Number 3

February 2, 2018

www.pacounties.org

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LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN
An e-newsletter of the
County Commissioners 
Association of Pennsylvania

 

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STATE BUDGET ADDRESS SET FOR FEB. 6  
Governor Tom Wolf will deliver his annual budget address, outlining his FY 2018-2019 budget proposal, to a joint session of the legislature on Feb. 6. Most of the details of the governor's proposal will not be released until that day.
 
In the meantime, on Jan. 29 the state's Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) provided some context for the state's budget picture as it released its updated revenue estimate for the current fiscal year, revising its original estimate upward by about $35 million for a total of $34.8 billion in General Fund revenues. In particular, the IFO noted boosts from the auction of the first Category 4 casino licenses, and now expects $85 million more from the Gaming Law changes than originally anticipated. The Office also said it expects steady gains in the personal income tax and inheritance tax, as well as revenues from the Volkswagen clean air settlement. The tax cuts under the new federal tax law are predicted to create a modest short-term economic bump, which will largely affect FY 2018-2019 rather than the current fiscal year; beyond that, the IFO pointed out that the key will be what corporations do with the tax cut and how quickly that shows up in the state's economy.
 
At the same time, the IFO cautioned that the revenue picture for the rest of the fiscal year remains uncertain. Several special fund transfers, including a $200 million transfer from the reserves of the Pennsylvania Professional Liability Joint Underwriting Association that is current being reviewed in federal court, and up to $300 million in other transfers to be done at the discretion of the Budget Secretary, have yet to occur. Corporate net income tax revenues are also expected to come in about $81 million less than originally thought, mostly from business reaction to federal tax law changes, and the IFO predicted a downward total revision of $48 million from motor vehicle sales tax, non-withholding personal income tax and cigarette tax weakness.
 
CCAP has provided members with information on where to view the Feb. 6 budget address, as well as analysis of line items impacting county programs, on CCAP's Budget News and Updates web page. In addition, a special e-edition of the Bulletin will be published on Feb. 9, containing a more detailed budget analysis.
STATE, FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS CONTINUE RESPONSE TO OPIOID EPIDEMIC         
An opioid command center to coordinate the state's response is now operational within the state's Emergency Management Agency with 13 agencies communicating daily, following the Governor's Jan. 10 state of emergency declaration to combat the heroin and opioid crisis. In a late January update on the progress of the declaration, state officials noted that the declaration has also allowed the state to quickly change rules to permit emergency responders to leave naloxone with people who have experienced an overdose if they decline further treatment, with the intent to have that rule remain in place after the 90-day emergency declaration ends.
In addition, state officials announced the launch of a new interactive data reporting system to provide information on opioid prescribing and drug overdoses, which will give the state's opioid command center real-time assistance in identifying communities experiencing spikes in overdoses. This information will then enable the command center to respond quickly with state resources. The data is collected through the Department of Health's prescription drug monitoring program, using information reported by prescribers and data from emergency departments across Pennsylvania. Of the 171 emergency rooms in the state, approximately 152 are currently submitting reports as part of the system. More information about the new database is available at www.health.pa.gov.
Legislative efforts are also continuing to address the opioid crisis. In January, the Senate unanimously approved SB 978 , introduced by Sen. Lisa Baker (R-Luzerne), which would allow home health and hospice staff to dispose of a patient's unused prescription medications after the individual's death or discharge, with permission of the patient or family member, rather than returning them to the patient's estate with the risk that they might later be sold or abused. In the House, members highlighted legislation ( HB 18 , Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh; SB 936 , Sen. Don White, R-Indiana) that would consider changes to the formularies that may be prescribed for work-related injuries for those receiving workers' compensation benefits.
Relatedly, President Trump has extended the federal opioid public health emergency issued in October for another 90 days. The  declaration  follows a  recommendation  made by the  President's Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, and enables the HHS Secretary to waive certain administrative regulations around treatment resources. In addition, the declaration allows states greater abilities to use federal dollars to combat a public health crisis, although no new federal funds have been committed.
As a 2018 priority, counties will continue to work in partnership with the commonwealth to ensure coordination of local and statewide strategies and comprehensive solutions to address the opioid and heroin epidemic
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SENATE PANEL HEARS OVERVIEW ON VOTING TECHNOLOGY STUDY         
The Joint State Government Commission (JSGC) recently presented its study of the state's voting technology to the Senate State Government Committee. The study, undertaken pursuant to Senate Resolution 394 of 2016, includes findings and recommendations on current and future technologies and needed improvements, based on surveys of counties and the experiences in other states. JSGC staff told the committee the main issue is that voting machines are getting older and more costly to maintain, but counties do not have the money for maintenance or to purchase new machines.
Funding for voting systems is a county priority for 2018, and was one of five recommendations made in the report. Other recommendations included changes to the Election Code to incentivize poll worker training, allow counties to consider actual voter participation levels when determining how many ballots to print, and improve election security and integrity. In its presentation to the State Government Committee, the JSGC emphasized its recommendation for the creation of a commission, including county commissioners and county election officials, to advise the General Assembly regarding proposed amendments to the state's Election Code or other election matters to ensure all necessary voices are at the table.
TITLE 35 REWRITE FOCUS OF HEARING         
On Jan 28, the Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee held a hearing on SB 1019 , introduced by Sen. Randy Vulakovich (R-Allegheny), to update and rewrite the Emergency Management Services code, commonly referred to as Title 35 . Title 35, as well as other related statutes, sets out the interrelationships and responsibilities among state, county and municipal governments for emergency response planning, and SB 1019 seeks to address current needs, terminology, technology and practices that have changed since Title 35 was last updated in 1996.
CCAP Executive Director Doug Hill provided testimony to the committee, noting that counties play a pivotal role in the planning and coordination of emergency services, such as disaster response, hazardous material response, and counterterrorism efforts, among others. In addition, counties have the primary responsibility for the 911 call-taking and dispatch system, and Hill shared that the rewrite of the 911 statute, completed under Act 12 of 2015, was due to a significant collaboration between the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA), the General Assembly, counties and other stakeholders. That cooperative relationship has similarly been part of the development of the Title 35 revisions over the past several legislative sessions.  
CCAP acknowledged that as a result of these efforts, SB 1019 is approaching final form and is ready for consideration. The one concern remaining from the county perspective is a need to clarify language regarding workers' compensation coverage for volunteers to address the interest in increasing benefits to volunteers harmed in providing emergency services, while also ensuring the bill does not create potentially uninsurable risk.
The testimony submitted by CCAP can be found at www.pacounties.org on the Legislative Action Center.

SPROCK FIX PASSES SENATE       
On Jan. 23, the Senate unanimously approved SB 851 , introduced by Sen. David Argall (R-Schuylkill), which would amend the Real Estate Tax Sale Law (RETSL) to clarify that the owner of property in the delinquent tax sale process remains responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of that property, regardless of the property's status in the process.
In 2002, the Commonwealth Court held in Commonwealth v. Sprock that because a delinquent property exposed at tax sale, but not sold, was subsequently held in trust by the tax claim bureau, the tax claim bureau was considered the owner for the purpose of the local municipality's nuisance ordinance. SB 851 would clarify that if a property is exposed to a tax sale but not sold, legal title remains with the owner of record. The county tax claim bureau's role as trustee would offer only the control necessary to convey the property under RETSL and would not subject the county to any liability for maintenance or nuisance remediation.
SB 851 now goes to the House of Representatives, and has been referred to the House Urban Affairs Committee. Similar legislation, HB 1814 (introduced by former CCAP member Rep. Mark Keller (R-Perry), was previously approved by that committee in December and is before the full House for consideration.

NACO LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE       
The National Association of Counties Legislative Conference will be held in Washington, D.C. from March 3 to March 7, 2018, including sessions on a broad range of federal issues. NACo's policy committees will also meet during the Conference, and attendees will have time for visits to Capitol Hill. The Conference agenda and online registration information are available on the NACo website, www.naco.org. 
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