Weekly Legislative Report

Monday, May 3, 2010

In this report…

·        Special Session on Transportation Funding Commences This Week

·        House Voting Schedule Includes Mandate Waiver Amendments

·        Swaps Legislation to be Discussed at Senate Finance Hearing

·        Charter/ Cyber Charter Accountability Bill on Committee Agenda

·        Three-Bill Package Providing for Assessment Appeals Held Over

·        House Education Committee Passes Mandatory Sex Education Bill

·        Policy Committee Examines Special Education Costs/Regulations

Special Session on Transportation Funding Commenses This Week

The House and Senate convene this week for three days of session.  They will then recess until May 24.  

Tomorrow, a Joint Special Session regarding the immediate and future transportation funding needs of the Commonwealth will start. Recently, the Federal Highway Administration rejected Pennsylvania’s request to toll Interstate 80, which, as a result, requires the Commonwealth to replace $472 million in transportation system improvement funds in Fiscal Year 2010/2011 or forego making road improvements.

House Voting Schedule Includes Mandate Waiver Amendments

The following bills are on the Senate Calendar: SB 629 (Piccola), which amends the School Code providing for school social workers; and SB 1192 (Piccola), which amends the School Code to revise provisions regarding the Education Empowerment Act.

The full House is scheduled to consider SB 441 (Vance), which would amend the School Code to include physicians’ assistants and registered nurse practitioners as individuals authorized to certify mental and physical fitness of a teacher; and updates language pertaining to the why an applicant may be disqualified from certification.

A handful of amendments have been filed, including two affecting the Mandate Waiver Program. Rep. Bob Belfanti (D-Northumberland) has filed an amendment that would add sections 751 (relating to work to be dune under contract leg on bids; exception) and 751.1 (relating to architects and engineers employed prohibited from bidding on public works; penalty)  to the list of provisions not eligible for waiver under the Mandate Waiver Program. PASBO opposes the Belfanti amendment.

Another amendment, sponsored by Rep. Ron Miller (R-York), would repeal the sunset date of June 30, 2010; include charter schools and educational consortiums as entities eligible to apply for waivers; allow for a waiver of sections 1124 (relating to causes for suspension) and 1125.1 (relating to persons to be suspended) when a school district’s estimated ending unreserved, undesignated fund balance is less than 50% of the percentage set forth in section 688(a) of the School Code (relating to limitations on certain unreserved fund balances); provide for joint mandate waiver applications; allow for multiple waivers using a single application; and extend the Department’s review period from 60 days to 90 days. For waivers granted under section 751 or 751.1, the Miller amendment would limit the Department to granting such applications to only those school districts that express an intent to bid projects both ways and to award the contract to the lowest responsible bidder. Evaluations of such waivers would have to include information on savings, project chronology, conformity with the Uniform Construction Code and information regarding change orders. Until a project is completed, additional annual reports would be required of school districts granted a waiver of sections 751 or 751.1. PASBO supports the reauthorization of the Mandate Waiver Program; however, if the Miller amendment is adopted, PASBO may seek improvements/clarifications to the language regarding section 1124 and 1125.1 waivers, the department’s extended approval period, and information required to be submitted as part of section 751 and 751.1 waivers and evaluations.

Swaps Legislation to be Discussed at Senate Finance Hearing

A public hearing pertaining to Sen. Lisa Boscola’s (R-Northampton) swaps legislation is scheduled for Wednesday. The hearing by the Senate Finance Committee will examine SB 1277, which would amend the Municipal Code to ban all local government units and municipal authorities from entering into swaps, and SB 1278, which would require local government units to hire and retain financial advisors through a competitive selection process. Also, the bill would require local government units to evaluate on a quarterly basis the quality, cost and independence of the services provided by its financial advisor and report the results of the evaluation to the public. Testifiers will include Jens Damgaard, Esq., Rhoads & Sinon, LLP, who will speak on behalf of PASBO; Robert Teplitiz, chief counsel for the Office of the Auditor General; Jay Wenger of Susquehanna Group Advisors; two representatives speaking on behalf of PSBA; and representatives from the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and the Delaware Valley Regional Finance Authority. PASBO opposes legislation that would ban swaps altogether; instead, it favors improving Act 23 of 2003 and enhancing existing safeguards.

Also this week, the Senate Finance Committee will consider SR 250 (Earll), which directs the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to conduct a comprehensive study of the current real property tax collection systems in this Commonwealth to determine the impact of the consolidation of those real property tax collection systems, including the costs and benefits associated with consolidation, and to compare them to real property tax collection systems of other states, particularly those states with demographics similar to this Commonwealth.

Charter/Cyber Charter Accountability Bill on Committee Agenda

Tomorrow the Senate Education Committee will consider SB 1314 (Piccola) and SB 1297 (Dinniman). Sen. Piccola’s bill would amend the School Code to establish an Office of Charter and Cyber Charter Schools within the Department of Education and would provide additional accountability measures. Sen. Dinniman’s legislation would amend the School Code to ensure that schools provide a minimum of 180 days of instruction even when school days may be cancelled due to severe weather conditions, and that the Secretary of Education may not provide payments to school districts for instructional days not completed.

Following the voting meeting, the committee will be briefed by the State Board of Education on the proposed Chapter 12 regulations addressing student nutrition and wellness. The Board is expected this Thursday to vote in the affirmative of submitting the regulations for review under the regulatory review process. Once they are submitted and published in the PA Bulletin, a public comment period will commence.

Three-Bill Package Providing for Assessment Appeals Held Over

The House Local Government was scheduled last week to consider HBs 2020 (Seip), 2022 (Denlinger) and 2023 (Gergely). The bills amend the Third Class County Assessment Board Law, the Fourth to Eighth Class and Selective County Assessment Law, and the General County Assessment Law, respectively, to provide that if a school district seeks to appeal the assessment of any property, a quorum of the members elected to the board of directors of that school district must attend all proceedings regarding each appeal and be seated with their chosen representative at any appeal proceeding. Due to drafting errors relating to the quorum provisions in amendments, the Committee held the bills over till May 4. 

House Education Committee Passes Mandatory Sex Education Bill

Bills on which the House Education Committee will vote this week include HB 2454 (Roebuck), which would amend the School Code to redefine "vocational agricultural education;" HB 2460 (Roebuck), which would establish the Pennsylvania MESA Initiative Act to increase exposure, educational motivation, and achievement of students in science, engineering, or mathematics; and HR 720 (Longietti), which would direct the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee  to study the public school library services for students in K-12, measuring & comparing access to print & electronic resources, professional support & instruction in the use of info & evaluating funding.

Last week the committee passed HB 1163, a measure authored by Rep. Chelsa Wagner (D-Allegheny) that would all school districts to provide comprehensive sex education to students using “medically accurate” information derived from “peer-reviewed research … and recognized as accurate by leading professional organizations and agencies with relevant experience.” Students could be excused from sex education courses if their parents or guardians deem the curriculum inappropriate.

Policy Committee Examines Special Education Costs/Regulations

Rep. Stan Saylor (R-York), chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, held a hearing last week to examine the costs and regulations related to special education. Testifiers included the Superintendent of Spring-Ford Area SD, Dr. Marsha Hurda; the Director of Special Education and Student Services and the Business Director of Pottstown School District, Pam Bateson and Linda Adams, respectively; and representatives from PSEA and PSBA. Video and testimony from the hearing will be available online at http://www.pagoppolicy.com/.