Category: Pennsylvania Legislation

Laws proposed or passed in the Pennsylvania Legislature

Child Protection Bills Before Full House

Child protection bills before full house

The House Judiciary Committee approved several bills last week in a continuing effort to enhance protections for Pennsylvania’s children says State Rep. Jim Cox (R-129).

House Bill 20 would increase the penalty for concealing the death of a child from a misdemeanor to a felony, which would also come with a larger fine and potentially longer prison sentence. Under the bill, any individual residing in the same household as the child or anyone responsible for the child’s welfare may be charged with the crime of concealing the death of a child.

House Bill 494 would create a new crime of failure to report the disappearance of a child. Under this bill, a parent of a child under age 14 can be charged with the offense if he or she acts with reckless disregard for the child’s welfare and fails to report the disappearance of the child to a law enforcement agency within 24 hours of knowing the child has gone missing.

House Bill 1045 would create the offense of making false reports of child abuse. A person will be charged with a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to two years in prison and a $5,000 fine, if he or she knowingly or intentionally makes a false report of child abuse or induces a child to make a false report of child abuse under the Child Protective Services Law.

House Bill 1594 would increase the grading for luring a child into a motor vehicle or structure from a first-degree misdemeanor to a second-degree felony if the child is younger than 13 years old.

The legislation now goes to the full House for consideration.

Child Protection Bills Before Full House

 Child Protection Bills Before Full House

 

Bill Kills Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage


Bill kills Pennsylvania prevailing wage, at least for local projects

A bill allowing local governments to opt out of Pennsylvania’s onerous prevailing wage requirements has cleared the State House’s Committee of Labor and Industry and is now on the full floor reports State Rep. Jim Cox (R-129)

“House Bill 1538,  . . . would allow counties, municipal governments and school districts to offer competitive wages – instead of inflated payments based on urban wage rates – to workers on certain projects,” said Cox.

The prevailing wage law, which requires labor cost to be be paid at a rate set by the state for most public construction projects,  adds 20 percent to the cost of these projects according to Commonwealth Foundation.

The union bosses are not happy with this potential blow to their luxurious lifestyles and are commanding the sheep in their pens to action as they fear the bill and its sisters HB 665 and HB 796 will be put to vote next week.

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Prevailing Wage Reform Hearings Continue

Prevailing Wage Reform Hearings Continue — The Pennsylvania House Labor and Industry Committee met in Johnstown last week to conduct the third in a series of hearings to discuss updates to Pennsylvania’s outdated Prevailing Wage Act, reports State Rep. Jim Cox (R-129)

The law with its origins in racism cost Pennsylvania taxpayers $1 billion per year according to Commonwealth Foundation. Get rid of this and we can stop talking about 20 cents per gallon gas tax hikes.

Testifiers at last week’s hearings ncluded township managers, supervisors, a county commissioner, a city manager and union officials. Pennsylvania’s Prevailing Wage Act requires municipalities and school districts to pay the “prevailing minimum wage” to those individuals working on public construction projects without specifying how the wage is determined, often resulting in inflated public project costs for municipalities. The act has not been updated since 1963.

An additional hearing on the issue is scheduled for Lycoming County on Sept. 26.

Committee Ponders Cyber Harassment Bill

Cyber Harassment Bill — Members of the Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee held a public hearing last week on legislation to make it a crime to use the Internet to harass a child, reports State Rep. Jim Cox (R-129).

House Bill 1163 would define cyber harassment of a minor as a crime in which a person uses any form of electronic communication with the intent to harass a child or post information on a social media network about a child such as: statements or opinions about the child’s sexuality or sexual activity; disparaging statements or opinions about the child’s physical characteristics, mental or physical health or condition; or threats about the use of unlawful harm.

The bill would classify cyber harassment of a child as a third-degree misdemeanor and would allow a case to be prosecuted in the location where the victim of the harassment resides.

Cyber Harassment Bill

Act 14 Gives Victims Voice Concerning Parole

Act 14 Gives Victims Voice Concerning Parole — A new law that gives victims of crime in Pennsylvania a voice in the parole process of inmates has recently taken effect, reports state Rep. Jim Cox (R-129).

Act 14 Gives Victims Voice Concerning ParoleAct 14 of 2013 makes it clear that a crime victim or representative for the victim may appear personally before the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole and provide testimony related to an inmate’s application for parole. Victims or their representatives also may choose to appear through video conference rather than by telephone if the board has that capability.

In addition, the law also will protect victims against potential retaliation by criminals by keeping the testimony confidential.

Act 14 Gives Victims Voice Concerning Parole

Common Core Dead, Pennsylvania Wise?

With State Rep. Bill Adolph (second from right) are Delaware County Patriots Bill Lawrence, Regina Scheerer and Maria Heider.

Common Core Dead Pennsylvania Wise?
State Rep. Bill Adolph (R-165) told a contingent from the Delaware County Patriots , this morning, Aug. 28, that Common Core is likely dead in Pennsylvania.

He said that a draft of Pennsylvania academic standards being considered by the State Board of Education will specifically include the wording “There will be no required reading lists and curriculum will remain strictly a local decision by our school boards.”
He noted the name of the standards will be changed to PA Core Standards.

He distributed a memo from State House Education Committee Chairman Paul Clymer (R-145) that in the standards “there will be no national tests or assessments, except if one is deemed necessary for special education students and then only in consultation with parents, teachers and other interested parties.”

He said the action was prompted by House Resolution 38 which passed unanimously.

Adolph, echoing earlier remarks by state Sen. Ted Erickson (R-26) said liquor-sale privatization will likely occur albeit the likely result will not be as strong as he had hoped.

He said he expects the legislature to vote next June to change the state’s pension system to a 401K-type defined contribution one from its present defined benefit one.

He said he expects, unfortunately, to see a transportation bill pass that will feature either gas tax increases or more roads tolled. He said the state roads and bridges are in that bad of shape.

Adolph said he had some confidence in the passage of reform to the state’s prevailing wage law — namely raising the exemption level of work from $25,000 where it has been since the law was passed in 1961 to $185,000 which is today’s equivalent taking into account inflation.
It’s a relatively minor reform but it’s progress.

He said Medicaid expansion will not happen unless Gov. Corbett can negotiate a lesser cost-per-recipient with the Obama Administration. As of now, Pennsylvania pays about $7,500 per recipient which is one of the highest in the nation. He said the state can’t afford to accept the expansion at that rate. He said hospital administrators have been lobbying hard for the governor to accept it.

He said he supported paycheck protection legislation that would end union dues be involuntarily deducted from workers paychecks, and that he supported bills banning teacher strikes.

Adolph said legislation will be presented calling for the impeachment of Attorney General Kathleen Kane, who has refused to defend the Pennsylvania’s law restricting marriage to members of the opposite sex. He said the action has her worried. He pointed out that her refusal to enforce a law with which she disagreed is subverting the rule of law.

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Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Law Faces House Hearing

The Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Law is estimated to have added 20 percent to the cost of the recent work at Garnet Valley High School

The state House Labor and Industry Committee began a series of public hearings in State College, Aug. 22, to address proposed changes to the outdated Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Law, reports State Rep. Jim Cox (R-129).

The Prevailing Wage Law requires municipalities and school districts to pay the “prevailing minimum wage” to those individuals working on public construction projects. Current law does not clearly spell out how the wage is to be determined, and often high, urban-area union wage rates are used as the basis for calculating the prevailing wage for a given project.

This initial hearing featured testimony from local government officials and union representatives and specifically addressed two prevailing wage reform bills. House Bill 796 would increase the prevailing wage threshold from $25,000 to $100,000 for public projects, and House Bill 665 would make it clear that the law would not apply to road repair projects.

Additional hearings on prevailing wage reforms will take place around the state over the next month, Cox said.

 

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911 Changes Pondered

911 Changes Pondered — The House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee held a public hearing in Delaware County, recently to gather input on necessary changes to the 911 Emergency Telephone Act in an effort to enhance public safety in the Commonwealth, reports State Rep. Jim Cox (R-129). Among the issues examined was the reauthorization of wireless surcharges and needed updates to keep pace with advancing communications technology.

Testifiers included county officials, representatives of county 911 centers and stakeholders from the communications industry.

911 Changes Pondered

Right To Know Law Changes Being Pondered

Right To Know Law Changes Being Pondered — State Rep. Jim Cox (R-129) reports that changes are being considered to Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law

A hearing was held recently by the House State Government Committee during which testimony was taken from  representatives from the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records, the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors and Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs.

The Right-to-Know Law governs access to public information for each Commonwealth agency, local agency, judicial agency and legislative agency.

Right To Know Law Changes Being Pondered

HB 162 Would Let Adoptees See Birth Certificates

HB 162 Would Let Adoptees See Birth Certificates — The House Children and Youth Committee held a  hearing last week on a bill to allow adult adoptees in Pennsylvania access to their original birth certificate, reports State Rep. Jim Cox (R-129).

HB 162 would require that the Bureau of Vital Statistics of the Department of Health release the original or amended birth certificate for an adoptee if the adoptee requests the birth certificate in writing. Current law places a number of restrictions on what identifying information can be released about a birth parent or an adoptee. Generally, a court or government agency may not release the identity of a party to an adoption unless that individual has authorized the release of the information.

Information included on birth certificates can help adoptees with medical and genetic history and obtain proper government identification, among other items. Original birth certificates for adult adoptees are available in several other states.

The bill awaits full committee consideration.

HB 162 Would Let Adoptees See Birth Certificates