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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 27, 2009

Senate Weekly Session Wrap

Important Harrisburg Happenings:

Senate Approves Permanent "Do Not Call" List Legislation

As part of its activities during the session week of April 20, the Senate approved legislation that would allow permanent listings on Pennsylvania's "Do Not Call" list, according to Senator Pat Browne (R-16).

Senate Bill 304, co-sponsored by Senator Browne, amends the Telemarketer Registration Act to extend the time for a listing on a "do not call list" from the minimum of five years from the date of enrollment to being maintained on a permanent listing, or until the subscriber requests to have his telephone number removed from the list.

The Senate unanimously approved SB 304 and sent it to the House of Representatives for consideration.

The "Do Not Call" Registry has been extremely popular among consumers, who were tired of unwanted and intrusive calls. In 2002, Pennsylvanians were first given the opportunity to avoid these calls by registering for the "Do Not Call" list. More than one million citizens registered in a single two-week period that year, and millions more have registered through the past few years.

To register a home or cell phone number on the "Do Not Call" List, please visit www.nocallsplease.com.

Other bills Approved by the Senate During the Session Week of April 20 Include:

Senate Bill 123 would make it a crime to distribute Spyware to a computer without the user's consent or knowledge.  Spyware is a term for a computer program that gathers information through the user's Internet connection and transmits it to a third party.  This information, which includes passwords and personal identification numbers, can be used to commit fraud.

Senate Bill 237, a bill co-sponsored by Senator Browne, would enact a new article in the Insurance Company Law to regulate the purchase or exchange of an annuity based on recommendations made to a consumer by an insurer. The bill also ensures that information filed by stock and mutual insurance companies, associations and exchanges remains confidential.

Senate Bill 464, Senator Browne's Volunteer Continuing Medical Education Act, would allow physicians, dentists, dental hygienists, nurses or certified registered nurse practitioners to apply volunteer time served in a community-based health care clinic towards the completion of no more than 20 percent of their mandatory continuing education hours required by their individual licensure boards.

"I want to thank my colleagues for their support of this bill and I hope that it will be warmly received by the House of Representatives. This is a win-win-win option for the state, for health care professionals and for those who will use the services offered by those clinics," Senator Browne said. "Pennsylvania's taxpayers will gain since this process would limit the cost burden of those clinics. Health care professionals can apply their skills in an environment where they may truly encounter situations, cases and circumstances that they might not normally see in the daily routines of their individual practices and hospitals. And, in turn, the benefit to patients is readily apparent as they will be treated by experienced professionals."

Gaming reform bills announced

On Wednesday, April 22, 2009, a bipartisan group of Senators unveiled a wide-ranging package of reform bills intended to more tightly regulate the gaming industry and provide greater accountability and transparency.

Senator Browne is the prime sponsor of Senate Bill 761, legislation amending the definition of slot machine in Act 71 of 2004 to specifically and clearly prohibit virtual blackjack and virtual roulette games in all licensed casino establishments in Pennsylvania.

Senator Browne said his bill addresses questions as to how the current law, which permits video poker machines in licensed gaming venues, would be applicable to virtual games.

"What I believe is that casino patrons simply will not differentiate between virtual games and the live table versions.  This runs totally counter to what was intended in Act 71 of 2004. There was absolutely no ambiguity surrounding the General Assembly's opposition to table gaming as part of gaming expansion in the Commonwealth," Senator Browne said. "Senate Bill 761 will close that loophole once and for all and ensure that the intentions of Act 71 regarding table games are upheld."

Among the measures in the reform package are bills to more tightly regulate the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, protect against conflicts of interest and prevent criminals from obtaining gaming licenses.  Other measures would put the State Police or Attorney General in charge of licensing investigations, rather than the Gaming Board, and establish tighter financial suitability rules for license applicants.  The bills would also require detailed audits and crack down on transportation costs.

The other bills in the package include:

Senate Resolution 82 – Directs the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to conduct a review of the operating costs of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board and compares these costs to other state gaming oversight bodies.

Senate Bill 578– Creates a Division of Gaming Enforcement under the Attorney General to investigate licensees, decreases the number of board members from seven to five, and limits their outside employment and makes other reforms to the licensing and permit process.

Senate Bill 582 – Prohibits the use of state funds for the relocation of licensed facilities.

Senate Bill 583 – Prohibits any person with an interest in a gaming license to be appointed by the Governor to any other board or commission in the state.

Senate Bill 734 – Requires a monthly win/loss statement be sent to enrollees in casino rewards or complimentary programs.

Senate Bill 805 – consists of several reforms and measures including:

• Gaming Board members – full time/no outside income.
• Provides for two-thirds confirmation of Gaming Board members.
• Removal of direct appeals to the Supreme Court.
• Removes the oral hearing exception to the Administrative Agency Law.
• Confidentiality of information.
• Slot operations in the City of Philadelphia – riparian rights.
• Affirms Board's Powers and Rights in Default or Failure of a Licensee.
• Requires true information on controlling interests in gaming facilities.
• Prohibits Co-mingling of prosecutorial and adjudicatory functions. Would require the Board to adopt additional administrative regulations ensuring this separation.
• Provides for stronger enforcement of ethics and related issues.
• Prohibits employment in the gaming industry of gaming board officials for two years.

Senate Bill 806 -- Bans all felons from being licensed or allowed to provide services to a licensed entity.

Senate Bill 807 – Allows for the disclosure and consideration of expunged criminal records.

Senate Bill 808 – Statutorily provides for personnel policies regarding the hiring and the conduct of employees, and dismissal for certain behaviors.

Senate Bill 809 – Requires the establishment of procedures and remedies upon default of a licensee, and for forfeiture of slot machine license fees.

Senate Bill 810 – Requires an annual report by the Auditor General on the amounts and uses of the distributions from the State Gaming Fund and the Gaming Economic Development and Tourism Fund, in addition to an internal audit of the expenses and revenues of the board

Senate Bill 811 – Prohibits use of leased vehicles.

Senate Bill 812 – Expands the current ban on campaign contributions to make sure licensees can't use their paid lobbyists to make campaign contributions and expands the restriction on political contributions by gaming entities to include former candidates for office.

Senate Bill 813 – Requires prospective employees of the board to agree, as a condition of employment, that the employee shall not accept employment with any affiliate, intermediary, subsidiary or holding company of a gaming entity, for a period of two years.

Senate Committee Report:

Appropriations Committee Approves Government Disclosure Bills

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill introduced by Senator Browne increasing public access to state spending records. The Committee also approved a legislative package intended to increase disclosure and reporting requirements for environmental protection programs.

Senate Bill 105, commonly known as the Taxpayer Transparency Act, would direct the Office of the Budget to create and maintain a searchable budget database-driven website that the public can access, for free, to obtain:

• Information on grants and contracts provided by government agencies.  All transactions above $25,000 would be accessible to the public;
• Agency performance indicators and quarterly performance results compared to these indicators.

"My proposal is a follow-up to government reform measures already approved by the General Assembly and the rules adopted by the Senate. We have taken major steps to improve the way we disclose information to the residents of the Commonwealth.  I feel that this legislation is another important and essential movement in that direction," Senator Browne said.

The Appropriations Committee also approved a four-bill package, cosponsored by Senator Browne, addressing various state environmental protection programs:

Senate Bill 115 requires the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to post and maintain all clean air State Implementation Plans on its website, and to provide the same to the standing Senate and House oversight committees. The State Implementation Plans are the Commonwealth's formal submittals to the Environmental Protection Agency detailing how the Commonwealth will comply with various air quality standards.  This legislation would ensure that the plans are readily available for public and legislative review and comment.

Senate Bill 116 requires the DEP to annually compile a comprehensive report on all of the special funds and restricted accounts that it administers.

Senate Bill 117 requires state agencies which receive funding under the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund Act (Key '93) to submit annual reports to the governor and General Assembly – including descriptions of projects and amounts requested – and post the information online.

Senate Bill 118 requires the DEP to deposit any Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act-related fine money into the HSCA fund. Any business which causes a hazardous spill or release is obligated under the HSCA statute to pay 100 percent of recovery and cleanup costs, and is also liable for significant fines.

The Appropriations Committee also approved legislation co-sponsored by Senator Browne to establish a special review board to arbitrate coal bed methane well disputes.

Senate Bill 275 calls for the creation of a three-member Coal Bed Methane Review Board to consider objections and attempt to reach an agreement on issues such as the location of coal bed methane wells and/or access roads. Currently, disputes between surface land owners and the holders of mineral rights for those properties are often resolved in county courts of common pleas.

Finance Committee OKs expanded check-off box option

The Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Senator Browne, approved legislation at its Wednesday meeting allowing charitable contributions to be added to income tax remittance payments.

Senate Bill 165, co-sponsored by Senator Browne, would allow taxpayers to make a contribution to Breast and Cervical Cancer Research, Wild Resource Conservation, the Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Trust Fund, Juvenile Diabetes Cure Research and Military Family Relief Assistance when they are remitting payment due for taxes at the time of filing their state income tax forms. Current law only allows a "check off" donation to these charities when a refund is due to the taxpayer.

Senate Bill 207 would require that employers notify all employees that they may be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) within one week of the time that the employer provides an annual wage summary, including a form W-2 or a form 1099 to any employee.

Senate Bill 601, introduced by Senator Browne, amends the Local Tax Enabling Act, to clarify when a political subdivision may levy a business privilege tax. "This bill addresses questions that have arisen as a result of a December 2007 Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision in which the Court reversed its previous position that a municipality cannot tax an entity that lacks a permanent base of operations within its borders," Senator Browne said. "As a result, there is now some ambiguity with respect to a local taxing jurisdiction's ability to tax any business contained within it."

Contact:

Matt Moyer
(610) 366-2327