The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 157, which would create a 15-member “Task Force on Homeless Children’s Education” charged with examining the educational needs and status of homeless children Pennsylvania and recommending a statewide proposal to provide a strong educational foundation for homeless children.
Under the Democratic-sponsored bill, the task force would study the demographics and education of Pennsylvania’s homeless child population and their educational needs. The task force would meet at least quarterly and be chaired by the state secretary of public welfare.
The task force would conduct:
- A demographic survey of homeless parents and homeless youth;
- An assessment of the difficulties in providing educational services to homeless students;
- As assessment of successful strategies for serving the needs of preschool children experiencing homelessness, including access to early intervention services;
- An assessment of successful strategies for serving homeless students;
- As assessment of best practices used in other states to educate homeless students; and
- Recommendations regarding the collection and use of data currently collected by the Department of Public Welfare
El proyecto de ley pasa ahora a la Cámara.
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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 1296, which would amend the Public School Code to provide for greater transparency and accountability in superintendent and assistant superintendent contracts by setting new requirements for greater public access to the content of those contracts under the state’s Right-to-Know Law.
The legislation was partially in response to a controversial severance package awarded to Philadelphia’s school superintendent in 2011.
The bill would limit generous contract buyouts to departing school district superintendents and require more contract details to be made available to the public. The legislation would also link superintendent contracts to performance standards tied to student achievement and limit contracts to three years for new superintendents and assistant superintendents.
El proyecto de ley pasa ahora a la Cámara.
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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 1406, which would give private colleges greater flexibility to offer new majors with state Department of Education approval.
Under the bill, private and non-profit colleges that have been operating for at least 10 years could add new programs, majors and degrees without prior review of the Department of Education.
Currently, colleges with a universal charter (including state-related universities such Lincoln University, Penn State, Temple, and Pitt) are allowed to establish any program and award any degree without department approval. The State System of Higher Education also has authority to review its own programs, and community colleges are authorized to develop their own associate degree programs.
El proyecto de ley pasa ahora a la Cámara.
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By a vote of 41-4, the Senate passed House Bill 61, which would extend the time limitations on private collection agencies for the collection of court costs, restitution and fines.
Under previous law, a collection agency was required to cease its efforts to collect fines, costs and restitution if 180 days elapsed and there was no response by the defendant or collection of money. House Bill 61 extends that period of time from 180 days to 48 months.
The bill is now on the governor’s desk.
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The Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 1351, which would permit a certified registered nurse practitioner (CRNP) to sign death certificates.
Currently, only physicians, dentists and coroners can sign death certificates. CRNPs presently can pronounce death, determine the cause of death and provide medical information necessary for death certificates. Senate Bill 1351 would streamline the death certificate process by allowing them to sign the paperwork.
El proyecto de ley está ahora en la Cámara.
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The Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 1144, which would prohibit insurers from setting fees for dental services they do not cover. Any contract provision in violation of the law would be void. The bill was amended to be consistent with the National Conference of Insurance Legislators model by changing the “covered dentist services” definition.
El proyecto de ley pasa ahora a la Cámara.
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The Senate unanimously approved legislation that would further provide for the powers and duties of the Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission (JCJC).
House Bill 1546 would require the JCJC to collect and analyze data to identify trends and evidence-based programs and practices and to make recommendations concerning best practices to judges, the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC) and other appropriate entities.
The bill would also require the JCJC to post this statistical data on its website.
El proyecto de ley se encuentra ahora en el Comité de Normas de la Cámara.
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The Senate unanimously approved legislation that would include dependent stepchildren in wrongful death lawsuit awards.
Currently, only a spouse, children or parents of the deceased may file civil action to recover damages as a result of wrongful death. Senate Bill 466 would treat a dependent step-child as a dependent child of the deceased individual and, therefore, would be able to participate in damages awarded.
El proyecto de ley se encuentra ahora en la Comisión Judicial de la Cámara de Representantes.
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The Senate unanimously passed a bill that would expand the definition of “emergency vehicle” to include any vehicle operated by certain individuals when acting in their official capacity.
Under Senate Bill 1067, qualified individuals would include county haz-mat directors, and special agents, special agent supervisors, narcotics agents or narcotics agent supervisors working for the Attorney General. It would also include vehicles owned by a county or regional police association that are used for police transport or victim extraction.
El proyecto de ley está ahora en la Cámara.
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The Senate unanimously passed an amended version of House Bill 1702, which modernizes the state’s Borough Code that had not been recodified in 45 years.
This bill removes obsolete provisions, reflects court decisions, combines similar sections and subjects and incorporates provisions from a previous recodification of the Second Class Township Code and the current draft of the Third Class City Code into the Borough Code.
The legislation is the collaborative product of the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs and the Local Government Commission.
The Senate version of the bill passed the House by a 185-5 vote and now awaits the governor’s signature.
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