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Number 18
September 4, 2015

www.pacounties.org

LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN

An e-newsletter of the County Commissioners

Association of Pennsylvania

Serving Counties Since 1886

In This Issue

House Attempts Budget Line-Item Override Votes

Pennsylvania Launches Online Voter Registration

Senate Holds Hearing on Title 35 Rewrite

Wotus Rule Takes Effect Despite Court Injunction

County Resources Highlighted at Pipeline Task Force

Resolutions and Platform Revision

Requirement to Adopt 911 Resolutions

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HOUSE ATTEMPTS BUDGET LINE-ITEM OVERRIDE VOTES

Amid ongoing discussions between Republican legislative leaders and Gov. Wolf on the FY 2015-2016 state budget, the House returned for a single session day on Aug. 25. During the day's floor activities, House Republican leadership attempted to override 20 of the line items in the vetoed HB 1192, all of which failed by a vote of 115-83 (a 2/3 majority is needed to override a veto), with Republicans voting in favor and Democrats voting against. The override attempts included lines which would have provided state and federal funds for farmer's market food coupons, community-based family centers and the nurse-family partnership, as well as state funds for juvenile probation services and the State Food Purchase Program. Other lines that were part of the failed override votes contained funds for rape crisis and domestic violence programs, as well as higher education grants through PHEAA and some funding for public and private secondary schools.

Reports indicate Gov. Wolf continues to review a counter-proposal offered by Republican legislative leaders which would provide the full $400 million in basic education funding sought by the Governor, in return for changes they are seeking to the state and public school pension systems. In the meantime, the Senate will now return the week of Sept. 14, reportedly to consider stopgap legislation to provide temporary funding. While specific bills have not been introduced as of the publication of this Bulletin, Senate officials have noted the stopgap measures would seek to help many of the social services agencies and some of the schools, although the form of the stopgap proposal, including the length of time for which temporary funding would be provided, has not yet been determined. Any stopgap measure would also require the approval of the House of Representatives as well as the Governor's signature.

Without an enacted FY 2015-2016 budget, core human services programs are being impacted by delayed state payments, with the resulting cash flow issues creating slower payment to vendors, or requiring borrowing or use of reserves. CCAP continues to document these impacts on its budget impasse web page, available on the Budget News and Updates page of www.pacounties.org by clicking FY 2015-2016 Budget Impasse on the right side of the page. Counties are seeking support for critical priorities, including taking any proposed rebalancing related to child welfare lines off the table and beginning 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.

PENNSYLVANIA LAUNCHES ONLINE VOTER REGISTRATION

Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of the Commonwealth Pedro Cort�s announced on Aug. 27, in a press conference at the CCAP offices, that Pennsylvania had become the 23^rd state to offer online voter registration. Joining them for the announcement were CCAP President and Lancaster County commissioner Craig Lehman, and CCAP First Vice President and Franklin County commissioner Bob Thomas, as well as several county election directors and state legislators.

The system, hosted by the Pennsylvania Department of State, allows individuals to complete their voter registration application at www.register.votespa.com. The information is forwarded directly to the appropriate county registration office for processing. If the applicant has a driver's license or other PennDOT identification card, the signature already on record can be immediately linked to the voter record. Applicants who do not have an electronic signature on file will be able to print, sign and mail the completed application or to request a signature card be mailed to them. Voters may also update information on existing registrations, such as address or party affiliation. The system received more than 5,000 applications in its first week of operation.

Counties have supported online voter registration as a means of improving accuracy and efficiency for voters, and worked with the Department of State to assure the system has appropriate security measures. Online voter registration will also create cost savings for counties by reducing administrative overhead and the time-consuming data entry required with paper registrations.

SENATE HOLDS HEARING ON TITLE 35 REWRITE

The Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee held a hearing in Pittsburgh on Sept. 2 on the proposed rewrite of Title 35, the Emergency Management Services Law. Title 35 defines the key roles that state, county, and local governments play in emergency management and disaster preparedness. Changes in technology, new or newly-recognized hazards, and planning and communications capabilities since the law's enactment have increased the need to review and update the statute.

CCAP submitted written comments, available on www.pacounties.org under Testimony and Advocacy, which expressed support for a full revision of Title 35, including technical and practice updates, as well as incorporation of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) into state law. CCAP further recommended integration of the federally based First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), and urged the committee to consider the communications investments counties have made and how to incorporate those updates into a statewide communications approach. Allegheny County Emergency Services Chief Alvin Henderson also noted the changes

in the nature of emergency management since Title 35 was originally enacted and called for changes related to statewide interoperable emergency communications and their interaction with counties and municipalities.

PEMA Director Rick Flinn, representatives of the State Police, the state's Office of Homeland Security, and the Department of Health offered testimony, as did representatives of emergency response and municipal government. The hearing agenda and testimony is accessible on the Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee website.

WOTUS RULE TAKES EFFECT DESPITE COURT INJUNCTION

Just one day before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers' final Waters of the U.S. rule was scheduled to take effect, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction temporarily stopping the rule's implementation in at least the 13 states that filed the injunction (Pennsylvania is not included). In his Aug. 27 order, U.S. District Court of North Dakota Chief Judge Ralph Erickson cited the harm states would likely incur under the rule. However, federal courts in West Virginia and Georgia have denied similar requests for injunction, arguing that the case should be brought in the appellate court where other cases challenging the rule have been consolidated. It is unclear whether Judge Erickson's order granting the temporary injunction applies nationwide; the EPA is arguing that the preliminary injunction applies only to the 13 states involved. It is anticipated that Judge Erickson will clarify the scope of the ruling in the near future, although no such clarification had been issued at the time the Bulletin went to press. More information about the Waters of the U.S. rule can be found on NACo's online resource hub at www.naco.org/wotus.

COUNTY RESOURCES HIGHLIGHTED AT PIPELINE TASK FORCE

Several county staff shared their expertise at the second meeting of the Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP) Pipeline Infrastructure Task Force on Aug. 26. Chester County commissioner Kathi Cozzone, who serves on the Task Force and as chair of the County Government work group, told the Task Force that her work group suggested the presentation as a way to educate stakeholders on the programs and services the counties currently provide, or could provide, regarding pipeline infrastructure. Carol

Stauffer, Infrastructure and Plan Review Director for the Chester County Planning Commission, led the panel with an overview of county planning, and discussed the county's Pipeline Information Center, a central online resource for county residents and the industry to find information on all aspects of pipeline development. Cambria County GIS Director Steve Kocsis identified GIS resources and their potential at the county level to see and manage information, including the challenges of sharing that information among different levels of government. Jim Garner, District Manager for the Susquehanna County Conservation District, shared the local environmental role as it relates to natural gas pipelines. Specifically, he outlined the permitting processes in which districts may be involved, from pre-construction reviews to post-construction field inspections, as well as their role as a landowner liaison and provider of environmental education to the community.

The Task Force is to recommend a series of best practices for planning and siting pipelines to the Governor by February 2016. All materials from the Task Force's meetings are available at www.depweb.state.pa.us by clicking on "Pipeline Infrastructure Task Force."

RESOLUTIONS AND PLATFORM REVISION

Under the Association's policy procedure, resolutions were considered at the 2015 CCAP Annual Conference business meeting on Aug. 4, and then were submitted to the full CCAP membership by electronic ballot. Balloting opened on Aug. 11, and closed on Aug. 21. The resolutions amend the Pennsylvania County Platform, the Association's cumulative policy statement. The resolutions and the Platform are available on the Government Relations page of the CCAP website, www.pacounties.org.

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 (911) 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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