CCAP Trademarked Logo

Number 23
November 13, 2015

www.pacounties.org

LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN

An e-newsletter of the County Commissioners

Association of Pennsylvania

Serving Counties Since 1886

In This Issue

Budget Deal Coming Together?

Counties Call for Priorities in State Budget

Housing Trust Fund Bill Signed Into Law

Senate Approves Open Records Update

Federal Highway Transportation Funding Bill

U.S. Senate Approves Measure to Block Wotus Rule

CCAP Fall Conference Activities

Quick Links

CCAP Website

Government Relations

Contacts

:: 717-526-1010

BUDGET DEAL COMING TOGETHER?

As the Bulletin goes to press, media reports over the past week have continued to indicate that a budget deal between legislative leaders and the Governor could be approaching in the near future.

According to those reports, a framework for a FY 2015-2016 budget agreement has begun to take shape that would provide revenues to address the state's structural deficit, provide a $350 million increase in basic education funding and move forward on school property tax relief. To address the budget gap and provide additional education funding, approximately $200 million is reported to be earmarked from a liquor privatization plan whose details are still being determined. Further, the plan would transfer $600 million annually from the existing gaming proceeds that are now directed toward school property tax reductions, and may include some structural changes to the state and school pension systems. In addition, reports indicate that an increase in the state sales tax from six percent to 7.25 percent is part of the framework, seeking to generate $2 billion in revenue that would be used as dollar-for-dollar reductions in school property taxes. Other potential revenue sources remain on the table, such as an expansion of gambling to internet gaming, or increases in cigarette taxes, but it appears that as of this writing a severance tax is not part of the framework.

Many details must still be worked out within this framework, through dozens of pieces of legislation. Still, leaders have told the media that their goal is to have a budget in place by Thanksgiving or shortly thereafter. A general fund appropriations bill, HB 1460, has been scheduled for consideration in the House the week of Nov. 16, as has tentative consideration of a school property tax elimination bill in the Senate. A liquor privatization bill is also set for committee consideration. Additional information will continue to be provided on CCAP's Budget News and Updates web page as it becomes available.

COUNTIES CALL FOR PRIORITIES IN STATE BUDGET

With the immediacy of budget consideration, counties continue to press three critical asks for the FY 2015-2016 budget. First, it is unclear whether the children and youth rebalancing initiative, contained in the vetoed HB 1192, has potential for inclusion in the final version. By failing to directly appropriate fourth quarter funding, rebalancing violates children and youth statutory requirements and prevents counties from being able to plan for a full year of funding even as they deal with increased caseloads from the recent changes to child protection laws. Rebalancing's failure to provide predictable levels of funding will make it difficult to contract for services, to budget, and ultimately to serve Pennsylvania's children and families, and must not be a part of the budget solution.

Second, as a priority for 2015, counties call for restoration of the 10 percent reduction to the seven line items that are included in the Human Services Block Grant, which affect core human service programs for all counties whether part of the Block Grant or not. This call is consistent with the Governor's March proposal, which included the first year of a three-year restoration, at $28 million for FY 2015-2016.

Third, the budget delay, likely extending five months, has caused counties to implement local fiscal strategies to assure county residents have access to the important human services programs they need. CCAP is documenting the strategies being used to mitigate the impacts of the impasse on its FY 2015-2016 Budget Impasse page of www.pacounties.org. The strain of meeting cash flow and service demands is already at crisis proportions, and in many cases counties have incurred direct costs such as interest on borrowed funds, interest and fees on payment delays to providers, and foregone interest earnings on funds drawn from reserves, all of which are a cost to taxpayers. As part of the FY 2015-2016 budget, counties seek reimbursement for these costs.

HOUSING TRUST FUND BILL SIGNED INTO LAW

On Nov. 4, Gov. Wolf signed HB 792 into law as Act 58 of 2015. The Act provides additional funding for the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement (PHARE) Fund, which is also referred to as the state Housing Trust Fund. Prior to Act 58, PHARE was funded through Act 13 impact fees and accessible only to counties impacted by shale gas drilling. Counties that have received PHARE funding have seen significant benefit, and have been able to implement innovative programs that have expanded affordable, accessible housing options. The money is often used for rehabilitation, blight demolition, and rental assistance.

Act 58 expands the Housing Trust Fund statewide, and directs any state realty transfer tax revenue receipts in excess of what was budgeted for the fiscal year to the Fund. Of those revenues, 40 percent of the money would go to the Housing Trust Fund and the remaining 60 percent would go to the General Fund. The realty transfer tax is not increased as a result of Act 58, nor is it otherwise redistributing budgeted realty transfer tax revenues.

A full list of the 2015 Acts that impact county government can be found on the CCAP website under Government Relations/Legislation.

SENATE APPROVES OPEN RECORDS UPDATE

Legislation to update the state's Open Records Law was unanimously approved by the Senate in late October. Senate Bill 411, sponsored by Sen. Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware), would clarify several aspects of the Open Records Law based on experiences and court decisions since the law originally took effect in 2008. For instance, SB 411 would specify which records may be requested by inmates as they relate to themselves and their incarceration, while limiting other inmate requests. The bill would also allow agencies to charge reasonable fees for processing commercial requests, and expand the definition of local agency to include economic development authorities and industrial development authorities. In addition, SB 411 would clarify that if a requested public record exists in a specific computer file format, it must be provided in that format, as well as make changes to the time frame for the appeal process.

An amendment offered by Sen. Michele Brooks (R-Mercer) was adopted on the Senate floor by a 26-23 vote, and later clarified by a Sen. Andrew Dinniman (D-Chester) amendment, to provide additional exemptions for the home address of an employee of a commonwealth, judicial, legislative or local agency. The legislation now goes to the House for consideration.

FEDERAL HIGHWAY TRANSPORTATION FUNDING BILL

Work on a multi-year federal highway funding package continues to move forward ahead of the Nov. 20 expiration of the current surface transportation law known as MAP-21. In early November, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform (STRR) Act of 2015, introduced by Pennsylvania Rep. Bill Shuster, who serves as the chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The STRR Act would authorize $325 billion in spending over a six-year period, with $261 billion dedicated to highways and $55 billion for transit. However, the bill provides funding only for the first three years, directing Congress to determine in the future how to fund the final three years. The House approved the legislation by a 363-64 vote, with all members of the Pennsylvania delegation voting in favor.

The House must now negotiate a final transportation reauthorization bill with the Senate, which passed its own surface transportation bill, the Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy (DRIVE) Act, on July 30. The DRIVE Act similarly authorizes six years of funding, but only pays for three; the Senate bill does not, though, include a trigger requiring Congress to find a way to pay for the final three years.

Counties have long supported a multi-year solution to federal transportation and infrastructure funding. Additional information on the STRR and DRIVE acts are available on NACo's website.

U.S. SENATE APPROVES MEASURE TO BLOCK WOTUS RULE

After failing to advance a bill that would undo the Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) regulation, the U.S. Senate approved a bill on Nov. 4 to block the rule instead. The Senate's first attempt to oppose the final WOTUS rule came through S. 1140, which would have withdrawn the rule and required the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to restart the rule-making process, specifically including state and local government input. Additionally, the bill includes a set of principles the agencies should consider when rewriting the rule, including the types of ditches that should be exempt. However, a procedural vote on S. 1140 failed to get the 60 votes needed, coming three votes shy with a 57-41 vote.

Instead, by a 53-44 vote, the Senate approved a resolution (S.J.Res. 22) under the Congressional Review Act that allows a simple majority to disapprove of any regulation without a 60-vote threshold. The resolution would also prevent the EPA from ever writing "a new rule that is substantially the same" as the one that is blocked.

Pa. Senator Pat Toomey voted in favor of both S. 1140 and S.J.Res. 22, while Pa. Senator Bob Casey voted against both. President Obama has already indicated his opposition to the resolution, making it unlikely that it would ever take effect. However, a federal appeals court has ordered the EPA and Corps to temporarily delay the nationwide adoption of the WOTUS rule.

CCAP FALL CONFERENCE ACTIVITIES

CCAP policy committee members will meet Nov. 22 in conjunction with the CCAP Fall Conference, Nov. 22 to 24 at the Hotel Hershey, to develop their 2016 work plans and to set legislative and policy priorities for 2016. A date for the formal announcement of the priorities at the State Capitol will also be finalized during the conference. The Conference also includes a membership voting session on Tuesday, Nov. 24. The agenda includes votes on the Association's 2016 action plan and 2016 dues schedule. The voting information will be emailed to the membership in advance of the Conference.

About Us Terms of Service Privacy Policy