Communications & Technology 2021-2022

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The Senate Communications and Technology Committee held a public hearing on Wednesday, November 10, 2021 on rural broadband:

The Senate Communications and Technology Committee met on Wednesday, October 27, 2021 to consider the following legislation:

SB 482 creates the Office of Information Technology within the Governor’s Office of Administration to manage all Commonwealth information technology services, projects, and purchasing.

The committee also considered three amendments during today’s C&T Committee Meeting.

 A02659 (Kane) – Amendment makes several substantial changes to the bill to improve efficiency, transparency, and the administration of Executive Branch IT systems and the PA State Police Emergency Radio Network.

• Supported by OA and DGS.
• Failed on a party line vote 4-6 with all Democrats supporting the amendment and Republicans opposing the amendment.

 A 02788 (Phillips-Hill) – Amendment adds CCAP to the Cybersecurity Oversight Board.

• Supported by CCAP and OA.
• Passed unanimously.

 A02792 (Phillips-Hill) – Amendment makes several changes to the bill regarding bidding, transparency, and IT purchasing.

• Supported by the PA NewsMedia Association.
• Opposed by OA and DGS.
• Passed on a party line vote 6-4 with all Republicans supporting the amendment and Democrats opposing the amendment.

SB 482 as amended passed the Senate Communications and Technology Committee by a 6-4 party line vote with Republicans supporting the bill and Democrats opposing the bill.

The Senate Communications and Technology Committee held a public hearing on Wednesday, September 22, 2021 to discuss state and national perspectives on the consolidation of state IT systems:

The Senate Communications and Technology Committee met on Wednesday, June 23, 2021 to consider the following bill:

HB 1621 (Marshall) is the identical house version of SB 769. SB 769 passed the Senate yesterday by a 49-1 vote.

HB 1621 creates the Small Wireless Facilities Deployment Act. The bill creates uniform fees, rules, and standards to help deploy 5G technology through small cell wireless facilities while respecting municipal rights, rules regarding rights of way, utility work, and historical structures. HB 1621 also includes important worker safety and responsible contractor provisions.

The bill was passed unanimously.

The Senate Communications and Technology Committee met Wednesday, June 16, 2021 to consider the following bill:

Senate Bill 769 (Browne)  – Senate Bill 769 creates a free-standing act known as the Small Wireless Facilities Deployment Act to deploy 5G technology to Pennsylvania communities. The act creates uniform fees, rules, and standards to help deploy 5G technology through small cell wireless facilities while respecting municipal rights and rules regarding rights of way, utility work, and historical structures. The legislation also includes important worker safety and responsible contractor provisions sought by organized labor.

The bill was passed unanimously.

The Senate Communications and Technology Committee met Monday, May 24, 2021 at 12:45 p.m. and reported the following bill from committee:

Senate Bill 696 (Laughlin): Amends the Breach of Personal Information Notification Act to require state and local governments to notify individuals when their personal, health insurance, or medical information was or may have been disclosed to an unauthorized party due to a security breach within 7 days and to notify law enforcement within 3 business days.

An amendment was adopted to apply the reporting requirements to state contractors.

The committee unanimously passed both the amendment and amended bill.

The Senate Communications and Technology Committee met Tuesday, May 11, 2021:

The Senate Communications and Technology Committee met Tuesday, April 20, 2021 and reported out the following bills:

SB 341 – The legislation amends Title 66 (Public Utilities) of the PA consolidated Statutes by repealing numerous sections of the Public Utility Code pertaining to requirements for telecommunications carriers.

• The bill was reported out with a 7-3 vote. Senators Kane, Sabatina, and Saval voted no.

SB 442 – Requires the Department of General Services to inventory communications assets and creates a Broadband Services Restricted Account for purposes of broadband deployment in underserved areas.

• The bill was reported out with a 7-3 vote. Senators Kane, Sabatina, and Saval voted no.