pennsylvania Revitalization Act to increase the maximum amount of grants (from $50,000 to $60,000), expand areas of eligibility for grants, and expands the scope to include agriculture and health and welfare concerns, passed unanimously;
• House Bill 1654, changes the licensing requirements under the Mortgage Licensing Act. The bill passed unanimously and is similar to previously passed Senate Bill 936; and
• House Bill 1770, extends unemployment compensation benefits for an additional seven for individuals who have exhausted other UC benefits. Passed unanimously. 

 Education committee sends bills to full senate

The Senate Education Committee considered and reported a number of measures to the full Senate, including Senate Resolution 156 which endorses new high school graduation requirements and proposed "Keystone Exams."  Citing concerns about costs to the state and school districts, I was the only committee member to not support the measure.  Other measures approved (all unanimously) by the Committee included:

• Senate Bill 993, exempts availability of school employees' home addresses under the state's Right to Know Law;
• Senate Bill 1007, prohibits "lame duck" school directors from taking action on a superintendent's contract if eleven or more months remain on their contract; and
• Senate Bill 1009, requires schools to have a CPR-trained staff member on school premises during the school day to the greatest extent possible.

For more information on these issues or other legislative and state topics, or if you are unable to open the bill links, visit the Pennsylvania General Assembly website at www.legis.state.pa.us. You may also want to visit "News for Constituents", a comprehensive look into various issues affecting Pennsylvanians across the Commonwealth.

Please feel free to contact me at any time on state-related issues that are of concern to you.  I may be reached through e-mail at mfolmer@pasen.gov, my website, or any one of my offices listed below.