Bills passed in the PA House during the week of June 17, 2019

Bills going to the governor:

• SB 399 (Sen. Wayne Langerholc Jr., R-Bedford/Cambria/Clearfield): Would expand the current list of rights for survivors of sexual assault and address anonymous submissions of sexual assault evidence and submissions for which jurisdiction is unknown. Vote 200-0.

• SB 469 (Sen. Daniel Laughlin, R-Erie): Would allow out-of-court statements from crime victims with intellectual disabilities or autism under certain circumstances. Vote 178-22.

• SB 479 (Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Luzerne/Pike/Susquehanna): Would expand the list of offenses in which the courts may admit into evidence an out-of-court statement by a child victim or witness. Vote 199-1.

Bills heading to the Senate for consideration:

• HB 716 (Rep. John Galloway, D-Bucks): Would amend the Administrative Code to create the Joint Agency Task Force on Misclassification within the Department of Labor and Industry. Vote 198-0.

• HB 855 (Rep. Jim Struzzi, R-Indiana): Would require the secretary of the Budget to project revenue shortfalls for the fiscal year starting in December and to put amounts in budgetary reserve equal to any shortfall to balance the budget. Vote 108-90.

• HB 920 (Rep. Stan Saylor, R-York): Would update budget procedures related to unspent appropriations and how these amounts are dealt with at the close of a fiscal year. Vote 108-90.

• HB 921 (Rep. Eric Nelson, R-Westmoreland): Would require the administration to issue quarterly reports on the amounts committed and awarded from special funds that provide grants and subsidies. Vote 108-90.

• HB 922 (Rep. Sheryl Delozier, R-Cumberland): Would require the administration to supply additional information as part of the governor’s proposed budget. Vote 109-89.

• HB 923 (Rep. Rosemary Brown, R-Monroe/Pike): Would require the governor to explain the reasons for a state supplemental appropriation request and to make recommendations for cost-savings or other reforms which address the cause of the need of a supplemental appropriation. Vote 109-89.

• HB 1170 (Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh/Berks): Would prohibit the employment of unauthorized employees in the construction industry. Vote 170-28.

• HB 1514 (Rep. John Hershey, R-Juniata/Franklin/Mifflin): Would revise and re-establish the existing Healthy Farms Healthy Schools program into the PA Farm-to-School Program, to provide grants for improving childhood nutrition while increasing exposure to agriculture for children in Pre-K through fifth grade. Vote 198-0.

• HB 1516 (Rep. Martin Causer, R-McKean/Cameron/Potter): Would create the Pennsylvania Rapid Response Disaster Readiness Account and allocate funding to the Department of Agriculture to facilitate a quick response to agricultural disasters. Vote 198-0.

• HB 1517 (Rep. David Zimmerman, R-Lancaster): Would provide the State Conservation Commission with the authority to prioritize projects and provide technical assistance and funding through a mix of grants, low-interest loans and tax credits. Vote 198-0.

• HB 1523 (Rep. Russ Diamond, R-Lebanon): Would establish the Pennsylvania Agricultural Business Development Center within the Department of Agriculture to serve as a resource to help every farmer create a business plan, transition plan or succession plan. Vote 198-0.

• HB 1526 (Rep. Rich Irvin, R-Huntingdon/Centre/Mifflin): Would re-establish a low-interest loan program administered by the State Conservation Commission in conjunction with lending institutions for the implementation of agricultural and conservation best management practices. Vote 198-0.

• HB 1032 (Rep. Lee James, R-Venango/Butler): Would amend the Real Estate Appraisers Certification Act to add certified PA evaluators to the State Board of Certified Real Estate Appraisers. Vote 200-0.

• HB 1033 (Rep. Dan Moul, R-Adams): Would amend the Assessors Certification Act to provide for the qualifications, training and certification of revaluation company personnel. Vote 197-3.

• HB 1034 (Rep. Garth Everett, R-Lycoming/Union): Would amend the Consolidated County Assessment Law to further facilitate the existing statutory requirement that building permit information be submitted to the county assessment office. Vote 196-4.

• HB 1035 (Rep. Christina Sappey, D-Chester): Would authorize political subdivisions and authorities to enter into contracts for services when two consecutive advertisements fail to induce bids. Vote 200-0.

• HB 1036 (Rep. Dan Moul, R-Adams): Would amend the process by which a small borough, having a population of 3,000 residents or fewer, may seek to reduce the size of its borough council from seven members to either five members or three members. Vote 200-0.

• HB 1379 (Rep. Jim Rigby, R-Cambria/Somerset): Would repeal a 1935 law, which places restrictions to when polo can be played on Sundays. Vote 200-0.

• HB 1405 (Rep. John Hershey, R-Juniata/Franklin/Mifflin): Would repeal a 1935 law, which places restrictions to when tennis can be played on Sundays. Vote 200-0.

• HB 1518 (Rep. Pam DeLissio, D-Philadelphia/Montgomery): Would re-establish the former (expired) Agriculture and Rural Youth Development Program into a new grant program to fund youth organizations that promote development in agriculture, community leadership, vocational training and peer fellowship. Vote 200-0.

• HB 1519 (Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Philadelphia): Would establish a state-level Specialty Crop Block Grant Program to invest in and encourage farming of high-priority crops like hemp, hops and hardwoods that are not eligible for the federal grants. Vote 200-0.

• HB 1520 (Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Greene/Fayette/Washington): Would create a grant program to reimburse federal meat inspection costs for small or new processors. Vote 200-0.

• HB 1521 (Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Luzerne): Would amend the existing PA Preferred agricultural commodities marketing program to bolster enrollment in the veteran farmer Homegrown by Heroes Program. Vote 200-0.

• HB 1615 (Rep. Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny): Would amend public school code and definitions of educational tax credits. Vote 132-67.

• HB 33 (Rep. George Dunbar, R-Westmoreland): Re-enacts the elimination of the general assistance cash benefit program. The state-only funded program was eliminated as part of a 2012 law, which was recently overturned by the courts on procedural grounds. The bill was amended to also extend the statewide hospital assessment, Philadelphia hospital assessment and the Medical Assistance Day One Incentive payments for non-public nursing homes. Vote 106-95.

• HB 1188 (Rep. Parke Wentling, R-Mercer/Crawford/Erie/Lawrence): Would remove restrictions on night-vision optics for hunting. Vote 195-5.

• HB 1222 (Rep. Andrew Lewis, R-Dauphin): Would consolidate the Solicitation of Funds for Charitable Purposes Act and the Institutions of Purely Public Charity Act. Vote 200-0.

• HB 1522 (Rep. Torren Ecker, R-Adams/Cumberland): Would amend the Child Labor Act to eliminate the requirement that Junior Firefighters complete Department of Conservation and Natural Resources wildfire training before they can engage in firefighting activities. Vote 200-1.

• HB 1537 (Rep. Patrick Harkins, D-Erie): Would provide the Department of Labor and Industry with more flexibility on how they draw down the funding for the modernization of Unemployment Compensation’s benefit delivery system. Vote 201-0.

• HB 1538 (Rep. Martina White, R-Philadelphia): Would amend the Prisons and Parole Code to require that sex offenders must wait three years from the date of the current application to reapply for parole. Vote 194-7.

• HB 1590 (Rep. Clint Owlett, R-Tioga/Bradford/Potter): Would create the Dairy Investment Program within the Commonwealth Financing Authority. Vote 200-0.

• HB 1614 (Rep. Rob Kauffman, R-Franklin): Would provide law enforcement and the attorney general the authority to participate in local, state or federal task forces. Vote 200-1.

• SB 585 (Sen. Jake Corman, R-Centre/Juniata/Huntingdon/Mifflin): Would establish the Dairy Future Commission in the Agriculture Code. Vote 200-0.

• HB 305 (Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Greene/Fayette/Washington): Would create an inventory of all state department, agency, commission or institution-owned communication towers, poles, buildings and facilities to leverage existing state-owned assets to increase the availability of high-speed internet access to unserved and underserved Pennsylvanians. Vote 192-0.

• HB 956 (Rep. Thomas Murt, R-Montgomery/Philadelphia): Would amend the State Lottery Law to reduce the statutorily mandated rate of return. Vote 188-4.

• HB 985 (Rep. Frank Ryan, R-Lebanon): Clarifies which types of audits the Department of the Auditor General shall conduct, and what professional qualifications each department employee shall possess in order to work on these various types of audits. Vote 192-0.

• HB 1185 (Rep. Steven Mentzer, R-Lancaster): Would provide needed consistency across existing law and increase penalties for harmful, reckless behavior on Pennsylvania waterways. Vote 192-0.

• HB 1479 (Rep. Jonathan Fritz, R-Wayne/Susquehanna): Would designate a bridge on a portion of S.R. 3041 in Wayne County as the PFC Raymond P. Schwesinger Memorial Bridge. Vote 192-0.

• HB 1510 (Rep. Barry Jozwiak, R-Berks): Would designate a portion of S.R. 183 in Berks County as the Trooper Wayne C. Ebert Memorial Highway. Vote 192-0.

• HB 1547 (Rep. Jeff Pyle, R-Armstrong/Butler/Indiana): Would designate the highway interchange of U.S. Route 422 with S.R. 66 in Armstrong County as the Senator Donald C. White Interchange. Vote 180-12.

• HB 1557 (Rep. Matt Gabler, R-Clearfield/Elk): Would amend the Coal Refuse Disposal Control Act (Act 318 of 1968) to address temporary cessation. Vote 192-0.

• HB 1609 (Rep. Jennifer O’Mara, D-Delaware): Would increase voluntary donation amounts to the Veterans’ Trust Fund. Vote 192-0.

• SB 144 (Sen. Scott Martin, R-Lancaster): Would create the Keystone Telepresence Education Grant Program for the purpose of awarding grants to intermediate units for the purchase of telepresence equipment and related support services for the educational support of homebound students. Vote 192-0.

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives will return to session at 1 p.m. on Monday, June 24.