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Number 17
August 21, 2015

www.pacounties.org

LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN

An e-newsletter of the County Commissioners

Association of Pennsylvania

Serving Counties Since 1886

In This Issue

Budget Negotiations Continue

Center for Rural PA Holds Hearings on Overdose Crisis

DEP Releases Latest Oil and Gas Rule Revisions

County Solid Waste Plan Final After Appeal Dropped

Oil Train Safety Report Released

Requirement to Adopt 911 Resolutions

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BUDGET NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE

Legislative leaders and the Wolf administration have held several budget meetings in the past two weeks, leading to substantive discussions on two of the major sticking points - education funding and pension reform.

Gov. Wolf offered a pension reform proposal that would cap the current pension formula for state and public school employees based on an individual's income, with benefits over the cap based on a 401(k)-based plan, and insisted on agreement to his full proposed increase of $400 million to fund public schools. Republican legislative leaders have in return offered a counter-proposal which would provide the full $400 million in basic education funding sought by the Governor, and media reports indicate they have further said they would commit to a full discussion on recurring revenues to provide that level of funding, although unlikely to be in the form of personal income or sales tax increases.

House Majority Leader Dave Reed (R-Indiana) has reportedly said that a projected $220 million in new revenue from privatization of the state's liquor store would be the first option for many in his caucus. However, the Republican leaders are seeking a full conversion of the state's pension systems to a 401(k)-style plan that would affect future state and public school employees. As of publication of this Bulletin, the Governor's office was reported to be evaluating the Republican proposal.

Without an enacted FY 2015-2016 budget, core human services programs are being impacted by delayed state payments, as the resulting cash flow issues create slower payment to vendors, or require borrowing or use of reserves. CCAP has created a web page to document these impacts, which is available by going to the Budget News and Updates page of www.pacounties.org and clicking FY 2015-2016 Budget Impasse on the right side of the page. House and Senate leaders have acknowledged the effects of the impasse on education and human services, and may look at options such as line item veto overrides or stopgap budgets, although neither is formally scheduled for consideration at this time. In addition, Gov. Wolf has announced his support for an appropriation in the FY 2015-2016 budget to reimburse school districts and small nonprofits for the interest payments they have incurred as a result of borrowing money during the budget impasse.

Counties are asking legislators and the Governor to support critical priorities, including taking any proposed rebalancing related to child welfare lines off the table. The vetoed HB 1192 budget used inaccurate funding assumptions to shift child welfare dollars, which would seriously endanger the ability of county child welfare agencies to meet the mandates that have dramatically increased as a result of recent changes to the Child Protective Services Law. CCAP members are also asking the Governor and the General Assembly, as a priority for 2015, to begin a three-year restoration, consistent with the Governor's budget proposal, of the ten percent reduction to the seven line items that are part of the Human Services Block Grant and affect core services across all 67 counties.

CENTER FOR RURAL PA HOLDS HEARINGS ON OVERDOSE CRISIS

The Center for Rural Pennsylvania recently concluded a series of hearings exploring specific legislative recommendations and programming actions that were included in its 2014 report on the commonwealth's heroin and opioid overdose crisis. Following hearings in Latrobe and Scranton in late July, the final hearing was held in York County on Aug. 18. Jack Carroll, executive director for the Cumberland-Perry Drug and Alcohol Commission, was among a number of experts testifying at the hearing. He discussed the need to reverse the current trend of increased availability of opioid pain medications, as well as to increase access to a full continuum of substance abuse treatment and recovery support services. Carroll also encouraged wider availability of anti-overdose rescue medication to first responders and community partners. Act 139 of 2014 allowed for increased access to Naloxone, a rescue drug that can reverse the effects of a drug overdose, and its administration by medical service providers, law enforcement, and friends and family of someone suffering from an overdose. Numerous other state and local officials spoke to the need for treatment and education, and praised Act 139, which also offers immunity from prosecution for individuals who transport a person experiencing a drug overdose or report in good faith a drug overdose in order to access medical attention.

Counties recognize the growing number of Pennsylvanians suffering from heroin and opioid addiction and have chosen the prevention of substance abuse and drug overdose as a legislative priority for 2015. Additional information about the hearings can be found on the Center for Rural Pennsylvania web site and testimony can be found on Center chair Sen. Gene Yaw's web site by clicking on the "Combating the Heroin Epidemic" button.

DEP RELEASES LATEST OIL AND GAS RULE REVISIONS

The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has released its draft final revisions to its rulemaking related to oil and gas operations, including separate regulations for both conventional and non-conventional wells. The amendments to the oil and gas regulations address surface activities at well sites, focusing on protection of water resources and public health and safety, as well as improving data management. The rulemaking also expands the review of impacts operators must conduct to include public resources, and requires identification of active, inactive, orphan and abandoned wells. After the latest round of public comment in spring 2015, DEP made two significant changes to the draft regulation, deciding to use other measures to address provisions for noise mitigation and centralized storage tanks for wastewater.

While originally drafted as one regulation that applied to both conventional and non-conventional wells, the revised draft was divided into separate chapters with the intent of differentiating the unique characteristics of development related to each. DEP also created two distinct advisory boards, focusing the previously existing Oil and Gas Technical Advisory Board (TAB) on the unconventional industry and adding the Conventional Oil and Gas Advisory Committee (COGAC). The rulemaking will be discussed at upcoming meetings of both the TAB and COGAC. The proposed amendments can be viewed at www.depweb.state.pa.us by clicking on the Oil and Gas Rulemaking button.

COUNTY SOLID WASTE PLAN FINAL AFTER APPEAL DROPPED

Waste Management of Pennsylvania Inc. has dropped its pending appeal of Commonwealth Court's approval of Clearfield County's municipal waste plan revision, making the Court's approval administratively final and no longer subject to any kind of challenge in state court.

Waste Management had originally appealed DEP's approval of the County's revised plan to the Environmental Hearing Board (EHB), claiming that the county's solicitation of proposals that would provide voluntary financial and/or programmatic support of the county recycling program violated a 2005 Commonwealth Court decision that Act 101 did not give counties authority to impose administrative fees. In its Jan. 8 decision in Waste Management of Pennsylvania, Inc. v PA DEP and Clearfield County, the Court agreed with the EHB's finding that the prior case law spoke only of mandatory fees unilaterally imposed by counties, and held that Act 101 contemplates some local financial assistance not restricted to public sources. Of note, the Court wrote in its opinion that Act 101 treats "avoided program costs" (which are specifically referenced in the statute) different from "local recycling fees" (which are not specifically referenced in the statute), and concluded that Act 101 allows any municipality, including counties, to attempt to avoid program costs as a means of funding recycling programs. Further, the Court noted, Act 101 is designed to allow counties to utilize the capabilities of private enterprise in accomplishing the objectives of an effective, comprehensive solid waste plan.

OIL TRAIN SAFETY REPORT RELEASED

Gov. Wolf recently released a report focused on the safety of Pennsylvanians and protecting people from the potential of Bakken crude oil train derailments. Written by Dr. Allen Zarembski, an internationally recognized expert in the area of railway track and structures, the report notes that as the volume of crude by rail (CBR) shipments has increased in past years, safety concerns have also increased, particularly where rail lines go through more populated areas. Dr. Zarembski presented 27 recommendations for reducing the risk of a CBR incident by addressing derailment risk, tank car breach/rupture risk and regulatory oversight. Several recommendations address the role of local governments in emergency planning and response, such as coordinating full-scale emergency response exercises, implementing emergency response plans for all communities along the rail lines, and obtaining an inventory of emergency response resources.

In June, Lancaster County commissioner Scott Martin and Lancaster County emergency management director Randy Gockley offered similar recommendations during a joint hearing of the Senate Transportation and Environmental Resources and Energy Committees, based on their experiences with planning, training and response to a hazardous material release such as crude oil unit train incidents. The written testimony offered by Martin and Gockley can be found on CCAP's Government Relations web page by clicking on Testimony and Advocacy.

REQUIREMENT TO ADOPT 911 RESOLUTIONS

Act 12 of 2015, the comprehensive amendments to the 911 Emergency Communications Act, requires counties to adopt a resolution "authorizing acceptance of the funds." Public notice must be given of the intent to adopt the resolution, and the adopted resolution is to be forwarded to PEMA. Counties that have not already done so should be sure to take action by the end of September at the latest. A more detailed explanation, a sample resolution, and filing instructions are available in the 911 Sample Resolution on Receipt of Funds document on the CCAP 911 Funding and System Reform web page.

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