Following is a listing of executive and legislative action for Nov. 17 and the week of Nov. 20. Both houses of the General Assembly were in recess. The state House of Representatives was scheduled to return to session on Dec. 4. The Pennsylvania Senate was scheduled to come back to session on Dec. 11.

JUDICIARY BILLS

The state House of Representatives Judiciary Committee cleared a series of measures on Nov. 21, moving them on to the full House for consideration. Among them were the following:

• HB 983, which would amend the Domestic Relations Code to provide that a party who has been convicted of committing a personal injury crime against the other party shall not be eligible for spousal support or alimony pendente lite during the divorce process.

• HB 1644, which would codify the collaborative law process—a voluntary alternative dispute resolution process for parties that seek to have their legal matters resolved outside the courtroom, which is already used by hundreds of attorneys in the state. Its sponsor, state Rep. Kate Klunk, R-York, said it was aimed at speeding up legal processes and reducing the financial and emotional toll placed upon those involved in matters such as divorce.

• HB 1738, which would permit police officers who have undergone mandatory training and are fully certified under the Municipal Police Officers' Education and Training Act to act with full authority outside of their jurisdiction. Committee Chairman Ron Marsico, R-Dauphin, said the bill would provide additional protection to the public and other officers.

• HB 1918, which would create the new crime of possession and use of unlawful devices, relating to card skimming. The offense applies if a person, with the intent to defraud, uses or possesses a device that is designed to read and store payment card information other than for the purpose of processing the information for a financial transaction. A first offense would be graded as a felony of the third degree and a second offense is a second-degree felony.

DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION

Auditor General Eugene DePasquale on Nov. 20 said a review of the Democratic National Convention Philadelphia 2016 Host Committee's financial records faulted former Gov. Ed Rendell for failing to secure board approval before paying out more than $1 million in bonuses to staffers and interns in November 2016.

But DePasquale also said his audit showed that spending of a $10 million state grant was in accordance with the grant agreement. Because the grant agreement did not contain a specific claw-back provision, the committee is not required to pay back any of the money.

Republican leaders in the Pennsylvania Senate said in a statement the report showed their concerns about Democratic Convention spending were valid.

“It is clear from the report that former Gov. Ed Rendell made decisions regarding disbursement of bonuses that he did not have the authority to make on his own,” according to a written statement from Senate President Pro Tem Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson; Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre; and Appropriations Chairman Pat Browne, R-Lehigh. “Those decisions made by Gov. Rendell to distribute bonuses remain, at best, problematic.”

The GOP leaders also called for future grant agreements to include a claw-back provision.

ASTHMA RELIEF

State Rep. Mike Hanna, D-Clinton, on Nov. 21 announced that the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services recently added a lifesaving asthma procedure to its covered procedures under the Medical Assistance program, at his request.

In a statement carried on the state House Democratic website, Hanna said he contacted the agency in September to request MA coverage for the Alair Bronchial Thermoplasty System for asthma sufferers. The Alair System delivers controlled thermal energy to the airway wall to reduce the amount of excess smooth muscle tissue in the airways, the statement said, easing the effect of the asthma attack.

“This decision is great news for those suffering from severe asthma,” Hanna said.

ROAD INFORMATION

Less than a year after its creation, Gov. Tom Wolf on Nov. 17 announced that the initiative to provide motorists with information during long-term road closures, 511PAConnect, has earned several regional and international transportation awards.

“511PAConnect is the first initiative of its kind to link directly to a targeted group of travelers who are being impacted by, or who are approaching, a large-scale emergency,” Wolf said.

The program, in which potential long-term closures are identified and alerts are issued to motorists in a manner akin to the Amber alert system, has been recognized with four awards for innovation and transportation engineering, the Wolf administration said in a statement. •