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2015-2016 SESSION COMES TO AN END
The last voting days for the 2015-2016 session have come to an end amid a flurry of legislative activity, with dozens of bills sent to the Governor's desk. Importantly for counties, those bills include
SB 613
, which will allow the Human Services Block Grant to be expanded to any willing county; a more detailed story on that bill follows below.
While the session does not constitutionally end until Nov. 30, for many years the legislature has had a policy of not holding voting days in the post-election "lame duck" session. The few session days scheduled in mid-November are for reorganizational purposes, leadership elections and retirement speeches. And so, with sine die adjournment, any bill that has not made it to the Governor's desk will have to be reintroduced when the new session convenes in January to start again at the beginning of the legislative process.
Among the issues the General Assembly sought to address was a recent state Supreme Court decision (
Mt. Airy v. PA Department of Revenue
), which struck down the local share assessment paid by casinos to their host municipalities as a non-uniform tax prohibited under Pennsylvania's constitution. In doing so, the Court severed the sections of law regarding both the municipal and host county shares but, recognizing the significant fiscal impact to affected local governments, the Court stayed its decision for 120 days to give time for the General Assembly to craft a legislative remedy. The Senate responded by amending
HB 1887
to temporarily set a flat rate to keep funding flowing to local governments until May 1, 2017, allowing the General Assembly more time to craft a permanent solution to the Court's decision. However, the House further amended the bill with gaming expansion language to include fantasy sports, iGaming and gaming tablets at airports to meet a $100 million budgetary commitment for FY 2016-2017, as well as language to remove the municipal sunset date. But with the Senate already adjourned and unavailable for a concurrence vote, the legislation died and will have to be taken up again in the 2017-2018 session.
The legislature also had appeared poised to give final approval to HB 1885, which would require all local governments to assure state and federal immigration laws are being enforced. If a local government failed to comply with those requirements, it would be liable for any future damages caused by the individual who is the subject of the enforcement action. Thus, because federal courts and federal agencies have clearly established that ICE detainer requests are voluntary requests, not mandatory orders (see the Third Circuit's decision in Galarza v Szalczyk), HB 1885 would have created a lose-lose situation for counties where they could be subject to costly lawsuits whether or not they detain an individual in a county prison pursuant to a detainer request. The bill won the approval of the House by a 136-55 vote, but it was amended in the Senate before being approved on a 34-14 vote in that chamber, and the House did not bring it back up for the concurrence vote needed to send it to the Governor. As a result, it dies for this session and would have to be reintroduced next session.
Details about several other bills with impact for counties are provided in the other articles in this Bulletin. A full analysis of these and additional late-session bills affecting county government will be posted on CCAP's Legislative Action Center once final action is taken by the Governor.
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BLOCK GRANT EXPANSION PRIORITY GOES TO GOVERNOR
Legislation expanding the Human Services Block Grant to any willing and capable county has received approval by both the House and Senate, requiring only the Governor's signature to become law. Counties have sought as a priority the expansion of the Human Services Block Grant to all counties on a voluntary basis, permitting utilization of human services funding in seven key line items in a flexible manner. The Block Grant was originally authorized in 2012 for 20 counties as a pilot program and further expanded to a total of 30 counties the subsequent year, but has been closed to the remaining 37 counties since then. Senate Bill 613, sponsored by Sen. Pat Vance (R-Cumberland), will allow all 67 counties the opportunity to benefit from this important tool in order to respond to critical issues unique to each county in a flexible manner.
An amendment to SB 613 adopted in the House, reflecting the collaborative efforts between the Department of Human Services (DHS) and CCAP, adds further accountability for both DHS and counties, provides specific criteria for participation, and creates a more streamlined process. Further, the amended legislation requires collaboration between DHS and CCAP on developing outcomes measures and data elements to show the effectiveness of the Block Grant, as well as developing a method to informally resolve any disputes. The House voted to approve the bill by a vote of 191-1, and the Senate unanimously concurred in the amendments. A more detailed analysis will be posted
on CCAP's
Legislative Action Center.
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HOUSE AND SENATE APPROVE OPIOID-RELATED LEGISLATION
In the final days of session, the General Assembly successfully advanced several bills to address the opioid epidemic to the Governor's desk, which are expected to receive his approval. The legislation follows several legislative hearings on the issue over the summer, as well as a joint address by Gov. Wolf to the General Assembly this fall.
The bills include HB 1699, introduced by Rep. Rosemary Brown (R-Monroe), which would limit the prescribed amount of opioids to a 7-day supply in emergency rooms and urgent care centers. Senate Bill 1202, sponsored by Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming), provides for continuing education requirements for prescribing opioids as well as addiction treatment. The bill further would require physicians to check the state's newly created Prescription Drug Monitoring System each time a prescription is given and to input data within 24 hours of prescribing an opioid.
Other bills include SB 1367, also sponsored by Sen. Gene Yaw, limiting the issuance of opioids to minors and providing for further restrictions and requirements if opioids are prescribed to minors. Finally, SB 1368, introduced by former CCAP member Sen. Tom Killion (R-Delaware), requires the creation and implementation of a safe opioid prescribing curriculum for medical schools and colleges. The curriculum would not be considered a mandate for graduation, unless deemed necessary by the college following the August 2017 deadline for the course.
It is anticipated that the 2017-2018 session will see further legislative actions on the opioid and heroin epidemic in the commonwealth.
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CIVIL SERVICE CHANGES SENT TO GOVERNOR
Late amendments to HB 192, now on its way to the Governor, will take another step in the process of modernizing the state's civil service system, with changes that will result in
expanding the number of available and qualified applicants.
While in the Senate, HB 192, sponsored by Rep. Mark Gillen (R-Berks), was amended
to allow a uniform application and process for positions that are civil service and non-civil service, and to establish uniform use of NEOGOV, a state of the art application tracking system used in many other states that streamlines the application process. Currently, the Commission utilizes one process for civil service positions and another for non-civil service positions.
Additionally, the Senate amendments will permit counties to determine the type of examination that the Commissioner would utilize for specific positions, which will fit the process more closely to the skills needed by candidates. The current process requires an applicant to schedule a written test at a commission location; the need to travel and schedule the written examination reduces counties' access to qualified candidates who often opt to take another position with a less complicated process. Few employers require written examinations to determine qualifications, instead seeking a combination of experience and education or training to demonstrate qualifications. A shift toward experience and training will increase the pool of qualified candidates, and allow counties to fill open positions more efficiently.
The Senate unanimously approved HB 192 as amended, and the House also concurred in the amendments unanimously.
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RECORDER OF DEEDS FEES TO SEE CHANGES
Legislation prohibiting county recorders of deeds from levying UPI fees to index amendments to condominium declarations is on its way to the Governor's desk. Senate Bill 1282,
introduced by Sen. Scott Wagner (R-York), was opposed by CCAP because it will create a special treatment for condominium associations not enjoyed by other residents of the commonwealth. The bill received a final vote in the House on Oct. 26, winning the approval of that chamber 177-13. The same day, the Senate concurred in House amendments 28-19, to send the bill to the Governor.
In addition, the General Assembly also sent to the Governor SB 486, legislation introduced by Sen. Dave Argall (R-Schuylkill) that will allow counties the option to levy a fee of up to $15 on each deed and mortgage recorded, with the funds to be used for demolition of blighted properties within the county. As amended by the House, a county that chooses to impose the fee must submit an initial report to the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) including a plan on how the funds will be spent, and an annual report to DCED including the number of properties demolished and cost of demolition per property. The House voted 164-25 on final passage of SB 486, with a unanimous concurrence vote following in the Senate.
At the same time, on Oct. 27 the House adopted a resolution, HR 1073, authored by Rep. Scott Petri (R-Bucks) requiring the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee (LBFC) to conduct a comprehensive review of federal and state laws related to the county recorder of deeds operation. As part of the study, the LBFC is also required to make recommendations on the current fee structure, and to consult with CCAP and the Pennsylvania Recorder of Deeds Association, among others. The report is due within one year.
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