Majority Leader Bryan Cutler

100th Legislative District

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Media Contact:  Mike Straub

717-260-6397

mstraub@pahousegop.com

RepCutler.com / Facebook.com/RepBryanCutler

Twitter.com/RepBryanCutler

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 8, 2019

 

TO:               Capitol Correspondents, News Editors, Assignment Editors

 

FROM:          Mike Straub

                     Press Secretary to the Majority Leader

 

SUBJ:            House Action for the Week of March 11, 2019

 

DATE:           March 8, 2019

 

Workforce Development Hits the House Floor

 

A bipartisan package of workforce development bills is on the move this week. These bills reflect House Republican goals of moving Pennsylvanians beyond minimum wage jobs and into family-sustaining careers. The bills will increase access to training, better connect employers to qualified workers, and build stronger pathways for students entering the workforce.

 

Live web streams of House session and the majority of committee meetings are available at PAHouseGOP.com.  Important information and events may also be viewed by visiting Facebook.com/PAHouseGOP. 

 

The Weekly Schedule

Identified by bill number, the sponsors and summaries for votes scheduled to be considered in committee or on the House floor are posted below. More information regarding these votes can be found at PAHouseGOP.com by clicking on the “House Business” tab.

 

Monday, March 11, 2019

Committee Meetings/Hearings:

Liquor Control, 10 a.m., Room 205, Ryan Office Building

  • HB 131 (Rep. Barry Jozwiak, R-Berks): Updates state liquor code to match state definition of “alcoholic cider” to match federal definition.
  • HB 325 (Rep. Daniel Deasy, D-Allegheny): Establishes the “Pennsylvania Distilled Spirits Industry Promotion Board.”
  • HB 327 (Rep. Perry Warren, D-Bucks): Modifies language in law allowing municipalities to hold a referendum to allow the sale of liquor.
  • HB 561 (Rep. Sheryl Delozier, R-Cumberland): Allows minors to perform music in a licensed establishment so long as the minor is not compensated and is supervised by a parent or guardian.

Education, 11:30 a.m., Room 205, Ryan Office Building

  • HB 265 (Rep. Craig Staats, R-Bucks):  Expands an established database that allows students and potential students to plan where courses, programs, certificates, and diplomas transfer among public schools and institutions of higher education.
  • HB 297 (Rep. Zachary Mako, R-Northampton/Lehigh): Requires the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) to develop materials outlining workforce needs including training opportunities and future earning potential. Also allows for community colleges and other technical and/or trade schools to attend career/college fairs.
  • HB 334 (Rep. Seth Grove, R-York): Requires PDE to establish a standard application for schools to seek approval to establish or renew a classification of instructional program.
  • HB 393 (Rep. Patrick Harkins, D-Erie):  Requires PDE, and the departments of Labor and Industry and Agriculture to develop and maintain a comprehensive online career resource center for students, parents, educators and school officials to provide information on the value and impact of career and technical education (CTE), career pathways, data and statistics on employment opportunities and compensation, postsecondary options, and statewide and regional articulation agreements.
  • HB 394 (Rep. Gerald Mullery, D-Luzerne): Requires PDE and the Department of Labor and Industry to conduct a complete inventory of existing workforce development programs at both the secondary and postsecondary levels
  • HB 395 (Rep. James Roebuck Jr., D-Philadelphia): Allows CTE programs or a cluster of programs to establish occupational advisory committees at the Intermediate Unit (IU) level to serve multiple school districts or Career and Technical Centers (CTCs). 
  • HB 396 (Rep. James Roebuck Jr., D-Philadelphia): Requires each local Workforce Development Board (WDB) to include in its membership at least one administrator of a Career and Technical Center whose attendance area is covered by the service area of the WDB.
  • HB 522 (Rep. Mike Tobash, R-Schuylkill/Dauphin): Establishes the “Career and Technical Education Investment Incentive Program,” which would provide tax credits to businesses that contribute to career and technical partnership organizations.

Consumer Affairs, 12:00 p.m., Room 140, Main Capitol

  • Informational meeting with Stu Bressler, Sr,. VP of Operations and Markets at PJM will provide an overview of the role PJM has in our interstate energy market and the entire territory.

SESSION:

On Monday, session will begin at 1 p.m.

 

Votes on Second Consideration: 

  • HB 276 (Rep. Sheryl Delozier, R-Cumberland): Proposes an amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution to include a crime victims’ bill of rights. The measure is also known as Marsy’s Law.
  • HB 502 (Rep. John Hershey, R- Juniata/Franklin/Mifflin): Grants to crime victims the right to attend any proceeding relating to their cases, unless the court expressly determines that attendance would materially alter the victim’s testimony.
  • HB 503 (Rep. Garth Everett, R-Lycoming/Union): Provides the same protections afforded to vulnerable children under the tender years exception to the rule against admission of hearsay evidence to those victims who are intellectually disabled or severely autistic.
  • HB 504 (Rep. Natalie Mihalek, R-Allegheny/Washington): Ensures that prior sexual assaults or other prior acts of victimization against a rape victim cannot be used at trial for the purpose of attacking the victim’s character.
  • HB 505 (Rep. Rob Kauffman, R-Franklin): Helps additional child victims of sexual or other violent crimes testify against their perpetrators by modestly expanding the number of crimes for which the tender years exception to the general rule against admitting hearsay (e.g. out-of-court statements) applies.

Votes on Third Consideration:

  • HB 284 (Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Butler): Modernizes the state’s History Code.
  • HB 384 (Rep. Josh Kail, R-Beaver/Washington): Increases the fine for driving a vehicle without the proper endorsement for that particular type of vehicle.
  • HB 350 (Rep. Jim Rigby, R-Cambria/Somerset): Changes rules for tracking precious metal sales and helps law enforcement potentially recover stolen property.

Tuesday, March 12, 2019

Committee Meetings/Hearings:

Human Services, 9 a.m., G-50 Irvis Office Building 

  • Public hearing on bills relating to bed registry and warm hand-off for addiction treatment.

Health, 9:30 a.m., Room 140, Main Capitol

  • Public hearing about barriers to employment in the health care field.

Game and Fisheries, Call of the Chair, Room 205, Ryan Office Building

  • HB 584 (Rep. William Kortz, D-Allegheny): Creates a specific fishing license exemption for participants in organized therapeutic fishing activities.
  • HB 617 (Rep. Keith Gillespie, R-York): Provides for a discounted general hunting license for Hunter Trapper Education (HTE) instructors by creating a “Volunteer Instructor License.”

Judiciary, Call of the Chair, G-50 Irvis

  • SB 113 (Sen. John DiSanto, R-Perry/Dauphin): Require the forfeiture of pension benefits for public employees that are convicted or plead guilty or no contest to any job-related felony offense. 
  • HB 82 (Rep. Rob Kauffman, R-Franklin): Makes it unlawful for a person to retain payment, which should go to a health care provider, for his own use.
  • HB 97 (Rep. Kathy Rapp, R-Warren/Crawford/Forest): Amends the Crimes Code by adding “electronic nicotine delivery systems” (ENDS) to the sections that currently make it illegal to sell tobacco products to minors and, for students, to use tobacco products on school grounds.
  • HB 279 (Rep. Karen Boback, R-Luzerne/Lackawanna/Wyoming): Provides civil immunity for any damage that may be done to a vehicle when forceful entry is necessary to rescue a child.
  • HB 315 (Rep. Thomas Murt, R-Montgomery/Philadelphia): Establishes the offense of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
  • HB 332 (Rep. Seth Grove, R-York): Allows the Superior Court to create a Commerce Court program (modeled after program in Philadelphia).

SESSION:

On Tuesday, session will begin at 11 a.m.

 

Votes on Second Consideration:

  • HB 235 (Rep. Tarah Toohill, R-Luzerne): Reforms state adoption requirements/witness consent rules for adoption by an incarcerated parent.
  • HB 309 (Rep. Tom Mehaffie, R-Dauphin): Requires all day care centers to post their rating as part of the Keystone Stars program.
  • HB 387 (Rep. Danielle Otten, D-Chester): Releases Project 70 restrictions on certain land owned by the Commonwealth.
  • HB 407 (Rep. Kurt Masser, R-Northumberland/Columbia/Montour): Updates the definition of “blight.”
  • HB 374 (Rep. Garth Everett, R-Lycoming/Union): Establishes the “Keystone Tree Fund” as a means to fund a tree vitalize program and a riparian forest buffer grant program, and allows a person to make a $3 contribution to the fund when electronically renewing a driver's license, ID card or vehicle registration through PennDOT's website.

Votes on Third Consideration:

  • HB 224 (Rep. Tina Pickett, R-Bradford/Sullivan/Susquehanna): Designates the T.W. “Doc” Shoemaker, Jr., Memorial Highway.
  • HB 65 (Rep. Tommy Sankey, R- Clearfield/Cambria): Designates the Private First Class Steve L. Klosz Memorial Bridge.
  • HB 66 (Sankey): Designates the United States Army Sergeant Scott O. Henry Memorial Bridge.
  • HB 277 (Rep. Clint Owlett, R-Bradford/Potter): Designates the Troy Area Veterans Memorial Bridge.

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Committee Meetings/Hearings:

Finance, 9 a.m., Room 205, Ryan Office Building

  • HB 262 (Rep. Carl Metzgar, R-Somerset/Bedford): Eliminates the inheritance tax rate for transfers of property to or for the use of a child aged 21 years or younger from a natural parent, adoptive parent or step-parent.
  • HB 296 (Rep. Tarah Toohil, R-Luzerne): Provides a tax credit for families who provide permanency to children in the care of Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services.
  • HB 330 (Rep. Joe Emrick, R-Northampton): Makes technical corrections to the Property Tax Relief Act.
  • HB 538 (Rep. Marty Flynn, D-Lackawanna): Establishes a state income tax exemption for Olympic prize winnings and medals received from the United States Olympic Committee on account of competition in the Olympic Games or Paralympic Games.
  • HB 628 (Rep. Aaron Kaufer, R-Luzerne): Extends the authority of the state treasurer to invest monies in the state Treasury according to the prudent investor standard through 2021.

Gaming Oversight, 9 a.m., G-50 Irvis Office Building

  • Informational meeting on PA Gaming Control Board to give committee members a general overview of gaming expansion.

Tourism and Recreational Development, 9 a.m., B-31 Main Capitol

  • Informational meeting regarding the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Health, 9:30 a.m., Room 60, East Wing

  • Public hearing to hear an overview of pharmacy benefit manager report.

Labor and Industry, 10 a.m., G-50 Irvis Office Building

  • HB 280 (Rep. R. Lee James, R-Venango/Butler): Increases the periods of time allotted for parties to appeal the determination of an Unemployment Compensation (UC) Service Center and the decision of a UC referee.
  • HB 422 (Rep. Sheryl Delozier, R-Cumberland): Creates a building code official “trainee” program.
  • HB 425 (Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh/Berks): Creates CareerBound, a program to strengthen the connection between Pennsylvania’s students and the next generation of high-priority careers.

Professional Licensure, 10 a.m., B-31 Main Capitol

  • HB 64 (Rep. Harry Readshaw, D-Allegheny): Amends the Bureau of Professional and Occupations Affairs Act, allowing professionals to carryover accrued continuing education credits for biennial terms.
  • HB 138 (Rep. Christopher Quinn, R-Delaware): Provides further qualifications for license and examinations for physical therapists and physical therapist assistants.
  • Informational meeting with Independent Regulatory Review Commission

Local Government, Call of the Chair, G-50 Irvis Office Building

  • HB 510 (Rep. Paul Schemel, R-Franklin): Amends the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Law by permitting a municipality to adopt a resolution instead of enacting an ordinance, unless specifically required by any other state law.
  • HB 511 (Rep. Paul Schemel, R-Franklin): Amends the Second Class Township Code to allow municipalities to take advantage of the provisions in House Bill 510.
  • HB 512 (Rep. Paul Schemel, R-Franklin): Amends the Third Class City Code to allow municipalities to take advantage of the provisions in House Bill 510.
  • HB 547 (Rep. Joe Emrick, R-Northampton): Allows First Class townships to pass an annual resolution to set their millage rate.
  • HB 548 (Rep. Joe Emrick, R-Northampton):  Amends the Borough Code and Third Class City Code to allow officials to set their annual tax millage rate by resolution.

SESSION:

On Wednesday, session will begin at 11 a.m.

 

Votes on Second Consideration:

  • HB 370 (Rep. Kate Klunk, R-York): Amends the Agricultural Area Security Law to provide for restrictions, limitations and subdivision on preserved farmland.
  • HB 404 (Rep. John Lawrence, R-Chester/Lancaster): Adds the “Tree of Heaven” plant, a favorite food source of the invasive spotted lanternfly, to the list of noxious weeds in Pennsylvania.
  • HB 441 (Rep. Curt Sonney, R-Erie): Allows wind power generation systems on preserved farmland.
  • HB 324 (Rep. Keith Gillespie, R-York): Allows municipalities to develop micro-enterprise loans to help start small businesses in blighted downtown communities.

Votes on Third Consideration:

  • HB 309 (Mehaffie,)
  • HB 235 (Toohill)
  • HB 387 (Otten)
  • HB 407 (Masser)
  • HB 374 (Everett)