Mike's Memo

Welcome to a new year of "Mike's Memo," an update on what's happening in the 48th Legislative District, the State Capitol, and the progress on my "Promise to Pennsylvania," a pledge to advance government reforms, enact meaningful lawsuit abuse reform, eliminate wasteful state spending, and cut taxes. 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 March 22, 2010

Senate Sends Legislation to House

The full Senate unanimously approved various bills, including:

• Senate Bill 213 - establishes the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children Act;
• Senate Bill 642 - provides for the registration of provisional sign language interpreters;
• Senate Bill 747 - establishes procedures for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation when selling land that is no longer needed for transportation purposes;
• Senate Bill 1044 - authorizes the Department of Corrections and county prisons to redistribute unused, unopened prescription drugs;
• Senate Bill 1074 - establishes requirements for the incarceration of pregnant women and the use of restraint for pregnant prisoners or detainees; and
• House Bill 526 - establishes notice requirements when certain insurance policies are terminated prior to the original date of coverage.

The Senate also passed Senate Bill 435 by a vote of 31–19, which would eliminate jury commissioners in counties of the Second Class A, and Senate Bill 1117 (vote of 31–19), which would eliminate these positions in counties of the third to eighth classes.  These measures are similar to my Senate Bill 392, which would give counties of the fifth class the option to eliminate these positions.

Bills Sent to Governor

A number of bills were passed by both the House and Senate and sent to the Governor for action, including:

• Senate Bill 206 - prohibits school districts from prohibiting the wearing of official military uniforms authorized by the federal government;
• Senate Bill 237 - makes certain information under the Insurance Company Law privileged and confidential;
• Senate Bill 297 - requires the filing of certain reports for Marcellus Shale drilling; and
• House Bill 416 - makes it illegal to pretend to hold a professional or occupational license.

Taxpayer-Funded Advertising Transparency Act

My Senate Bill 109, which would establish the "Taxpayer-Funded Advertising Transparency Act," was reported from the Senate Appropriations Committee to the full Senate for consideration.

Committee News

Communications & Technology

The Senate Communications & Technology Committee held a public hearing and unanimously reported the following to the full Senate:

• Senate Bill 964 - changes the effective date of an exemption on supplying a Social Security number for people applying for hunting and fishing licenses;
• Senate Bill 1147 - allows online gathering of alternate forms of identification (other than Social Security numbers) for hunting and fishing licenses; and
• Senate Resolution 260 - designates April 20 as "Pennsylvania Health Care Information Technology Day" (a similar measure was passed last year).

Education Committee

The Senate Education Committee recently held a public hearing on mandate waivers and also approved a number of measures, including:

• Senate Resolution 243 - directs the Joint State Government Committee to conduct a study of Pennsylvania's most successful and efficient school districts. The previous "Costing Out Study" excluded most of these districts and high cost/low performance districts because they were found to be outside the "standard deviations" of the study. The resolution passed 9–2;
• Senate Bill 1202 - requires school districts that choose to not contract for goods or services with Intermediate Units (IU) to post on their website the goods or services being purchased, contract price, provider, and reason why the contract was not through the IU. The bill passed 10 – 1; and
• Senate Bill 1252 - creates a program to support the teachers seeking national certification. The bill passed unanimously.

Marriage Protection Amendment

I want to thank the many constituents who called both in support and opposition to the proposal to amend Pennsylvania's Constitution to define marriage as being between one man and one woman (Senate Bill 707). The passion on both sides was strong. Although I do not serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee where the bill was deliberated, I have closely followed the debate.  The bill was tabled – or postponed – by the Committee.

Town Hall Meetings Scheduled

Mark your calendars for these events:

Tuesday, March 23, 7:00 p.m. at the Lebanon Valley Livestock, 2929 Route 22 (next to Esther's)

Thursday, March 25, at 6 p.m. – Representative Jim Cox and I will be host a town hall meeting at the Calvary Bible Fellowship Church, 4891 West Penn Avenue, Sinking Spring, to answer questions regarding the Wernersville Community Corrections Center. If you plan to attend the meeting, please call Representative Cox's office at (610) 670-0139 or register online.

Table Games Hearing

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) will hold a public hearing Wednesday, March 24, at 10a.m., in the East Hanover Township (Dauphin County) Municipal Building, 8848 Jonestown Road, Grantville, to receive public comments on Penn National Hollywood Casino's application to conduct table games.  For those wishing to present oral or written testimony, contact the PGCB by noon, Monday, March 22. Written comments may be mailed to: PA Gaming Control Board, Attention: Board Secretary, P.O. Box 69060, Harrisburg, and PA 17106 or faxed to 717-346-8350. Written comments must be postmarked by March 22.

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.