September 22, 2008
Pennsylvania Senate Republican News
Brief
“Today’s action represents an important step toward improving health care access and affordability by building on approaches that are working and doing it in a fiscally responsible way.”
-- Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee Chairman Ted Erickson (R-Delaware) on committee approval of a major piece of the Senate GOP HealthNET PA package designed to improve and expand health care access and affordability in Pennsylvania.
Preview
WORK CONTINUES ON ENERGY, HEALTH CARE ISSUES
Work will continue in the Senate this week on energy-related legislation, including efforts to mitigate the impact of rate caps coming off electricity prices and to encourage greater energy conservation.
The proposed Community-Based Health Care Program also moves closer to a Senate vote. Senate Bill 5, sponsored by Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee Chairman Ted Erickson (R-Delaware), received unanimous committee approval last week. (Please see below.)
DEATH OF CHILD IN PHILADELPHIA PROTECTIVE SERVICES FOCUS OF HEARING
The Senate Aging and Youth Committee, chaired by Sen. Pat Vance (R-Cumberland), will hold a public hearing Tuesday on the Grand Jury recommendations in the Danieal Kelly child abuse investigation.
The 14-year-old special needs child died in her Philadelphia home in August 2006 while under the protective services of the Philadelphia Department of Human Services and a private contract agency.
TWO HEARINGS SET ON HIGHMARK/IBC MERGER FILINGS
The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee, chaired by Sen. Don White (R-Indiana), will hold two public hearings in upcoming weeks to take testimony prior to developing its recommendations on the proposed merger of Highmark Inc. and Independence Blue Cross.
The hearings are set for Tuesday, September 23 and Tuesday, October 7 at the Capitol.
Act 62 of 2008 requires that any merger involving the “Blues” be subject to approval by the Department of Insurance. The new law also empowers the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee and the House Insurance Committee to receive and review all filings submitted to the Department and to develop written comments and recommendations on the merger filings.
COMMITTEE TO CONSIDER CHANGES TO PA DOG LAW
The Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, chaired by Sen. Mike Brubaker (R-Lancaster), will consider legislation Tuesday amending the state Dog Law.
House Bill 2525 would raise standards for dogs in breeding kennels and make other changes.
SEN. MCILHINNEY TO ANNOUNCE BILL ALLOWING MILITARY UNIFORMS IN SCHOOLS
Sen. Chuck McIlhinney (R-Bucks) announces legislation today to prohibit school officials from denying members of the military access to school grounds because they are in uniform.
Senator McIlhinney will be joined by several members of Semper Fi Families, an organization that provides support and guidance to military families. Several members of the group will share their stories of loved ones who were prohibited from visiting friends and former teachers because they were in uniform.
Review
SENATE REPUBLICANS CALL FOR HOUSE ACTION ON REFORM MEASURES
Senate Republicans on Tuesday called on the House of Representatives to pass and send to the governor seven pieces of reform legislation which passed the Senate unanimously earlier this year.
Among the measures are increased penalties for government officials who violate the “Sunshine Law,” the posting of government salary information on the Internet, a bonus ban for state employees, and several other measures aimed at making government more transparent.
Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R-Jefferson) said: "The Senate has implemented a host of new rules to make the legislative process more open and accountable. In that spirit, we decided not to hold a 'lame duck' legislative session following the November election, the aim of legislation sponsored by Senator Bob Regola (R-Westmoreland). But those rules only cover the Senate. To make lasting reforms across state government, we need the House to pass these bills."
For a list of Senate-passed reform bills, please see Fast Facts, below.
Sen.
Scarnati
Sen.
Dominic Pileggi
Sen.
Jane Orie
Sen.
John Eichelberger
Sen.
Mike Folmer
News
Conference
KEY PIECE OF SENATE GOP HEALTHNET PA PLAN APPROVED BY COMMITTEE
The Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee, chaired by Sen. Ted Erickson (R-Delaware), on Thursday unanimously approved a major piece of the Senate GOP HealthNET PA package designed to improve and expand health care access and affordability in Pennsylvania.
The committee approved Senate Bill 5, sponsored by Senator Erickson, establishing the Community-Based Health Care Program which would provide grants for health care clinics across Pennsylvania. These clinics serve as comprehensive “medical homes” for low-income and uninsured individuals by providing primary health care services, including dental, behavioral health, and pharmacy services. Clinics can also ease pressure on hospital emergency rooms.
Senator Erickson said: “Community-based health care clinics provide the uninsured with a medical home that emphasizes a partnership among the patient, physician, nurses, and clinic staff. These health clinics become the place where patients are known, recognized, supported, and where they find a centralized base for health care services and connections to other medical and supportive community services.”
For more on the Community-Based Health Care Program, please see In the Spotlight, below.
Sen.
Erickson
Sen.
Lisa Baker
COMMITTEE ENDORSES SEN. PICCOLA’S BILL CLOSING WIRETAP LAW LOOPHOLE
The Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Sen. Stewart Greenleaf (R-Montgomery), approved legislation aimed at closing a loophole in Pennsylvania's Wiretap Law which allowed criminal defense lawyers to obtain the cell phone records of the Dauphin County District Attorney and other officials without their knowledge or the knowledge of the presiding judge.
Senate Bill 1555, sponsored by Sen. Jeffrey Piccola (R-Dauphin), would amend the Wiretap Act to prohibit telephone companies from providing a customer's calling records to anyone without a subpoena, court order, or a customer's permission. An attorney in a civil matter must give notice to opposing counsel in advance to give them a chance to contest the release of the information. However, in criminal matters, lawyers do not have to inform the judge or the person whose records they are seeking.
A Dauphin County Investigating Grand Jury charged Reverend Joseph Sica and Louis DeNaples with perjury earlier this year following allegations that they lied to the Gaming Control Board about their associations with organized crime. Their lawyers' access to the cell phone records of the district attorney and State Police who were organized crime investigators sent shock waves throughout Pennsylvania's law enforcement community, the senator noted.
Senator Piccola said: “This loophole goes beyond the release of records to police and prosecutors – it also allows litigants to obtain the cell phone and email records of private citizens without their knowledge and court review. We cannot expose specific individuals, such as domestic abuse victims or confidential police sources, to danger if such information is disclosed without their permission.”
Sen.
Piccola
BILL PROVIDING HONOR GUARDS AT NATIONAL CEMETERY SENT TO GOVERNOR
Legislation to provide honor guards for burials at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies and expand health coverage for returning soldiers received final approval Thursday and was sent to the governor to be signed into law.
Under Senate Bill 180, sponsored by Sen. John Pippy (R-Allegheny), the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs will contract with veterans service organizations to perform honor guard duties at the site. The 260-acre National Cemetery of the Alleghenies opened in 2005 in Cecil, Washington County.
The Senate concurred in a House amendment to add eye and dental health plans to those covered under a current law that allows soldiers returning from military deployment to remain on their parents’ health insurance plans while enrolling in college. Coverage would last for a period equal to the amount of time they were deployed.
Senator Pippy said: “There are more than 323,000 veterans living in western Pennsylvania, and the purpose of this legislation is to ensure that those who choose to be laid to rest here be accorded the dignified tribute they have earned.”
Many health clinics embrace the comprehensive approach to health care and share a commitment to the community as well as ensuring quality care for the underserved. Health clinics provide high-quality and cost-effective health care regardless of a patient’s insurance status or ability to pay. Clinics also help to reduce the use of costly hospital emergency visits and avoidable hospital admissions.
The Community-Based Health Care Program is a key component of the 15-bill Senate GOP health care initiative, HealthNET PA -- a $100 million blueprint that expands access to health care and medicine to 507,000 uninsured and low-income working Pennsylvanians. It utilizes information technology to control costs and reduce health care-associated infections and provides expanded insurance options for employers and families.
Pennsylvania is ranked fifth-best in the nation in the number of citizens covered by health insurance, with 92 percent of the population covered. Nearly 16 percent of Pennsylvanians, or 2 million residents, are already covered by government-subsidized health care.
Senator Erickson said: “Today’s action represents an important step toward improving health care access and affordability by building on approaches that are working and doing it in a fiscally responsible way.”
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SENATE REFORM BILLS ON FALL AGENDA
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