SCHOOL SAFETY

The Pennsylvania Senate Education Committee announced on Feb. 28 that it planned to hold a hearing two days later to “focus on ways to improve student and school safety.” The session was set to be chaired by Sen. John Eichelberger, R-Blair.

The hearing is set to take place 13 days before the next regularly scheduled meeting of the panel. The press statement did not include a list of witnesses but said there will be testimony on the subject of protecting students.

The fatal mass-shooting incident at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14 has focused national attention on school safety. According to a report on the PennLive.com website, arming school employees may get a renewed push in Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania Senate last year approved SB 383, that would give school districts discretion to allow employees to carry firearms on the job. That measure advanced to the state House of Representatives, where it sits in committee.

PUBLIC HEALTH

State Rep. Kathy Rapp, R-Warren, has been named chairwoman of the House Health Committee. The appointment was made by House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, in the wake of former state Rep. Matt Baker's resignation on Feb. 19. Baker, a Republican from Tioga County, accepted a position to serve as a regional director of programs for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The committee Rapp is set to lead is currently considering measures affecting medical assistance, standards for professional nursing and abortion regulation, among other things, according to a survey of its website.

Rapp, who is chairwoman of the bipartisan Pennsylvania House Pro-Life Caucus, is a new appointee to the Health Committee. Before her election to the House in 2004, Rapp managed admissions and marketing for two health care facilities in Warren.

“As one of the legislature's most consistent and outspoken pro-life advocates, I am honored with the opportunity to lead this highly active committee that is on the forefront of protecting the sanctity of all human life and improving the overall quality of health care for all Pennsylvania citizens,” Rapp said in a statement on the House GOP caucus website.

BREWING INDUSTRY

Gov. Tom Wolf on Feb. 28 announced the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) has awarded grants totaling more than $700,000 to 13 projects to increase the production of Pennsylvania-made malt and brewed beverages and enhance the Pennsylvania beer industry through promotion, marketing, and research-based programs and projects.

“Brewing beer is an important industry to Pennsylvania's economy that is growing,” Wolf said in a statement. “These grants build on the bipartisan efforts to modernize our beer laws and support the industry to create job opportunities from the farm to the brewery, pub and grocery store.”

The grants were made under Act 39 of 2016, which created the Pennsylvania Malt and Brewed Beverages Industry Promotion Board and authorized the PLCB to fund development and marketing of the Pennsylvania beer industry.

GAME COMMISSION

Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale on Feb. 27 kicked off the first audit of the state Game Commission in 10 years.

In a statement, DePasquale said he intends for the audit to be “unobtrusive” and that the commission should plan on operating as usual.

“I can assure the management of the Game Commission that my audit work will not preclude it from conducting normal operations, including construction of capital projects,” DePasquale said in a statement. “For example, when my team audits PennDOT, it continues to issue driver's licenses and repair roads, and when we audit school districts, they continue to educate students.”

The audit, whose results are expected to be announced later in the year, comes in response to criticism of rising license fees. DePasquale also said his team will look into the management of Pennsylvania wildlife populations. •