|
|
|
|
|
LEGISLATURE SWEARS IN MEMBERS FOR 2017-2018 SESSION
The House and Senate convened on Jan. 3 to swear in new and re-elected members and to formally elect their leaders for the year. In the House, twenty-two members took the oath of office for the first time, and six new Senators took their seats, including one former House member and five freshmen elected to open seats.
Although informally selected in the fall, Rep. Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny)
was elected to serve a second term as Speaker of the House. Rep. Dave Reed (R-Indiana) was re-elected as Majority Leader, and Rep. Frank Dermody (D-Allegheny) will continue as the floor leader for his caucus. In the Senate, Sen. Joe Scarnati (R-Jefferson) was formally re-elected as President Pro Tempore, Sen. Jake Corman (R-Centre) will continue as Majority Leader, and Sen. Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) was again elected as minority leader.
With the beginning of a new legislative session tools and resources are available for new and re-elected state officials, highlighting how counties touch the lives of their residents every day. The Counties Are toolkit available on CCAP's Legislative Action Center provides a quick overview on the wide variety of services performed by counties.
Both chambers return to active session on Jan. 23.
|
|
BUDGET SECRETARY DELIVERS MID-YEAR UPDATE; GOVERNOR PREPARES FOR FEBRUARY ADDRESS
As his formal budget address on Feb. 7 looms closer, Gov. Wolf and state agencies have already started to take steps intended to address the state's financial hardships.
Before the holidays, Budget Secretary Randy Albright provided the state's mid-year budget briefing, affirming the difficult fiscal situation the Independent Fiscal Office had outlined earlier for the current year as well as FY 2017-2018. He noted that revenue collections have been lagging and although the Governor's office had hoped to have a balanced budget for FY 2015-2016, the shortfall means there is an expectation of a year-end budget deficit of about $600 million.
As the commonwealth heads into the 2017-2018 fiscal year, where the state's Independent Fiscal Office in November predicted a $1.75 billion deficit, Albright said the administration wants to maintain support for local school districts and to address the opioid epidemic, and intends to exhaust all opportunities to contain state spending and deliver services in the most effective and efficient way possible before coming to the General Assembly for increased revenues. Media reports also indicate that the Governor has said he will not propose raising sales or income taxes in his FY 2017-2018 budget, but will instead deliver a balanced budget by looking to cuts and ways to make the state government operate more efficiently.
Since the briefing, Gov. Wolf has further announced several measures to address costs in response to budgetary issues. State agencies' authorized staffing levels have been reset, at least for the rest of this fiscal year, at their actual levels as of Dec. 2, meaning that vacant positions as of that date simply will not be filled. In late December, the Governor also rejected several municipalities' applications to participate in the state's Keystone Opportunity Zone program, citing a lack of ability for the state to exempt state taxes given its anticipated shortfalls. State agencies have also been directed to begin consolidating information technology and human resources functions, and not to enter into new leases without the approval of the Department of General Services.
House and Senate leadership have also been sharing their priorities for the coming fiscal year. In an editorial by Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman (R-Centre), he indicated his caucus will be looking at cost drivers in the state and school pension systems, in human services and in corrections to reduce the rate of growth and ensure dollars are spent wisely. House Majority Leader Dave Reed (R-Indiana) has also indicated his caucus wants to examine how government delivers services, suggesting major changes such as consolidation of state agencies or outsourcing human services functions to nonprofit agencies.
|
|
SENATE NAMES COMMITTEE CHAIRS
The Senate Republicans and Democrats have selected their committee chairs for the 2017-2018 legislative session, and those who have jurisdiction over key county issues are listed here. A complete listing of committee chairs and members is available at www.pasen.gov.
The Health and Human Services Committee, formerly the Public Health and Welfare Committee, will be newly chaired by Sen. Lisa Baker (R-Luzerne) and former Berks County commissioner Judy Schwank (D-Berks). Sen. Schwank will also return with Sen. Elder Vogel (R-Beaver) to chair the Agriculture Committee. Former Mercer County commissioner Sen. Michele Brooks (R-Mercer) and Sen. Arthur Haywood (D-Montgomery) will also continue to head the Aging and Youth Committee.
Another former CCAP member, Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming) will again lead the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee along with Sen. John Yudichak (D-Luzerne), while the Senate Finance Committee will be led by Sen. Scott Hutchinson (R-Venango) and Sen. John Blake (D-Lackawanna). Sen. Blake will also chair the Local Government Committee with Sen. Scott Wagner (R-York). Sen. Stewart Greenleaf (R-Montgomery) and Sen. Daylin Leach (D-Montgomery) continue to lead the Judiciary Committee. The State Government Committee will continue to be led by Sen. Mike Folmer (R-Lebanon) and Sen. Anthony Williams (D-Philadelphia). Sen. John Rafferty (R-Montgomery) remains chair of the Transportation Committee alongside Sen. John Sabatina (D-Philadelphia), and the Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee will again be led by Sen. Randy Vulakovich (R-Allegheny) and Sen. Jay Costa (D-Allegheny).
|
|
HOUSE APPOINTS COMMITTEE CHAIRS
The House of Representatives has also formally announced its committee chairs for the new session, and the following list highlights committees that typically engage county issues; a full list of committee chairs is available at www.house.state.pa.us.
Aging and Older Adult Services will continue to be led by Rep. Tim Hennessey (R-Chester) and former CCAP member Rep. Steve Samuelson (D-Northampton), while Rep. Martin Causer (R-Potter) continues as chair of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee with new chair Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski (D-Luzerne). Rep. Kathy Watson (R-Bucks) and Rep. Scott Conklin (D-Centre) will continue their service as chairs of the Children and Youth Committee, while Rep. John Maher (R-Allegheny) will head Environmental Resources and Energy with Rep. Mike Carroll (D-Luzerne).
The Health Committee retains the leadership of Rep. Matt Baker (R-Bradford) and former CCAP member Rep. Flo Fabrizio (D-Erie), and the Human Services Committee will be led again this session by Rep. Gene DiGirolamo (R-Bucks) and Rep. Angel Cruz (D-Philadelphia). Judiciary will remain under the chairmanship of Rep. Ron Marsico (R-Dauphin) and Rep. Joe Petrarca (D-Armstrong). The Local Government Committee will again be chaired by Rep. Kate Harper (R-Montgomery) and Rep. Robert Freeman (D-Northampton), while Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler) and Rep. Greg Vitali (D-Delaware) head the State Government Committee. Rep. John Taylor (R-Philadelphia) and Rep. William Keller (D-Philadelphia) serve as chairs of the Transportation Committee, and Rep. Stephen Barrar (R-Chester) and Rep. Chris Sainato (D-Lawrence) will lead the Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee for another session.
|
|
PENN STATE STUDY VERIFIES EFFORTS OF FARMERS IN BAY WATERSHED
A newly released survey conducted by Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences shows that Pennsylvania farmers located in the Chesapeake Bay watershed practiced a set of conservation measures to improve water quality which have previously been unrecognized. The survey, whose results were released in December, was completed by more than 6,700 farmers in 41 counties in the watershed, and was verified by more than 700 on-site farm visits. It provides the first documentation of farmers' voluntary water quality best management practices, such as nutrient and manure management, agricultural erosion and sedimentation control plans, conservation plans, stream-bank fencing, and riparian buffers, all of which are methods to reduce nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment levels. However, because these efforts have been instituted without federal or state aid, the state has not previously received credit for these pollution reducing measures.
Pennsylvania's Chesapeake Bay Reboot, announced last year as a joint effort between the state departments of Agriculture, Environmental Protection, and Conservation and Natural Resources, is designed to help the Commonwealth meet federal Environmental Protection Agency requirements to reduce water pollution in the streams and waterways within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The survey is one of many efforts the agencies are taking to address water quality measures throughout the state.
|
|
2017 JUDICIAL SALARIES
In the December 10 Pennsylvania Bulletin, the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts published the judicial salaries that took effect on Jan. 1, 2017. The 2017 salaries were subject to a 1.3 percent cost-of-living adjustment, which means that the annual salary of a judge of the court of common pleas, against whose pay the district attorney salary is established, is set at $178,868.
|
|
2017 BID LIMIT THRESHOLDS
The 2017 annual adjustments to the bid limit thresholds and telephonic quote thresholds under the County Code and Second Class County Code (as required under Acts 86 and 89 of 2011) were published in the Dec. 10, 2016, issue of the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The state Department of Labor and Industry has advised that the change in the consumer price index for the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2016 was 1.5 percent, and so the bid limit thresholds and telephone quote thresholds that took effect Jan. 1, 2017 are $19,700 and $10,700 respectively.
|
|
| |
|
