As the clock ticks closer to the summer recess, legislation to extend the Human Services Block Grant to any willing and capable county, a 2013 CCAP priority, has not yet advanced in either the House or the Senate. Advocacy groups opposing the expansion of the block grant continue to lobby against movement of HB 461, which expands the block grant by allowing the 10 counties that applied for the original pilot, but were not selected, to enter the program immediately. The bill, introduced by former CCAP member Rep. Jerry Knowles (R-Schuylkill) is on the House calendar, pending debate.

In the Senate, SB 977, which extends the block grant program to any county that wishes to participate, remains in the Senate Appropriations Committee. The bill was pulled from consideration a few weeks ago after drawing amendments that would expand the Medical Assistance program under the Affordable Care Act. The bill's sponsor is Sen. Pat Vance (R-Cumberland), who chairs the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee.

Block grant expansion amendments have also been filed to various other bills, including pending bills that amend the state's Public Welfare Code. A Welfare Code bill typically accompanies the budget, to implement the full range of the budget's human services and other public welfare appropriations, and so a block grant expansion could be included in that context.

Both bills, along with Governor Corbett's original block grant proposal accompanying his February budget announcement, make county participation in the block grant optional. Counties interested in becoming a block grant county need to contact House and Senate members to advise of their intentions and call for authorizing legislation, while those currently in the block grant should share their experiences, detailing how the grants have improved the coordination and quality of services offered to their residents.

The House Transportation Committee has reported an amended version of SB 1, the comprehensive transportation funding proposal. The bill generates just over $2 billion in new funds for mass transit, transportation infrastructure, and other transportation initiatives, up from the Governor's $1.7 billion proposal but scaled back from the $2.5 billion Senate version.

For counties, an increase in mass transit funding is tempered by an increase in operating match from 15 percent to 20 percent, and an increase in capital match from 3.3 percent to 10 percent, although each is phased in at 5 percent per year. The legislation also allows a local levy of income, sales, or realty transfer tax to fund local match. CCAP has commented that the match should remain at current levels, and the tax authorizations should be outside the transportation proposal for general fund and property tax reduction purposes.

On the infrastructure side, the existing allocation for county and forestry bridges benefits from the bill's removal of the cap on oil franchise tax, and would be distributed based on relative square feet of county-owned bridge deck. The bill, like the original Senate version, includes statutory authorization of bridge bundling, now in pilot review in three counties and which is expected to result in savings of up to 30 percent in bridge refurbishing and construction costs. The bill also includes an allocation of 1.5 mills of the oil franchise tax to a new Highway Bridge Improvement Fund, dedicated to county and municipal bridges.

The bill also authorizes counties to levy a $5 surcharge on vehicle registrations, which would be collected by PennDOT and returned to the county of registration to be allocated by the county for county and municipal transportation projects. 

As the Bulletin goes to press, the House is scheduled to consider legislation addressing CCAP's prevailing wage reform priority. On the House voting calendar are HB 665, introduced by Rep. Ron Marsico (R-Dauphin), which excludes "maintenance" from the act in response to the 2007 Youngwood Borough decision, and HB 796, offered by Rep. David Millard (R-Columbia), to increase the prevailing wage threshold from $25,000 to $100,000. A number of amendments are filed to each, including an amendment to HB 796 supported by CCAP and a coalition of local government groups that would take the threshold to an inflation-adjusted $189,000. The intent remains to hold a final vote on the House floor prior to the summer recess. 

The Senate swiftly moved legislation amending the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act related to on-lot septic systems in the last weeks of June, sending it to the Governor's desk prior to the summer recess

House Bill 1325, introduced by Rep. David Maloney (R-Berks), responds to work begun by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on technical guidance for on-lot permits in exceptional and high value watersheds based on an Environmental Hearing Board decision in Pine Creek Valley Watershed Association v DEP. The guidance had the potential to significantly impact local planning and land use decisions and local economic development in some parts of the state, without guaranteeing reductions in levels of nitrates for which there is no demonstrable problem from on-lot septic systems. The bill clarifies that on-lot septic systems approved by DEP under the current Act 537 regulations meet anti-degradation requirements, mitigating the need for the guidance. 

A package of bills to address the recommendations of the Task Force on Child Protection, including updates to the statutory definition of child abuse and changes to how investigations are handled by county agencies, received final passage in the House in late June. The legislative package had bipartisan support and a number of the bills passed unanimously.

The package includes HB 726, introduced by Rep. Scott Petri (R-Bucks), updating the definition of child abuse; HB 430, introduced by committee chair Rep. Kathy Watson (R-Bucks), providing for internet and email reporting of abuse; HB 433, offered by Rep. Ryan Aument (R-Lancaster), requiring the county children and youth director and solicitor to approve indicated reports of child abuse and offering a specific timeline for appeal; HB 434, introduced by Rep. David Maloney (R-Berks), ensuring school employees are subject to the same investigations and standards as other perpetrators of child abuse; HB 435, introduced by Rep. Dan Moul (R-Adams), addressing background checks for those who work with children; and HB 436, introduced by Rep. Todd Stephens (R-Montgomery), expanding and clarifying the list of mandated reporters of child abuse.

Although the combined bills seek a laudable goal, the structural and programmatic changes as well as diversion of resources to new functions could have a large fiscal impact on counties, and additional funds are not included as part of the legislation. The bills now go to the Senate for further consideration. 

Legislation that would offer protections for individual information related to 911 calls was recently reported from the House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee.

House Bill 1041, introduced by Rep. Joe Hackett (R-Delaware), would prohibit county 911 centers from releasing a record containing the name, address, telephone number, and location of a 911 caller. The legislation gives additional guidance on meeting the requirements of the Right-to-Know Law, which stipulates that 911 call logs are open records. While HB 1041 would not change that requirement, it would clarify that personal information attached to call records would not be released. The public's primary interest is in determining whether counties are adequately and promptly providing 911 service, which is satisfied by the call log requirement. 

The House and Senate are moving competing legislation that would exempt certain agricultural structures with a metal, wood or plastic frame, a plastic, woven textile or other flexible covering, and a floor made of soil, crushed stone, matting, pavers or a floating concrete slab, commonly known as high tunnels or hoop structures, from real estate assessment and taxation.

On June 19, the House approved its exemption bills, HB 1438 (Rep. John Maher, R-Allegheny), and HB 1439, (Rep. Marcia Hahn, R-Northampton), both on a final vote of 198-0. Earlier in the spring, the Senate had approved similar legislation, SB 638, sponsored by Sen. Elder Vogel (R-Beaver), although SB 638 contained additional language specifying that the structure not only has to meet the structural requirements but also has to be used for the production of agricultural commodities.

On June 25, the House Agriculture Committee amended SB 634 with the original language from HB 1438 and HB 1439, striking the language requiring the structure to be used for production of agricultural commodities. The same day, the Senate Agriculture Committee amended HB 1438 and HB 1439 with the language original to SB 638, adding back in the language on agricultural commodity production. It is unclear at publication time which version might ultimately make its way through the legislative process and to the Governor's desk.