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ELECTRONIC PUBLICATION ONLY
The Legislative Bulletin is currently published by electronic newsletter only.
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GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES PLAN FOR PA
Gov. Wolf recently extended the state's stay-at-home order to May 8 and has also announced his Plan for Pennsylvania, which calls for three phases of relief, recovery and reopening.
As part of that plan, on April 22 the Governor outlined his guidelines for a slow reopening of the state regionally based on a phased approach. The three phases, red, yellow and green, will be assigned using conditions in a county, counties or region. Each phase has different guidelines and restrictions for work and congregate settings and social restrictions. Red, which currently applies to the entire commonwealth, is solely focused on minimizing the spread of COVID-19 through strict social distancing, closures or non-life sustaining businesses and schools as well as building safety protocols. The yellow phase would ease people and businesses back into a more normal operation, focused on beginning to reopen the economy while monitoring public health data to ensure the spread of disease remains contained. Green, the final phase of the process, lifts most restrictions including the stay-at-home and business closure orders, but will still focus on monitoring and tracking public health indicators. More information on each specific phase can be found on the Governor's
website
.
Based on current COVID-19 conditions, the administration will first study conditions in the north-central and northwest regions with a target of moving from red to yellow beginning on May 8. Additional monitoring and Department of Health metrics will allow for insight on when to move into a new phase or open a new region.
Relatedly, Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine signed an
order
on April 15 implementing worker safety measures to ensure protections are in place for workers employed at essential businesses during the disaster emergency. While the order does not directly impact government operations,
the information may be useful for counties as they plan to reopen in-person operations in the coming weeks
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COUNTY PARTNERSHIPS, COMMUNICATION REMAIN CRITICAL
Among the changes that have been caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has been several weeks of remote legislative session as the Capitol building remains closed to the public, with legislative operations continuing to try to move forward during this unprecedented time. Maintaining strong intergovernmental communications is more important than ever with this physical distance and the fast-paced response strategies underway at all levels of government. Keeping regular open lines of communication between counties officials and their state and federal legislators, as well as the administration, will help ensure that all parties are at the table and working together toward common goals, especially as plans develop for safely reopening businesses and operations in the commonwealth.
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GOVERNOR SIGNS LOCAL GOVERNMENT EMERGENCY BILL
Gov. Wolf signed SB 841 (Sen. Martin, R-Lancaster) into law as
Act 15 of 2020
on April 20, which included important language to provide additional guidance to local governments conducting business remotely during the coronavirus pandemic. In particular, Act 15 affirms the
authority of local governments to use remote telecommunication tools for the duration of the COVID-19 disaster declaration in order to hold public meetings and conduct public business, thus allowing social distancing to be maintained. In addition, the amendments clarify that a physical quorum does not need to be established as long as there is a quorum of individuals using the telecommunications device and specify requirements for advance notice of meetings and means of public participation. Additional guidance on the new law can be found on the Office of Open Records'
website
.
Act 15 also affirms and gives guidance to local governments regarding their authority to extend the property tax discount period until as late as Aug. 31, and to waive penalties or fees associated with late payments if the taxes are paid in full by Dec. 31, 2020. Additionally, the new law authorizes remote notarization through communication technology during the COVID-19 disaster emergency
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FEDERAL COVID-19 RELIEF PACKAGE 3.5
The week of April 20, the U.S. Senate and House approved a fourth relief package in response to COVID-19 to provide $484 billion in the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, or the COVID-19 3.5 relief package (H.R. 266). Despite strong advocacy efforts by the National Association of Counties (NACo) and counties nationwide for direct, flexible funding for all counties, the latest package focuses on support for small businesses, hospitals and increasing COVID-19 testing, and does not include additional relief for local governments. Under the previously enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, only seven Pennsylvania counties meet the 500,000-person population threshold to be eligible for direct aid, although the U.S. Treasury has confirmed in guidance that the remaining state aid may be allocated to other local governments as well.
This new relief package under H.R. 266 would provide $320 billion in new funding for small businesses, allocated to replenish the Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program loan initiative, as well as an additional $75 billion to support local hospitals and health care providers and $25 billion for expenses related to COVID-19 testing.
As of April 23, the legislation is was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives and President Trump has indicated he will sign it. CCAP and PA counties will continue to work with state officials to seek local government financial relief through the federal allocation provided to the commonwealth
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ELECTIONS LEGISLATION ADVANCES
Several pieces of legislation that would amend commonwealth election processes were recently considered in the General Assembly.
The Senate considered
SB 417, introduced by former CCAP member Sen. Scott Martin (R-Lancaster), to require write-in candidates to receive the same number of write-in votes in a general election as would be required if they had filed signed nomination petitions or papers for those votes to be counted. This mirrors a similar requirement already in place for primary elections, and would reduce notifications, tie vote drawings, legal advertising and postage costs that occur when there is no candidate for an office, yet a voter will write in a name. The bill was amended with technical changes on the floor, specifically changing the effective date to Dec. 31, 2020. As amended, the bill heads back to the House for consideration.
The House unanimously approved
SB 413
, also offered by Sen. Martin, to remove language from the constitution requiring a separate ballot or column for judicial retention elections. Senate Bill 413 was amended by the House State Government Committee with language mirroring
SB 411
, which would remove restrictions in the constitution to allow any qualified voter to vote by absentee ballot without excuse. As amended, the bill will go back to the Senate for a concurrence vote before being sent to the Governor's desk. In order to be adopted into the state's constitution, SB 413 would need to be approved by the General Assembly with the same language in this and the next legislative session, and then approved by a statewide voter referendum
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BILL TO ENSURE COUNTY ACCESS TO HEALTH DATA ADVANCES
Senate Bill 1110 (Sen. Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland) was reported by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on April 20. As amended, the bill would direct the Secretary of Health or local health authority to release data related to confirmed COVID-19 cases in a county to county 911 centers and other first responders. Counties have been requesting this information to assist responders and help to efficiently allocate personal protective equipment (PPE) resources, but current state privacy laws have complicated the ability of state agencies to share the data. The bill has been re-referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
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OTHER LEGISLATIVE ACTION OF NOTE
The General Assembly considered several other bills while in session the week of April 20, including
SB 1027, (Sen. John Gordner, R-Columbia), which would extend the sunset of the State Geospatial Coordinating Board. This joint advisory board, which includes county representation, was established by Act 178 of 2014 to improve coordination and efficiency of GIS policies and data collection and is set to expire on June 30, 2020. However, under SB 1027, that sunset would be extended until 2024. The legislation was unanimously approved by the Senate and now goes to the House for its review.
Additionally, the legislature approved HB 1869, (Rep. Clint Owlett, R-Tioga), to allow emergency medical services (EMS) agencies to file for a waiver or exception from the basic life support (BLS) staffing requirements for extraordinary reasons as determined by the department on a case-by-case basis. The bill was amended in the Senate to include a provision that would provide for COVID-19 disability benefits for law enforcement officers, as well as sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, and members of the Pennsylvania National Guard. As the Bulletin goes to press, HB 1869 is on the Governor's desk and he has until May 2 to sign or veto the bill or allow it to become law without his signature.
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CCAP RESOLUTIONS PROCESS
Throughout the month of June, CCAP policy committees will be holding their annual conference call meetings to consider resolutions amending the PA County Platform, in anticipation of a membership discussion and vote in conjunction with the CCAP Annual Conference in August. County officials are encouraged to begin reviewing the Platform now and to send any proposed resolutions to CCAP Government Relations staff at PACountiesGR@pacounties.org, or to discuss them with CCAP policy committee chairs.
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