Category: Pennsylvania Legislation

Laws proposed or passed in the Pennsylvania Legislature

Pa House Preps Way For “Stand Your Ground” Law

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives, yesterday, voted 156-41 to pass a special motion that prevented the attachment of a large number of  anti-gun riders to a bill that would significantly expand the right to self-defense in Pennsylvania. A final vote is expected today after which the bill will go to the senate.

Five members were absent.

House Bill 40 provides that “no person should be required to surrender his or her personal safety to a criminal, nor should a person be required to needlessly retreat in the face of intrusion or attack outside the person’s home or vehicle.”

The bill declares that, with some exceptions such as the intruder being a police officer lawfully performing his duty, a person may may be presumed to have a belief in the need to use deadly force if he should find someone in his home or attempting to enter his home or vehicle.

The bill also spells out that a law-aiding citizen has “no duty to retreat” and has “right to stand his ground and use force, including deadly force if he “has a right to be in the place where he was attacked,” believes it necessary to do so “to protect himself against death, serious bodily injury, kidnapping or sexual intercourse by force or threat” and “the person against whom the force is used displays or otherwise uses: a firearm or replica . . . or any other weapon readily or apparently capable of lethal use.”

The bill also provides for civil immunity for the use of force.

Regarding Delaware County’s contingent, Republicans Stephen Barrar (160), Nick Miccarelli (162), Nick Micozzie (163), Mario Civera Jr. (164), Bill Adolph (165), and Tom Killion (168) voted aye; while Democrats Thaddeus Kirkland (159), Bryan Lentz (161),  Greg Vitali (166), Robert Donatucci (185), Vanessa Brown (190) and Ronald Waters (191) voted nay.

Delco GOP Senators Aye On Subcontractor Extinction Act

The Republican-controlled state senate, yesterday, voted 34-13 to approve HB 400  a.k.a. the Construction Workplace Misclassification a.k.a. the Subcontractor Extinction Act. The bill returns to the House to resolve some language issues.

Of the 19 Democrats in the body, the only one not voting for it was Barry Stout of the 46th District who did not vote. Fifteen out of 30 Republicans voted for the bill including the ones representing Delaware County — Ted Erickson of the 26th District and Domenic Pileggi of the 9th District. Not voting was Chuck McIlhinney of the 10th District.

The 45th District seat is vacant.

The bill  requires independent contractors doing construction work to be treated as employees by those who hire them with regard to requirements for workman’s compensation and unemployment insurance contributions.

Republican David Argall of the 29th District voted for the bill in committee but against it on the floor.

The bill was strongly supported by the trade unions and opposed by by the Pennsylvania Landscape & Nursery Association, National Federation of Independent Business, Pennsylvania Builders Association and Pennsylvania Chamber of Business & Industry.

The bill was introduced in the House by Delaware County’s Bryan Lentz (D-161 ) who is the Democrat’s candidate to replace Joe Sestak as congressman from the 7th District. His Republican opponent is former U.S. attorney and Delaware County District Attorney Pat Meehan.

Dems Against Local Government

Dems Against Local Government — In their holy quest to make all Pennsylvania like Philadelphia, a group of Democrats in the State House, happily assisted by a pair of tamed Republicans have introduced a bill to amend the state constitution and make the county the basic unit of government in the state.

The bill, HB 2431, would give counties jurisdiction over personnel, law enforcement, land use, sanitation, and health and safety.

The bill would also prohibit any county, municipality or incorporated district to become a stockholder in any company, association or corporation, or to obtain or appropriate money for, or to loan its credit to, any corporation, association, institution or individual.

The bill was introduced April 20 by Thomas Caltagirone, with fellow Democrat co-sponsors Peter Daley, Jaret Gibbons, Ted Harhai, Patrick Harkins, Tim Mahoney, Barbara McIlvaine Smith, Joseph Preston Jr. , and Rosita Youngblood .

The Republican sponsors are Jim Marshall of the 14th District  and RoseMarie Swanger of the 102nd District.

 

Dems Against Local Government

Metcalfe Bill Requires Agencies Verify Lawful Presence

State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R-12) submitted a bill, May 5, that would give state and local in Pennsylvania powers akin to those held by Arizona authorities under that state’s recently passed law, and require that  “every agency or political subdivision of this Commonwealth shall verify the lawful presence in the United States of any natural person 18 years of age or older who has applied for Federal public benefits, State public benefits or local public benefits . . that are administered by an agency or a political subdivision of this Commonwealth” with some exceptions such as treatment of an emergency medical condition,  in-kind emergency disaster relief, immunizations and services such as soup kitchens and short-term shelter.

House Bill 2479, or the Support our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhood Act, prohibits any political subdivision from adopting policy restricting enforcement of Federal immigration laws to less than the full extent permitted by Federal law — are you reading Mayor Nutter — requires every law enforcement officer, whether state or local , who “has lawfully stopped, detained or arrested, for a violation of a law of this Commonwealth or any political subdivision” and who  should be reasonably suspected of being unlawfully present in the United States” to make “a complete, full and appropriate attempt shall be made to verify the person’s immigration status with the Federal Government.”

Another provision of the bill makes it a state law to knowingly employ an alien and creates a complaint form allowing any person to report a suspected violation to the district attorney of the county in which the employer conducts business.

The bill also makes it illegal for an unauthorized alien to “apply for work, solicit work in a public place or perform work as an employee or independent contractor” in the state.

The bill also allows police to impound vehicles of those suspected of being illegal aliens or transporting illegal aliens.

Metcalfe Bill Requires Agencies Verify Lawful Presence

Metcalfe Bill Requires Agencies Verify Lawful Presence

Does An AZ Alien Law Loom For PA?

State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R-12 ) said he will introduce tomorrow a bill that will give Pennsylvania police the same powers in dealing with illegal aliens that the controversial Arizona law has given state and local law enforcement in that state.

The Arizona law — State Bill 1070 if you are so inclined to look it up — does not, despite claims by certain prominent people, allow police to stop people and random and ask for identification.

It simply requires them to check on their immigration status if they are unable to produce acceptable identification i.e. a driver’s license during a lawful contact, which will soon be changed to an even more restrictive “stop, detain or arrest” standard.

Of course it does other things to such as make it a state felony to knowingly smuggle people for profit or to attempt to hire people for work from a highway.

If you don’t feel like looking it up here’s a link to a pdf of the AZ SB 1070 .

If Metcalfe really wanted to make liberals dance around like headless hens he should submit a bill based on Mexico’s immigration law.

 

 

Does An AZ Alien Law Loom For PA?

 

Does An AZ Alien Law Loom For PA?

Election Franking A Crime?

Election Franking A Crime? — The Pennsylvania House State Government Committee, March 23, unanimously gave its OK to House Bill 2271 that would make it a criminal offense for a legislator to mail tax-funded pieces within 60 days of an election in which the legislator is a candidate for public office.

State House and Senate rules now prohibit the practice and they are generally followed but the act is not yet criminal. The bill would subject a transgressor to “a fine of not more than $1,000 or to imprisonment for not more than one year or both”.

The bill was introduced by State Rep. Matthew Bradford (D-70) which is in Montgomery County.

So kudos for a rare bit of commonsense from a Democrat. Still, you really have to wonder why our legislators at whatever level still have franking privileges in this day of much more efficient mass communication.

But if that should be too radical, it seems that rather than a prohibition about mailing 60 days before an election, limiting legislative mailings  to two weeks after the general and primary elections would be much more effective on cutting down insincere love notes from a group known for their ability to look after number 1.

Do you really, really think they care whether we have a “happy holiday” or not?

HB 2271 now goes before the House Appropriations Committee.

Hat tip to GrassrootsPa.com

Election Franking A Crime?

Election Franking A Crime?

So What Does Harrisburg Know About Sex?

So What Does Harrisburg Know About Sex? — KYW1060.com, yesterday, reported that state lawmakers were mulling mandatory sex education in public schools. While the story didn’t mention a bill number, HB 1163 was the only one found in a search for “sex education” at the website for the Pennsylvania General Assembly.

Granted we might think our elected officials are experts on the matter of sex due to their amazing skill at finding imaginative ways of, well, giving it to us taxpayers, but one is puzzled at why they think it best to place a new mandate on public schools.

Oh yeah, I forgot, silly me. They are good at finding imaginative ways etc.

Still with this one you would think that they would have figured  that we, their masters, had caught on to this game. Sex education is sold as a means of curtailing unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease, yet in  just about every place where it has been instituted those problems increase.

And with revelations of Alfred Kinsey’s motives and the rise of social conservatism which led to success being found in doing the opposite of what Kinsey crowd advocated — even the stupid bill itself recognizes that there have been state and national declines in teenage pregnancy and STDs — it is mind-boggling that this is even being talked about.

So What Does Harrisburg Know About Sex?

Let’s Make It Easier To Rent The Home You Buy

Let’s Make It Easier To Rent The Home You Buy — The New Jersey property tax is a burning issue in that state’s gubernatorial race with incumbent Democrat Jon Corzine and Republican challenger both agreeing it is a big problem.

The Philadelphia Inquirer notes that The Garden State has the highest in the nation albeit TaxFoundation.org says that Texas held the crown in 2008 — note Texas does not have an income tax.

So that brings us to Pennsylvania which is 11th highest in property taxes according  TaxFoundation. The property tax is the cruelest tax. You lose your income you don’t pay an income tax nor would any food or clothing you buy be taxed. The government still, however, wants you to cough up something for your home.

The sad thing is that Pennsylvanians could see a nice cut in their property tax burden with some simple changes to the law, and even though they would be spending less money  they could see services improve.

The first and most profound reform would be to prohibit teacher strikes. Pennsylvania is one of only 13 states to allow teacher strikes. Without this heavy club you would not see 4-5 percent annual raises for PSEA members — who include guidance counselors and nurses along with classroom teachers.

Next would be to repeal the prevailing wage law. The law, passed in 1961, requires that contractors pay wages set by the state Department of Labor and Industry for all public works projects. The Commonwealth Foundation estimates that labor costs for public sector construction jobs in Pennsylvania average 37 percent higher than what the private sector pays for the same work because of this. Nine states have repealed their prevailing wage laws while nine others never had any.

Finally, we repeal the The Pennsylvania Separations Act of 1913, an archaic but expensive law that requires that public entities solicit separate bids and award separate contracts for electrical, heating, ventilating and plumbing work undertaken as part of public construction projects in which costs exceed $4,000.

Bet next year’s tax bill that if these reforms were passed the cost of owning your home — or would that be renting the home you buy? — go down.

Let’s Make It Easier To Rent The Home You Buy