GOV.-ELECT WOLF ANNOUNCES CABINET PICKS

Gov.-elect Tom Wolf has begun to announce his nominations to lead his cabinet, with his inauguration on Jan. 20 quickly approaching.

As secretary of the Department of Community and Economic Development, the governor-elect has nominated Dennis Davin, the director of Allegheny County Economic Development and the Allegheny County Redevelopment Authority, as well as executive director of the Industrial Development Authority, Hospital Development Authority, Higher Education Building Authority, and Residential Finance Authority. In addition, Eileen McNulty has been nominated as Department of Revenue Secretary, a post she previously held during the Casey administration from 1991 to 1995, while Pedro Cortes was nominated as secretary for the Department of State, a position he held during the Rendell administration from 2003 to 2010. All secretarial nominations require a confirmation vote by a majority of the Senate.

Gov.-elect Wolf also selected Denise Smyler to lead his Office of General Counsel. She had been serving as counsel to the transition team.

NEW LEGISLATIVE SESSION BEGINS

The House and Senate convened on Jan. 6 to swear in new and re-elected members and to formally elect their leaders for the year. In the House, twenty-six members took the oath of office for the first time, and seven new Senators took their seats, including three former House members and four freshmen elected to open seats.

Although informally selected in the fall, Rep. Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) was elected to serve as Speaker of the House. Rep. Dave Reed (R-Indiana) was elected as Majority Leader, and Rep. Frank Dermody (D-Allegheny) will continue as the floor leader for his caucus. In the Senate, Sen. Joe Scarnati (R-Jefferson) was formally elected as President Pro Tempore, Sen. Jake Corman (R-Centre) was elected Majority Leader, and Sen. Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) was again elected as minority leader.

HOUSE APPOINTS COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN

The House of Representatives formally announced its committee chairs as it prepared to begin the new session. The following list highlights committees that typically engage county issues; a full list of committee chairs is available on the CCAP Legislative Action Center.

 Aging and Older Adult Services will continue to be led by Rep. Tim Hennessey (R-Chester) and former CCAP member Rep. Steve Samuelson (D-Northampton), while Rep. Martin Causer (R-Potter) and Rep. John Sabatine (D-Philadelphia) have been tapped as new chairs of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee. Rep. Kathy Watson (R-Bucks) and Rep. Louise Bishop (D-Philadelphia) will continue their service as chairs of the Children and Youth Committee, while Rep. John Maher (R-Allegheny) will head Environmental Resources and Energy with Rep. Greg Vitali (D-Delaware).

The Health Committee retains the leadership of Rep. Matt Baker (R-Bradford) and former CCAP member Rep. Flo Fabrizio (D-Erie), and the Human Services Committee will be led again this session by Rep. Gene DiGirolamo (R-Bucks) and Rep. Angel Cruz (D-Philadelphia). Judiciary will be chaired by Rep. Ron Marsico (R-Dauphin) and Rep. Joe Petrarca (D-Armstrong), while the Labor and Industry Committee is headed by Rep. Mauree Gingrich (R-Lebanon) and Rep. Marc Gergely (D-Allegheny).

REVENUE TRENDS REPORT RELEASED

In early January, the Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) released a preliminary Revenue Trends report, looking at state revenue performance for December 2014 as well as fiscal-year-to-date trends. The report notes that December 2014 general fund revenues increased by 13.4 percent compared to December 2013, although some of that increase is attributable to a technical factor affecting the timing of receipts from personal income tax employer withholding. Other major sources contributing to the increase include growth in the corporate net income tax (9.9 percent growth) and personal income tax quarterly payments (25.9 percent growth).

DEP RELEASES ACT 162 GUIDANCE FOR COMMENT

In the Dec. 20, 2014, Pennsylvania Bulletin, the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) published information regarding the implementation plan and technical guidance for Act 162 of 2014, previously HB 1565. The Act allows riparian buffers to be used as an option, rather than a mandate, to avoid pollution of High Quality and Exceptional Value waterways, and was part of CCAP's 2014 priority on waterway infrastructure and maintenance. The implementation plan and technical guidance, published as Interim Final, is open for comment for 60 days ending Feb. 18, 2014. While this is not a regulation, the Department is describing the guidance as the framework within which it will exercise its administrative discretion in the future. DEP has published a resource page on Act 162, where copies of the implementation plan and technical guidance, as well as a set of FAQs, are posted.

COUNTY OPTIONAL $5 FEE FOR LOCAL USE 

Jan. 1, 2015, marked the effective date for counties to enact a local use fee collected on vehicle registrations pursuant to Act 89 of 2013, with the revenues to be used for transportation purposes within the county. Counties choosing to levy the fee must pass an ordinance and submit the ordinance to PennDOT's Deputy Secretary of Planning, with collection of the fee beginning no less than 90 days after submission. CCAP is compiling information on the counties that have adopted or intend to adopt such an ordinance, which is posted to the CCAP Transportation Funding Analysis and Resources web page and will be updated as additional information is received. A sample ordinance, FAQs and guidelines on the local use fee can also be found on the page.

BID LIMIT THRESHOLD/DA SALARIES 

The 2015 annual adjustment to both the bid limit thresholds and telephonic quote thresholds under the municipal codes, as well as the 2015 judicial salaries against which district attorney salaries are set, were published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin in December.

Acts 86 and 89 of 2011 increased the County Code and Second Class County Code bid threshold and telephonic quote threshold to $18,500 and $10,000, respectively, with an annual adjustment for inflation. The state Department of Labor and Industry advised in the Dec. 13 Pennsylvania Bulletin that the consumer price index percentage change for the prior 12-month period is 1.7 percent, and so indicated that effective Jan. 1, 2015, the new bid and telephonic quote thresholds are $19,400 and $10,500, respectively.

NACO LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE

With the increasing importance of the federal agenda, counties should make plans to attend the National Association of Counties Legislative Conference, to be held in Washington, D.C. on February 21-25, 2015. The Conference includes sessions on a broad range of federal issues. NACo's policy committees will also meet during the Conference, to develop the national county legislative work plan. This year's Conference also blocks additional time for visits to Capitol Hill. The Conference agenda and online registration information are now available on the NACo website, www.naco.org.