Legislative update: Review recently introduced legislation
Rep. Carol Hill-Evans March 9, 2021 | 12:56 PM
To keep you informed, I am highlighting recently introduced bills this term that I will be following closely. I broke them down into categories so you can find your specific interests and provided short descriptions that the bill’s sponsor has claimed. If you click on the link for the bill number, you can find out more information about the bill. If you would like to advocate for the bill, follow the link, then click on the link for what committee the bill has been assigned to. This will bring up information about the Chairs and other members of that committee who you can contact and advocate for or against the bill.
Unemployment and Workforce
HB535 would make the expansion of the Department of Labor and Industry’s Unemployment Compensation Department an automatic process upon the enactment of an Emergency Disaster Order. The sponsor believes this legislation is needed to correct the year-long issues of our offices receiving numerous complaints and concerns from constituents who have not received their unemployment compensation, or their compensation is being held up for reasons of which they are unaware.
HB530 would require employers to give eligible parents eight hours of unpaid leave per year to attend school-related activities. Also, if a parent has a child with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or a child with a disability, they will receive an additional four hours of unpaid leave. With this legislation the sponsor hopes to capitalize on research showing students with engaged parents or other caregivers earn higher grades and test scores, have better social skills, and show improved behavior.
HR53 would create a bipartisan, bicameral legislative commission composed of experts who can gather information about problems in the Unemployment Compensation system and identify solutions. Our legislative offices continue to receive calls and emails every day from constituents who have applied for unemployment compensation but never received their checks. Millions of Pennsylvanians have lost their jobs during this pandemic through no fault of their own, and the sponsor of the resolution believes it is unacceptable that so many people are being forced to wait weeks or months with no payments and no answers.
HB549 makes the following changes to the UC Law:
- Permanently eliminates the “waiting week” that makes claimants ineligible for benefits during the first week of unemployment.
- Eliminates credit weeks from the process of verifying income, which too regularly causes delays in benefits and confusion amongst employers and claimants.
- Eliminates severance pay requirements to minimize the occurrence of claims being sent to UC examiners for review, which further delays claims processing.
- Streamlines the Shared Work Program to help claimants access benefits in a timelier manner.
Business
HB537 would create a $50 million grant program for our smallest businesses, which make no more than $3 million in gross annual receipts or employ up to 30 full-time employees. This legislation works under the idea that it is essential for the Commonwealth to put extra support towards ensuring ultra-small businesses can make it through these tough times and continue.
HB538 would provide grants, not loans, to eligible bars, restaurants, and catering and banquet halls that are struggling, focusing the aid on the smaller community businesses that need the help more right now, rather than chains and national conglomerates. This legislation would utilize the Rainy-Day Fund because these restaurants need help now, and the consequences for our state will be much worse if they go under.
Criminal Justice
HB533 would create a County Independent Citizens Law Enforcement Review Board comprised of members who reflect the geographic and cultural diversity of the county. The board would be authorized to investigate selected local police misconduct complaints and establish mediation programs or conduct public hearings, subpoena witnesses, etc. Basing the legislation on the benefits of citizen participation in government, this legislation is like the role a jury plays in a trial. An independent review board would allow the people to decide when unjustifiable actions have been committed by the police, instead of an internal investigation.
HB580 would expand the list of offenses where an expert may testify about the dynamics of sexual and domestic violence. The sponsor believes this legislation is necessary because of amendments to existing offenses and the creation of additional offenses (human trafficking) in the Crimes Code. Additionally, they believe such testimony is critical in these types of cases as it assists the trier of fact in understanding the complex nature of victim behavior, including the reasons victims often refrain from reporting their experiences to law enforcement and continue to remain in contact with their abuser.
Education
HB539 would bring back and make permanent at least five Governor’s Schools of Excellence in fields that may include agricultural sciences, engineering and technology, sciences, arts, or other disciplines, at institutions of higher education geographically dispersed throughout the Commonwealth and selected on a competitive basis. This program ran in PA between 1973 and 2009 and then again in 2014-2015. The tuition-free program provides talented and motivated high school students with the opportunity to challenge themselves academically and develop critical leadership skills.
HB541 would require that each school entity’s professional education plan include a program to be completed annually by all professional educators and other employees of the school entity that provides training in bullying awareness, prevention, and intervention, including training related to the school entity’s bullying policy required under current law. In addition, my bill would require each professional educator employed by a school entity to complete annual training in bullying awareness, prevention, and intervention.
HB560 would promote a veteran-friendly educational environment to assist veterans and returning deployed military in attaining a degree from a higher educational institution.
Property
HB559 would require mortgage lenders to maintain foreclosed properties and prevent them from becoming a blight on communities.
HB581 would give local authorities a menu of options to pass tax abatements or exemptions for the creation or improvements of affordable housing. This legislation seeks to remedy places in counties like York where only 28 people out of 100 will get the affordable housing they need.
Seniors
HB565 would prohibit a landlord from required to pay any portion of his or her rent rebate received to the landlord or the landlord’s representative. This legislation seeks to allow seniors and those with disabilities to keep all the funds they are entitled to under the Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program.
HB564 would help protect senior citizens from being exploited by a designated power of attorney. Specifically, my bill broadens the definition of "exploitation" under the Older Adults Protective Services Act to include an individual acting under a power of attorney.
HB563 would delay for a given amount of time county and municipality ability to claim and sell properties with delinquent real estate taxes that belong to senior citizens. The intent of this legislation is to provide senior citizens with additional time to pay off their property tax liabilities, and, over the long term, help keep senior citizens in their homes.
Health
HB575 would provide further immunity to an individual or organization who, in good faith, acquires and administers naloxone. This legislation, modeled after protections that cover those who administer Automated External Defibrillators (AED), seeks to be a mechanism to apply another lifesaving measure, encouraging individuals who are with someone experiencing a potential overdose to help prevent serious injury or death.
HR54 would recognize discrimination as a public health issue. This issue became clearer in Pennsylvania when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Civil Rights instructed Pennsylvania to retract and revise existing crisis standards of care because they illegally discriminated against some disabled Pennsylvanians. In several states, disabled people and people of color who have tested positive for COVID-19 have died preventable deaths after being denied care or turned away from hospitals.
Environment
HB579 would create a beverage bottle and can deposit program in Pennsylvania. This proposal would include a redemption rate of five cents on returnable containers and a handling fee of two cents per container for retailers and redemption centers to help cover their costs associated with the handling and storage of returnable containers. Additionally, any unclaimed or abandoned deposits forfeited by consumers would be deposited into the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund.