Number 12

June 10, 2016

www.pacounties.org

Twitter: @PACountiesGR

LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN

An e-newsletter of the
County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania

The Voice of Pennsylvania Counties Since 1886

IN THIS ISSUE

Counties Reiterate Call for Timely, Adequate Budget

Governor Signs Liquor Reform Bill Into Law

PA Commissioner Testifies Before Congress on Impacts of EPA Regulations

Center for Rural PA Holds Hearing on Opioid Epidemic

IFO Releases First Quarter Natural Gas Production Report

DEP Issues Final Conservation District SOP for Chesapeake Reboot

NACo Resolutions Process

QUICK LINKS

CCAP Website

Government Relations

Contacts

717-526-1010

COUNTIES REITERATE CALL FOR TIMELY, ADEQUATE BUDGET

The 2016-2017 fiscal year begins in just three weeks, and counties are continuing to call for a timely state budget that provides appropriate revenues for county human services programs.

During a House Human Services Committee hearing on June 9, convened to look into the impacts of the recent budget impasse on non-profit organizations, Dauphin County Commissioner Jeff Haste discussed how his county managed while waiting for $30 million from the state. While relying primarily on the county's reserves to fill the gap during the six-month delay in state payments, Haste shared that Dauphin County was just days away from pursuing a $20 million Tax Anticipation Note to keep cash flow going.

Dauphin County's experience was, unfortunately, common among other counties in the commonwealth. CCAP has been surveying counties, conducting in-depth interviews with fiscal directors, commissioners, human services directors and others, and provided the Committee information on its recently released findings. That report revealed that counties needed to come up with an average of $12 million to keep programs and services running, a figure representing about 20 percent of counties' operating budgets. For most counties (about 70 percent), this required drawing down reserves, a few draining them entirely and many others just weeks or even days away.

As Haste noted, though, the impasse only compounds counties' ongoing struggle with stagnant and decreasing funding over the past decade. In particular, the ten percent cut to seven key human services line items in FY 2012-2013 has been sustained in the three fiscal years since, but all line items impacting county services have barely seen cost of living increases in more than a decade.

As a priority for 2016, counties reiterate that an impasse cannot happen again, or the challenges they experienced will only be worse the second time around - borrowing earlier, and in larger amounts, incurring greater fees and interest payments, program changes, and staff issues. It is not enough, though, that the budget be on time, it must also provide adequate funding for county human services programs, including beginning restoration of the ten percent cut as well as providing increases for human services programs generally.

To see CCAP's full report on the impacts to counties of the FY 2015-2016 budget impasse, and for more information about counties' 2016 budget priorities, please visit www.pacounties.org, and click on Government Relations. Full written testimony from the hearing can also be found at the same link.

GOVERNOR SIGNS LIQUOR REFORM BILL INTO LAW

On June 8, Gov. Wolf signed HB 1690 into law as Act 39 of 2016, allowing expanded sales of wine and beer across the commonwealth. While not impacting counties directly, the issue has for the past two years been considered one of the major topics integral to successful resolution of the state budget. The enactment of Act 39 has fueled media speculation that other high profile issues, such as state and school pension reform, could quickly advance through the General Assembly, possibly as early as the week of June 13. Movement could set the stage for agreements on other issues ancillary to budget discussions, and potentially the appropriations bill itself. Still, as of press time there has been no legislative movement on the Governor's budget proposal, nor has a legislative budget proposal been introduced.

PA COMMISSIONER TESTIFIES BEFORE CONGRESS ON IMPACTS OF EPA REGULATIONS

Berks County Commissioner Christian Leinbach testified for the National Association of Counties (NACo) on June 7 in Washington D.C., discussing the impacts of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations and unfunded mandates before the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Superfund, Waste Management and Regulatory Affairs.

In his testimony, Leinbach told the committee that many of the key functions of county government, including ownership and maintenance of public infrastructure, are affected by federal environmental regulations. As an example, he cited counties' continuing concern about the Waters of the U.S. rule, which extends federal jurisdiction over a number of county projects and functions.

Leinbach argued that increased consultation with county governments during the environmental rule-making process would create greater clarity and increase the effectiveness of federal regulations. He urged Congress to see how counties and local governments play key roles as regulators and regulated entities in the federal regulatory process, and to understand how the growing number of federal regulations and mandates has significant impacts on counties and their residents. Finally, he noted that intergovernmental consultation will help to accomplish shared goals of environmental protection, while creating rules that are more practical to implement at the local level. Leinbach's full written testimony, and a recording from the hearing, can be found at www.naco.org.

CENTER FOR RURAL PA HOLDS HEARING ON OPIOID EPIDEMIC

The Center for Rural Pennsylvania held its tenth public hearing earlier this month on the heroin and opioid epidemic. In Aliquippa (Beaver County), a diverse panel including treatment and recovery specialists, healthcare professionals, educators, and law enforcement officials shared how the crisis is hitting their residents, and offered perspectives on strategies to tackle the epidemic.

Among the testifiers were Cheryl Andrews, executive director of the Washington County Drug and Alcohol Commission, and Kate Lowery, director of the Beaver County Behavioral Health Drug and Alcohol Program. County drug and alcohol programs through Single County Authorities continue to provide invaluable input in the areas of prevention, intervention and treatment, while also working to develop key programs with community leaders and stakeholders. Potter County district attorney Andy Watson also shared his experience with starting a drug court in the county, as well as the inception of a program designed to encourage addicts to ask law enforcement officials for help getting treatment. Additional information about the hearing is available at www.rural.palegislature.us .

IFO RELEASES FIRST QUARTER NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION REPORT

During the first quarter of 2016, year-over-year production volume from horizontal wells increased by almost 13 percent, largely from a combination of increased efficiency of new wells and non-producing wells being brought online, according to a report recently released by the state's Independent Fiscal Office (IFO).

Susquehanna County remains the top producing county in the state, representing nearly one quarter of all horizontal well production. Seven of the top ten producing counties reported gains, while three counties (Bradford, Lycoming and Tioga) recorded declines. The report also highlights the trends in the number of producing wells, which are the basis for the annual impact fee levies under Act 13 of 2013. The full IFO report is available at www.ifo.state.pa.us.

Related to impact fee distributions, the state's Public Utility Commission typically releases the distribution amounts going to local governments with spud wells, and to counties via the Legacy Fund, in mid-June, and will not release details before June 15. Those impact fees and amounts, based on the number of spud wells in 2015, will be posted at www.act13-reporting.puc.pa.gov when available.

DEP ISSUES FINAL CONSERVATION DISTRICT SOP FOR CHESAPEAKE REBOOT

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently released the final Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and initial inspection form for conservation districts and the Department to follow when completing inspections as part of the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Strategy. While a total maximum daily load (TMDL) has been in place for the Chesapeake Bay for many years, requiring discharge reductions of phosphorus, nitrogen and sediment to the Bay, Pennsylvania's Departments of Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources, and Environmental Protection initiated an official "reboot" strategy earlier this year to assist in recharging efforts surrounding water quality standards in the commonwealth and the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The comprehensive strategy's aim is to provide financial and technical assistance, data collection, collaboration and enforcement in order to remain compliant with standards and provisions maintained by the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

Part of the reboot effort calls on the county conservation districts to assist with inspection and verification activities related to agricultural sources to assure they are meeting regulatory requirements. Those counties that choose to participate in the final SOP will be required to perform at least 50 initial inspections per Chesapeake Bay Technician annually to verify the existence of required written plans, record the results of the inspections, and refer those results to DEP where needed for follow-up compliance assurance or enforcement. For payment to be provided for their Chesapeake Bay Technicians, conservation districts will need to make a decision to accept the contract by July 1. DEP staff training on the final procedures is scheduled to begin in June and DEP district staff training in July, with the potential of full implementation following that July training. More details are available at www.dep.pa.gov by clicking on Chesapeake Bay Office under Top Pages.

NACO RESOLUTIONS PROCESS

The NACo resolutions process provides members with the ability to participate in national policy decisions affecting county governments by proposing changes to NACo's American County Platform or policy resolutions. If approved, changes are added to the platform for one year. Resolutions and platform changes submitted through the process will be considered at July's Annual Conference by NACo's 10 policy steering committees, its Board of Directors and its membership. All resolutions and platform changes must be submitted electronically (preferably as a Word document) via email to resolutions@naco.org by June 22. Submissions must identify the title and issue area in the email subject line.

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