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| WEEKS REMAIN UNTIL START OF NEW FISCAL YEAR
As the July 1 start of the FY 2017-2018 fiscal year draws closer, two key issues that have been linked to state budget discussions in recent years - reform of the state and school pension systems and gaming expansion - have been the subject of significant legislative activity.
Both the Senate and House approved a pension reform bill the week of June 5, following Senate Appropriations Committee adoption of a comprehensive amendment to SB 1 that would offer several new retirement benefit options to state and school employees hired after 2019, including a defined contribution plan and several hybrid options. The bill was approved by the full Senate on a vote of 40-9, and the House in turn quickly approved the bill by a 143-53 vote; as this Bulletin goes to press, media reports indicated Gov. Wolf intended to sign it into law.
On the gaming issue, the Senate amended HB 271 before Memorial Day to expand gaming in the commonwealth to include internet, fantasy sports, and gaming at airports, as well as offering a legislative fix for the local share assessment that was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2016. In the first week of June, the House further amended the bill to include video gaming terminals in bars, taverns and clubs, slot machines at casino-run off-track betting parlors, and betting on major league sporting events (presuming federal approval). The House amendments also maintained language to require an annual flat assessment of $10 million from casinos for host municipalities, and added a local share assessment of two percent each for municipalities and counties hosting video gaming facilities.
The House version of HB 271 is estimated to generate $250 to $300 million in new revenue. At least $2.5 million would be directed annually to the compulsive and problem gambling treatment fund, and another $2.5 million to drug and alcohol addiction treatment related to gambling. An additional $38 million would go to the State Lottery Fund. The amended bill was approved by the House by a 102-89 vote, setting up further negotiations with the Senate.
In the larger budget picture, gaming is one element of addressing an anticipated structural deficit of around $3 billion. While the House approved its budget bill, HB 218, in early April, the Senate has yet to take any action on the measure. In late developments, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Stan Saylor (R-York) has introduced a new budget bill, HB 1526; the bill language is unavailable at Bulletin press time.
Counties continue to advocate for the restoration of millions of dollars of cuts in funding for human services, criminal justice, and administrative programs that counties perform on the commonwealth's behalf, cuts which threaten setbacks in important programming and raise the likelihood of local property tax increases. Additional details, including a spreadsheet with line-by-line analysis, are available on CCAP's Budget News and Updates web page.
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COMMITTEES MOVE TO REAUTHORIZE SENIOR JUDGE SUPPORT GRANTS
Both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees have unanimously reported bills extending the authorization for senior judge support grants to counties, currently set to expire on June 30, 2017.
Both
HB 1451
, sponsored by Rep. Hal English (R-Allegheny), and
SB 741
, sponsored by Sen. Stewart Greenleaf (R-Montgomery), would extend the grant authorization for five years. The grants provide support to counties for expenses incurred when senior judges - retired judges who meet specific requirements for age and judicial service - are assigned to the common pleas courts for temporary judicial service. S
enior judges ease court backlogs in targeted areas that specifically need help, for example due to increased caseload, unexpected judicial vacancy or where an outside judge is needed because the judges in a county have a conflict of interest.
While senior judges often hear cases without pay, the grants help cover the costs counties incur associated with facility and staff support.
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| ELECTION DIRECTORS SHARE CURRENT ISSUES WITH SENATE
Members of the Senate State Government Committee held the first in an anticipated series of hearings on elections issues in the commonwealth, inviting several county election directors, the PA Department of State (DOS), and the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) to discuss national election administration trends and offer an overview of current concerns at the state and local levels.
Election directors from Butler, Lawrence, Lycoming and Mercer counties offered testimony on local issues, including poll worker retention, as well as alternatives for delivery of elections including no excuse absentee balloting, voting centers and voting by mail. They also noted the age of voting equipment currently in use and the costs associated with its replacement, and emphasized the need for continued and open dialogue with the General Assembly on these critical matters.
Offering a national perspective, the NCSL shared some of the major trends in elections, including online voter registration, interstate data matching, and automatic motor voter registration, and provided an overview of early and absentee voting initiatives in other states. At the state level, Jonathan Marks, commissioner of the Bureau of Commissions, Elections and Legislation at the Pennsylvania Department of State, recapped the 2016 election and areas that the DOS will be focusing on in the future, such as security threats and voting machine equipment.
More information on the hearing, including county director testimony, can be found on the Senate State Government Committee's website at stategovernment.pasenategop.com.
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DISCUSSION ON SHERIFF POWERS BILL CONTINUES
The House State Government Committee held an informational meeting to continue discussion of HB 466, sponsored by Rep. Jim Marshall (R-Beaver),
which would statutorily grant sheriffs the same powers as municipal police, provided they have completed comparable training.
During the informational hearing, committee members discussed several elements of the bill, including clarifications on sheriff training and the accountability of the sheriff's office as an elected position, as compared to a municipal appointed position. The committee also questioned whether the bill permits sheriffs and deputy sheriffs to offer backup to municipal police.
The informational meeting follows a May hearing on the legislation, at which CCAP explained that the Association agrees there is need to clarify arrest powers following a series of Pennsylvania Supreme Court decisions that created ambiguity relating to sheriff and deputy warrantless arrest powers and training requirements. However, counties believe that HB 466 requires revision because its language is not clear whether it merely restores plain-sight arrest powers or is in fact a broad enough authorization that could make the sheriff offices an equivalent to municipal police departments; CCAP has long opposed the establishment of the law enforcement model of sheriff.
Comments provided by CCAP in the prior hearing are available at
www.pacounties.org
by clicking Government Relations, then Legislative Action Center, followed by Legislative Testimony.
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STATEWIDE RADIO SYSTEM HEARING
On June 7, Warren County commissioner Ben Kafferlin and public safety director Todd Lake shared their input on the P25 statewide radio system before a joint hearing of the Senate Law and Justice, Communications and Technology, and Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness committees.
Kafferlin told committee members that fire, police and EMS agencies in the county currently operate on three different radio spectrums, which are not interoperable, and separate systems also exist for state and federal partners. The county is evaluating options to provide an upgraded radio system, although funding has been the largest obstacle.
He commented that the P25 radio pilot program is a state-of-the-art option that has the opportunity to bridge the gap in radio communications for all agencies and provide an interoperable group of channels that could increase the efficiency and accuracy of information, and ultimately the safety of responders. Major Diane Stackhouse, director of the Bureau of Communications and Information Services for the Pennsylvania State Police, explained that the agency is currently replacing the OpenSky system with the P25 system, which is now operational in Warren County on a pilot basis. A second pilot is scheduled later in the year in Venango, Crawford and Erie counties.
The Warren County comments are available at www.pacounties.org by clicking Government Relations, then Legislative Action Center, followed by Legislative Testimony.
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ELECTRONIC ADVERTISING BILL INTRODUCED
Former CCAP member Sen. John Eichelberger (R-Blair) recently introduced legislation which would provide local governments the option to electronically publish legal notices in lieu of newspaper advertisements. Senate Bill 745 would create a statewide bid and notice database website on which a local government could inform the public of information such as meetings and contract opportunities. Notices must still be available for review at the local government's offices, on its website if one is available, and sent to the local newspaper for informational purposes.
CCAP has sought the option for electronic legal advertising for many years for two reasons - first because the costs of placement of legal ads continue to increase and second, because counties believe electronic advertising can already reach a wider audience in a more timely fashion and over the coming years will continue to do so, thereby serving counties' interest in broadest possible dissemination of meeting, legal, and contracting notices.
The bill was referred to the Senate Local Government Committee and may be considered in the coming weeks.
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