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PEDFA DISCUSSES ELECTION FUNDING
The Pennsylvania Economic Development Financing Authority (PEDFA) discussed Gov. Wolf's anticipated request to borrow $90 million to help counties fund purchases of new voting systems at its Sept. 18 meeting, but no vote has yet been taken.
According to PEDFA documents, a bond counsel and underwriters have been selected to work on the bond issue through a Request for Proposal process. The Authority is planning an informational meeting for board members in October, where a presentation will be made by the financing team, including the bond counsel and underwriter. Under this plan, a vote would then be taken at a follow-up meeting.
The funding request by Gov. Wolf is intended to reimburse counties for 60 percent of the costs of complying with the Stein settlement agreement, which requires counties to have new voter-verified paper trail voting systems in place by the April 2020 primary. The $90 million bond issue would fund grants through the Department of State, with additional funds used for election security needs.
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ELECTION REFORMS SUBJECT OF JOINT HEARING
As the General Assembly returned for fall session in September, CCAP Elections Reform Committee co-chair and Snyder County commissioner Joe Kantz and Lehigh County chief clerk of registration and elections Tim Benyo joined members of the House and Senate State Government committees for renewed conversations around election reform legislation. Each of the panelists, which also included Jonathan Marks, deputy secretary for elections and commissions at the Department of State, and Ray Murphy, state coordinator of Keystone Votes, was asked to share the top election reform issues they would like to see accomplished.
All four told committee members that absentee ballot reform is at the top of their respective lists. In particular, Kantz detailed counties' support for no-excuse absentees, with which Benyo concurred, and assuring voters are ineligible to vote at their polling place if they cast an absentee ballot. Counties also seek updates to absentee deadlines and other matters such as creating a permanent absentee qualification for permanently disabled voters.
In addition, Kantz said, counties' other election reform priorities include poll worker reform to incentivize those who want to volunteer and changing the number of ballots that need to be printed for each election. Kantz and Benyo also noted that approval of SB 422, which would create an Election Law Advisory Board, would be helpful in advising the legislature on pending legislation going forward.
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SUNSHINE LAW BILL AMENDED
The House recently adopted changes to HB 1069
, sponsored by Rep. Aaron Bernstine (R-Lawrence), which would amend the Sunshine Act to require local governments to post meeting agendas on their website at least 24 hours prior to a meeting.
As originally introduced, an agency would have been precluded from taking action on any item not contained in the posted meeting agenda, except in case of an emergency posing a danger to life or property, or if the matter were minor and did not involve expenditure or approval of a contract. Counties opposed the original bill as it would have severely limited a county's timely response to public issues and concerns by allowing governing bodies to act only on agency business listed on the posted agenda.
Two amendments have since mitigated this concern. The first, offered by Rep. Garth Everett (R-Lycoming), was adopted by the House State Government Committee in June to allow items to be added to the agenda by majority vote of those present and voting at the meeting. In mid-September, the full House adopted a subsequent amendment offered by former CCAP member Rep. Jeff Wheeland (R-Lycoming) that would allow official action to be taken on the matter added to the agenda and would require the agency to post the edited agenda no later than the first business day following the meeting. House Bill 1069 as amended now awaits a final vote in the House.
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PTSI PROPOSED FOR WORKERS COMPENSATION
As part of a comprehensive agenda of EMS-related legislation (see other articles in this Bulletin), the House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee recently reported a bill creating a presumption that post-traumatic stress injury (PTSI) is compensable for certain emergency responders under the Workers' Compensation Law.
Prior to consideration of HB 432, sponsored by Rep. Stephen Barrar (R-Delaware), the committee adopted an amendment that would expand the presumption to include 911 dispatchers and state correctional officers. Counties have the greatest respect for our first responders and the important work they do every day to keep our communities safe; while supporting investments in critical prevention and treatment resources that can help those affected by PTSI, CCAP opposed the amendment based on its potential to increase the cost of the workers' compensation system without addressing the need to increase capacity for treatment and rehabilitation services.
Instead, CCAP supported separate legislation also under consideration by the Committee, HB 1459, introduced by Rep. Mike Schlossberg (D-Lehigh), to establish a statewide mental wellness and stress management protocol, consistent with the recommendations in the 2018 SR 6 Emergency Services Commission report. Under the bill, the Department of Health, with some programming coordination with the Department of Public Welfare, would be responsible for development and deployment of training, intervention and support programs for emergency responders, including peer-to-peer support and a toll-free helpline, designed to address the mental health needs of emergency responders before they become overwhelming. The Committee reported the bill unanimously.
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EMS LEGISLATION MOVES IN HOUSE
On Sept. 24, the House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee reported out several pieces of legislation that reflect many of the recommendations of the SR 6 Emergency Services Commission report.
Among them was Rep. Robert Brooks' (R-Westmoreland) HB 1839, which would allow counties to offer active fire and nonprofit EMS volunteers a property tax credit (municipalities were granted this authority under Act 172 of 2016) and increase the allowance from 20% to 100% of a property tax bill for both counties and municipalities. Other legislation this session (HB 1705) would grant similar authority to school districts.
The remainder of the agenda included bills to expand loan assistance to paid fire departments (HB 1448), to increase the EMS Operating Fund surcharge and expand rural training (HB 1838), to expand the eligible use of certain grants (HB 1834) and to increase the limits of the Volunteer Loan Assistance Program (HB 1816). The committee also reported HB 1869, offering staffing waivers for Basic Life Support in rural counties. Other bills on the agenda related to the provision of mental health services for emergency responders, as outlined elsewhere in this Bulletin.
CCAP created an EMS Task Force in late 2018 to explore whether counties could play any role in assuring reliable provision of this vital public service, at the request of counties who recognize the crisis in which emergency medical services operations find themselves. While the Task Force is still working on the final draft of its report, expected to be released this fall, members have largely embraced the conclusions and recommendations of the SR 6 report.
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FIRST STEP TO REPEAL, REPLACE WOTUS RULE
After several years of controversy over a federal rule to define Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS), which impacts permitting jurisdiction under laws such as the Clean Water Act, the federal government has taken the first step to repeal that 2015 rule and reinstate the previous rule.
The 2015 rule came in response to several U.S. Supreme Court decisions in the 2000s that caused confusion about the scope of WOTUS, but the new rule in turn led to concerns by local government that it would increase federal jurisdiction over permitting for roads, bridges, flood control channels and ditch construction. Both NACo and CCAP submitted comments as the 2015 rule was being proposed opposing various provisions of the definition.
On Sept. 12, the Administration released a final rule to repeal the 2015 WOTUS definition and re-instate the pre-2015 definition. The second step in the process, introduction of a revised rule, is expected to be finalized in 2020.
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FOCUS ON BROADBAND CONTINUES
The Senate Communications and Technology Committee recently wrapped up its series of statewide hearings to discuss ways to improve access to high-speed broadband internet in the commonwealth. A variety of stakeholders, including Indiana County commissioner Rod Ruddock at an August hearing, participated and shared ideas, thoughts and concerns as a part of the overall picture for the future of broadband.
The day after the hearings concluded, the Senate State Government Committee advanced companion bills that call for an inventory of state-owned assets which could be leveraged for the development of mobile broadband services. The bills, HB 305, offered by former CCAP member Rep. Pam Snyder (D-Greene), and SB 470, sponsored by Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill (R-York), were unanimously reported to the full Senate with technical amendments that make the legislation largely similar. One key difference is that the House version includes an amendment that had been offered in the House at the suggestion of former CCAP member Rep. Jeff Wheeland (R-Lycoming) to include an option for counties to add county-owned assets to the inventory if they would be interested in being part of the state's effort.
Rural broadband expansion is a county priority for 2019.
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