OPIOID CRISIS

The Wolf administration on Jan. 23 released a statement announcing the launch of a new interactive data report system to gather information on opioid prescriptions and drug overdoses.

According to the statement, the data collection is aimed at helping the state's newly established Opioid Operational Command Center identify communities that are experiencing spikes in overdoses.

On Jan. 10, Gov. Tom Wolf declared a statewide disaster emergency and established an Opioid Operational Command Center with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.

“In my disaster declaration, I created the Opioid Operational Command Center to be able to track this type of data so communities in need can get help in real-time,” Wolf said in the Jan. 23 statement. “We know that there are times when overdoses spike because of tainted heroin on the streets. This tool will help the Command Center respond quickly with every resource the state can provide.”

Also on Jan. 23, state House of Representatives Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, and other Republican lawmakers outlined a legislative initiative to combat the overprescription of opioids to injured Pennsylvania workers.

“We need to stop addiction before it begins, and this measure will further ensure the state is meeting that goal,” Turzai said at a Capitol press conference, according to a release on the House GOP caucus website.

HB 18, written by state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh, would require the Department of Labor and Industry to adopt changes to the official state list of medicines, known as formularies, that may be prescribed for those within the workers' compensation system.

“The new lists, created by doctors, could reduce over-prescription of opioid painkillers by setting evidence-based standards for the medication that can be prescribed for a workers' compensation patient,” Mackenzie said. “The lists of permissible medication would be continually updated and made available online for the general public to view.”

If HB 18 or its Senate counterpart are enacted, Pennsylvania will join 21 states that have made similar changes to the lists that are used in most types of health care payment systems.

 

BILLS APPROVED

 

The House on Jan. 24 sent to Wolf two bills:

• SB 497, which would eliminate steel slag from the definition of waste under the Solid Waste Management Act, when it is being sold in the stream of commerce, where it can be used in construction, was approved unanimously by the House.

• SB 542, which would allow greater freedom for pharmacists to dispense 30-day emergency prescription refills, was also approved by the House on a unanimous vote.

The measures now await Wolf's signature to become law.

FEWER LAWMAKERS

The House State Government Committee, on a 14-10 vote, has advanced two bills that would reduce the size of each chamber of the General Assembly.

HB 153, sponsored by state Rep. Jerry Knowles, R-Schuylkill, would reduce the size of the House to 151 representatives from the current 203. HB 253, sponsored by state Rep. Rob W. Kauffman, R-Franklin, would reduce the size of the Pennsylvania Senate to 38 senators from the current 50. House Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana, said each measure would advance to the whole House for consideration within weeks.

“Since 2012, I have voted to shrink the size of the legislature and continue our work to right-size Pennsylvania's government as folks tell us they want,” Reed said. “Using today's communications tools, we can ensure everyone across the state has a strong voice in the House.”

With 203 members, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the second largest in the country.

As a constitutional measure, the bills must be debated and approved in two consecutive sessions and then approved in a ballot measure by Pennsylvania voters. HB 153, the House reduction bill, was approved by both Houses in the previous session of the General Assembly. HB 253, the Senate reduction bill, has not been previously approved.

“My goal is to let our bosses, the people of Pennsylvania, make the final decision about the size of its state House,” Knowles said. “The best-case scenario is that people will be able to vote on this in the general election.”

PRISON POPULATION 

Wolf announced on Jan. 22 that the number of inmates in the Pennsylvania state prison system dropped for the fourth consecutive calendar year, according to new statistics released by the Department of Corrections (DOC).

In 2017, the total DOC inmate population dropped from 49,301 to 48,438, a decrease of 863 inmates, or 1.8 percent, over 2016.

“The 2017 calendar year reduction represents the single largest year-over-year decrease of inmate population on record,” Wolf said. “I am pleased that our efforts and initiatives are making a measurable difference in improving our prison population numbers, while reducing crime, supporting those reentering our communities, and lowering costs.”

After decades of growth that more than doubled the number of prisons in Pennsylvania, the inmate population has declined by 6.4 percent, or 3,319 inmates, since June 2012, allowing for the 2017 closure of SCI Pittsburgh and accompanying significant cost savings.

ANIMAL WELFARE 

Wolf on Jan. 24 ​celebrated​ Pennsylvania's improved status as a haven for animals in rankings by animal advocacy groups.

The ​Animal Legal Defense Fund​ on Jan. 18 issued a ​report​ lauding Pennsylvania as the nation's most-improved state for guaranteeing animal welfare.

“​Pennsylvania is the most-improved state this year, jumping 20 places up to number 24. This achievement is thanks to major improvements like a new felony provision for first-time offenders of aggravated animal cruelty (including torture), and granting civil immunity to veterinarians who report suspected animal abuse,” a press release from the organization said.
Both the Humane Society of the United States and the ALDF reported that Pennsylvania's Act 10 of 2017, the animal abuse overhaul package that Wolf signed into law in June 2017, was a key reason why Pennsylvania's rankings improved.

“With the signing of Act 10 of 2017, we began to hold our pet and animal owners to a higher standard of humanity,” Wolf said in a statement. “Recognition of Pennsylvania's efforts by the Humane Society and Animal Legal Defense Fund confirms that my administration, our General Assembly, and strong advocates worked well together to establish laws that protect the pets and animals we love and whose care we have been entrusted with.”

For the 10th year in a row, Illinois was ranked first for animal protection by the ALDF report.
Pennsylvania's position moved up from number 18 to 15 on the Humane Society of the United States' ​Humane State Rankings​, released in December 2017.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Clean-energy advocates and lawmakers gathered in Pittsburgh on Jan. 25 to tout a legislative plan aimed at reducing carbon emissions, according to a press release from environmental watchdog group PennFuture.

SB 15, named the Pennsylvania Climate Change Mitigation Act, would direct the state Department of Environmental Protection to reduce statewide greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2025. That goal is in line with the international Paris Climate Agreement of 2016.

Pennsylvania Sen. Jay Costa, D-Allegheny, the Democratic leader in the state Senate, said the measure was in response to President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the accord.
“When President Trump announced he was withdrawing the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement last year, he was wrong to say that he did so to represent Pittsburgh, not Paris,” Costa said. “Those of us who actually represent Pittsburgh reject the president's defeatist position and we know that taking action to ensure a healthy, safe and prosperous future by tackling climate change is actually in the best interest of our constituents. Where our federal government is failing to lead on this issue, we will do so.”

The legislation, PennFuture said in its release, does not prescribe a particular approach, but rather allows the state government to determine the lowest-cost and most efficient policies to meet the emission reduction goals.

Pennsylvania ranks third among states for the emission of carbon pollution. •