The Senate unanimously approved House Bill 321, which would increase the sentences for those who commit child pornography crimes.
The bill keeps the basic grading of offenses. Production is a second degree felony, dissemination and viewing are graded as a third degree felony for a first offense and a second degree felony for a second or subsequent offenses. The bill would enhance sentencing for the offense if indecent contact with the child is depicted.
The bill was signed in the House and now goes to the governor
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The Senate unanimously approved House Bill 414, legislation that would allow the courts access to child abuse information during custody hearings for children.
The bill would require the court to consider whether a person seeking custody or someone in that household has a history of child abuse. The court would also receive information on child protective services and it would be notified by the Department of Public Welfare if a child has been identified as a victim of abuse in the past.
El proyecto de ley pasa ahora al gobernador.
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The Senate unanimously approved House Bill 726, which would amend the definitions of “child abuse” and related terms in the Child Protective Services Law.
The bill would make child abuse the same conduct that would constitute assault. It would also expand the definition of “sexual abuse or exploitation” to include conduct, with regard to a child, that would constitute the criminal offenses of institutional sexual assault, indecent assault and unlawful contact with a minor.
El proyecto de ley pasa ahora al gobernador.
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The Senate unanimously approved House Bill 1201, which would update Title 42 to include a comprehensive list of licensing boards to which mandated post-trial reports are made by district attorneys.
Since several of the boards of the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs have changed names, and new boards have been created, the bill would correctly list the boards to which these reports should be made.
The bill was presented to the governor on Dec. 12.
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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 23, which would update the definition of a person who can be a perpetrator who commits child abuse and specifies who is responsible for a child’s welfare.
The bill would define a “perpetrator” as a person who has committed child abuse and includes the parents of the child, spouse or former spouse of the child’s parent, paramour or former paramour of the child’s parent, a person 14 years of age or older who is responsible for the child’s welfare, a person 14 years of age or older who resides in the same home as the child or a person 18 years of age or older who does not reside in the same home, but is related within the third degree of consanguinity or affinity to the child.
The bill would also expand the definition of a person responsible for a child’s welfare to include any person who has direct or regular contact with a child through any program, activity or service sponsored by a school, for-profit organization or religious or other not-for-profit organization.
The bill was presented to the governor on Dec. 16.
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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 28, legislation that would amend Title 18 to strengthen the state’s child abuse laws.
The bill would lower the age of a perpetrator for enhanced penalty for simple assault from 21 to 18. It would also add categories to what constitutes aggravated assault and create a new offense that addresses intimidation or retaliation in child abuse cases.
The bill was presented to the governor on Dec. 16.
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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 30, which would establish accountability and essential due process protections for individuals who work with delinquent children, students in juvenile detention facilities and officials from private residential rehabilitative institutions.
The number of false claims of child abuse against staff has increased, and the appeals can take an average of 18 months to conclude. The bill would establish specific timelines for appeals for indicated cases of child abuse. It would also contain provisions to establish a sub-file within the State Registry of those who have been found guilty of intentionally filing a false report, along with the name of the child involved in the report.
The bill was presented to the governor on Dec. 16.
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The Senate voted 49-0 for Senate Bill 1116, which would streamline the duties and responsibilities of multidisciplinary investigative teams to allow for a more open an expedited process of investigating reports of child abuse.
The bill is part of a package of new laws approved to improve Pennsylvania’s oversight and care of children. Other measures include Senate Bill 23, Senate Bill 28, Senate Bill 30, and Senate Bill 34.
Senate Bill 1116 was presented to the governor on Dec. 16.
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The Senate unanimously approved House Bill 892, which would restrict the number of times a person could apply for a motorcycle learner’s permit to no more than three times in five years.
Currently, a motorcycle learner’s permit is valid for one year or until the permit holder has failed the examination three times within a one year period.
El proyecto de ley pasa ahora al gobernador.
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The Senate unanimously passed a bill that will allow municipalities more latitude in spending revenue generated by an Open Space Tax, authorized by the legislature in 1967. Under current law, municipalities can only use revenue from the tax on costs associated with acquiring land.
House Bill 1523 would allow certain percentages of the tax revenue to be spent on open-space planning, improvements or maintenance.
The bill is awaiting the governor’s signature.
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The Senate unanimously passed a bill intended to provide tax relief for residents living within a municipality’s Business Improvement District.
House Bill 1644 would extend the power of the Municipal Authorities Act by giving the Business Improvement District (BID) authority the option of lowering the tax assessment on residential properties while proportionately raising the tax assessment on non-residential properties within a Business Improvement District
A public hearing would be required to be held for all property owners in the BID to make them aware of the change in the calculation of assessment for residential and commercial properties.
The bill is awaiting the governor’s signature.
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The Senate unanimously approved a bill that will double the amount that volunteer departments can borrow for purchasing equipment, a much needed change as the price of emergency services equipment has increased over the years.
House Bill 1706 would update the Volunteer Loan and Assistance Program, which provides low-interest loans to volunteer fire and EMS departments.
Maximum amounts for purchasing emergency apparatus or vehicles would increase from $100,000 to $200,000. Prices for equipment and vehicles has doubled, and in some cases tripled, over the last few years. Loan amounts also doubled for companies looking to upgrade their facilities or repair old equipment.
The legislation would also change the number of loans allowed for new regional departments. Currently, an individual department can only carry three VLAP loans at a given point in time. The law would increase that limit for merged departments to 10 loans at one time for a period of 10 years from their merger date.
The bill is awaiting the governor’s signature.
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The Senate unanimously approved legislation introduced to help veterans who are employed by the City of Scranton more quickly participate in its pension program.
Senate Bill 703 would amend the Scranton Police and Firemen’s Pension Law and Senate Bill 704 would change the Scranton City Employee Pension Law so city employees can buy military service credits and apply them to their retirement benefits without having to wait three years, which is the requirement of current state law. The changes would achieve parity with workers from other cities across Pennsylvania.
A state commission determined that the proposals would not add to Scranton’s cost for operating the pension system. The reason it does not increase costs for the city is because of the military service credits.
When an eligible member decides to purchase non-intervening military service credits, he or she erases the city’s expense. That payment is equal to the amount the member would have contributed had he or she been a member of the pension fund during their military service, plus the equivalent of the city’s contributions that otherwise may have occurred during that service.
The bill is awaiting the governor’s signature.
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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 704, which would remove a three-year time limit in which members of the Scranton Police and Fire pension systems are required to begin working for the city to be eligible for purchasing credit for time spent in the armed forces.
Due to what proponents claim is an oversight in prior statutory language, Scranton is the only city in Pennsylvania that must impose the time limit on the city’s public safety and non-uniformed workers who have served in the military from an otherwise statewide standard regarding military service buy-back related to the pensions of public safety personnel.
A companion, Senate Bill 703, would amend the Scranton Police and Firemen’s Pension Law, in the same way.
Senate Bill 704, which would have no actuarial cost impact on the city pension fund, now goes to the House.
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The Senate unanimously approved legislation intended to amend the state Crimes Code to address a Superior Court decision.
Senate Bill 731 would provide a clear definition for “first offense.” It’s a response to the state Superior Court’s decision in Commonwealth v. Graeff (13 A.3d 516) that an individual who participates in the Accelerated Rehabilitation Program after committing retail theft is not considered a second-time offender if they again violated the section.
This bill includes for a “first offense” definition “any conviction, acceptance of Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition or other form of preliminary disposition.”
El proyecto de ley pasa ahora a la Cámara.
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The Senate unanimously passed legislation clarifying Pennsylvania law governing the activity of out-of-state recreational vehicle dealers at Pennsylvania RV shows.
Senate Bill 814 would clarify the definition of an out-of-state RV dealer, and require such a dealer to register with the board before participating in a recreational vehicle show, recreational vehicle off-premise sale, recreational vehicle exhibition or recreational vehicle rally in Pennsylvania.
El proyecto de ley pasa ahora a la Cámara.
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The Senate unanimously approved House Bill 1274, which would enable any county crime lab to petition a judge to charge a defendant for the laboratory costs associated with their prosecution.
Current law only allows Allegheny County, Philadelphia County and the Pennsylvania State Police to recoup laboratory costs from defendants. This measure would expand it to any county crime lab in Pennsylvania.
El proyecto de ley pasa ahora al gobernador.
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The Senate unanimously approved House Bill 546, which would change the pension rules for future employees of Allegheny County.
With the legislation, new county workers enrolled in the Allegheny County retirement system would not be able to use overtime to calculate their benefits. The calculation for retirement would also become the average monthly compensation received by the county employee during the highest 48 months of the last 8 years of employment on a bi-weekly basis.
Also, the new measure would require a future worker to be employed 10 years (up from 8 years) before vesting in the county pension system.
The bill is now before the governor for his consideration.
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The Senate unanimously approved an amended Senate Bill 34, which would change the state’s Professional Educator Discipline Act to give the Professional Standards and Practices Commission, or PSPC, the ability to oversee educators holding the private academic school certification.
It would also expand the base for discipline to include founded and indicated reports of child abuse, as well as grooming behaviors that include a teacher sending a student sexually explicit pictures.
Additionally, Senate Bill 34 eliminates the statute of limitations for the filing of misconduct complaints.
The bill is part of a package of new laws approved to improve Pennsylvania’s oversight and care of children. Other measures include Senate Bill 23, Senate Bill 28, Senate Bill 30, and Senate Bill 1116.
The governor received the legislation on Dec. 16.
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The Senate unanimously approved changes to Senate Bill 75, which would provide comprehensive measures to combat human trafficking in Pennsylvania.
The proposal would focus on more clearly defined sex and labor trafficking incidents and punishments; increase the fines and penalties for trafficking and involuntary servitude; add penalties for business entities, including license revocation and forfeiture of contracts; implement participation in the national human trafficking hotline; create the Pennsylvania Council for the Prevention of Human Trafficking; increase training for first responders; and expand resources available to victim service providers.
The House Judiciary Committee is now considering Senate Bill 75.
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The Senate voted 49-0 on Senate Bill 622 to improve Pennsylvania’s regulations governing debt settlement companies.
Specifically, the measure would close a “glaring oversight” of the 2010 Federal Telemarketing Sales Rule by covering debt settlement companies not defined by that provision, including those companies not engaged in telemarketing, interstate commerce or are nonprofit.
Debt settlement providers that negotiate debt settlement agreements on behalf of Pennsylvanians would be required to obtain a license in the commonwealth.
The House Commerce Committee is now considering Senate Bill 622.
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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 638, which is the second measure of its kind to be considered and adopted by the upper chamber.
Senate Bill 638, like House Bill 1439 (sent to the governor Dec. 10), would make the “high tunnels” or “hoop houses” that farmers and other agriculture industries use to extend their growing seasons or store straw and other items exempt from real estate taxes.
The legislation declares that the structures are not permanent and should not be taxed.
The governor received the bill on Dec. 16.
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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 885, which would designate and adopt Pittsburgh’s River City Brass Band as the “official brass band of Pennsylvania.”
Founded in 1981, the band regularly performs 42 concerts each season in southwestern Pennsylvania and another 20 to 30 special concerts throughout the United States.
La medida pasa ahora a la Cámara.
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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 1164, which would provide conditional immunity for those who come to the aid of someone suffering from a drug overdose.
Under the bill, good Samaritans would be immune from prosecution if law enforcement only became aware of a person’s criminal liability because of their role in helping or reporting someone in the throes of a drug overdose. A drug overdose is deemed an “acute” medical condition that could be dangerous or deadly.
The bill now goes to the house.
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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 1181, which would amend the Fiscal Code to authorize a $5 million transfer from the Race Horse Development Fund to the State Racing Fund.
Since the Pennsylvania horse and harness racing commissions will become financially insolvent by 2014, this proposal would provide a short term bridge for the continued regulation and oversight of the racing industry while lawmakers work to update the Race Horse Industry Reform Act to provide long term, sustainable funding solutions.
Since many of the state’s casinos can only operate if they conduct a set amount of live racing days, continued regulation and oversight of the state’s horse racing industry is necessary so not to impact casino operations and revenues.
El proyecto de ley pasa ahora a la Cámara.
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