Dear  

The Senate Finance Committee has taken action to clarify language in the County Pension Law relative to the calculation of cost of living adjustments for retirees. Senate Bill 1078, sponsored by Sen. Sean Wiley (D-Erie), would allow the county to grant a limited COLA, keyed to just the most recent year. Current law obligates counties at least once every three years to examine whether to grant a COLA, which may be granted "in accordance with the cost-of-living-index at the time of the review." The vagueness of this language has led to interpretation that if a COLA is applied it is to be retroactive to the last time a COLA was granted. For most counties, the COLA is infrequently granted, and so going back to the last COLA and compounding forward can yield an unsupportable increase in the benefit. Senate Bill 1078, by permitting a limited COLA, does not require retroactive application to the last COLA adjustment. The change would allow a county that has fund capacity to grant much-needed benefit adjustments without the adjustments being excessive and without the adjustments imperiling the solvency of the fund.

Two bills to standardize the process for filling vacancies in the office of district attorney have cleared the Senate Local Government committee. Senate Bills 1219 and 1220, both introduced by former CCAP member Ted Erickson (R-Delaware), would amend the Second Class County Code and the act providing for election of district attorneys (which impacts Philadelphia) respectively, and were unanimously approved by the Senate Local Government Committee on April 1.

The Senate Judiciary Committee recently held a hearing on SB 979, offering education and training resources for public defenders.

Momentum continues as the General Assembly finalizes a number of bills to address remaining recommendations from the Task Force on Child Protection. Several bills have now moved to the Governor's desk after recent action in the General Assembly, including SB 24, sponsored by Sen. Randy Vulakovich (R-Allegheny). The bill, which would establish a statewide database for child abuse reports, received a 48-0 concurrence vote in the Senate on April 1. In addition, after unanimous votes in both the House and Senate in the first days of April, HB 431, sponsored by Rep. Mauree Gingrich (R-Lebanon), is also headed to the Governor's desk. The bill will require mandated reporters to complete at least three hours of approved child abuse recognition and reporting training before obtaining or renewing a professional license through the PA Department of State. Operators of facilities which care for children and employees who have direct contact with children, foster parents and caregivers in family day care homes, will also have to meet training requirements. Finally, House Bill 316, authored by Rep. Julie Harhart (R-Northampton), garnered a 197-5 vote on concurrence in the House on March 31, and also awaits the Governor's signature. The bill creates a funding mechanism for children's advocacy centers (CACs) by increasing the fee for a birth certificate through the Department of Health.