Pennsylvania State Capitol. Photo credit: Zack Frank/Shutterstock.com

Following is a listing of executive and legislative action for the week of Oct. 29. Both houses of the General Assembly were in recess. The state House of Representatives is set to reconvene on Nov. 13. The Pennsylvania Senate is scheduled for a session day on Nov. 14.

Pittsburgh Shooting

Gov. Tom Wolf and other Pennsylvania leaders expressed solidarity with victims of the Oct. 27 shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, mourners and first responders.

Wolf on Oct. 29 announced a tribute at the Pennsylvania State Capitol building in Harrisburg for the 11 congregants killed. The capitol lights on Third Street were darkened except for a single blue light.

“All of Pennsylvania stands in solidarity with the victims, their families, all those mourning in Pittsburgh and Jewish Americans across the commonwealth,” Wolf said. “This horrifying atrocity was the product of a dark and warped bigotry. We must shine a light on this hatred and anti-Semitism and expel it from our society.”

Wolf also said Pennsylvanians could be inspired by the actions of first responders.

At a vigil in his hometown of York, Wolf called the deed an “attack on our very being.”

“Let us use that hateful attack in Pittsburgh to reaffirm our deep and abiding commitment to the simple notion of respect, and let us resolve that the evil forces that propelled that attack have no place in our lives, in our families, in our communities, in our institutions, ever,” Wolf said.

Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, in conjunction with bipartisan leaders of the state House, issued a condemnation of the shooter's acts, reflecting that the commonwealth was founded as a refuge from religious persecution.

“We stand united as Pennsylvanians to condemn all acts of violence and hate, which have no place in our society and will not be tolerated within our commonwealth.”

Joining Turzai in the statement were Democratic Leader Frank Dermody, D-Allegheny, and Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana, and the whips from each party in the House.

Senate President Pro Tem Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, said in a Facebook post that “This act of evil … in Pittsburgh at The Tree of Life Synagogue is horrifying. The victims, their families, friends and first responders are in our prayers. We cannot tolerate these acts of hatred in America.”

The Democratic Senate leader, Sen. Jay Costa, D-Allegheny, called the murders “an act of unspeakable violence” and met with the Tree of Life synagogue president on the day of the shooting. “Gun violence anywhere is devastating, but to attack people in their place of worship is deeply horrific,” Costa said in a statement.

Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in the immediate wake of the shooting that “we must act to quell this senseless violence. There will be hard conversations ahead, looking at both our words and our laws, but they are critical for us to heal and move forward together.”

The shooter, Robert Bowers, 46, was apprehended at the scene and was charged by the Western District U.S. attorney with 44 counts of homicide and hate crimes. He has entered a not-guilty plea.

Maternal Mortality

The Maternal Mortality Review Committee held its inaugural meeting at the Pennsylvania Department of Health on Oct. 20 to begin work on finding ways to decrease maternal deaths across Pennsylvania, according to a Wolf administration statement.

The General Assembly established the committee as part of Act 24 of 2018 earlier this year to address the increase in maternal mortality. It is tasked with developing programs, policies, recommendations and strategies based on collected data to prevent maternal deaths and protect Pennsylvania mothers.

Wolf signed the measure, which was sponsored by state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh. Mackenzie was in attendance at the inaugural meeting to thank committee members. Data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has shown an increase in maternal deaths from 2012 to 2016. Black women suffered maternal death at more than twice the rate as the total population. While Pennsylvania has done better than the national average, it has also seen increases in maternal death.

“Conducting this meeting is the first step toward reducing maternal mortality in Pennsylvania,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said. “As a committee, we will review other maternal mortality review committees' processes to ensure we are taking the best steps to protect the health and safety of Pennsylvania's mothers. Together, we will take immediate action to reverse the increasing trend of maternal deaths.”

Benefits Trafficking

Pennsylvania Sen. Ryan Aument, R-Lancaster, and state Rep. Mindy Fee, R-Lancaster, along with Pennsylvania Inspector General Bruce Beemer and Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman on Oct. 30 outlined new collaborative efforts to combat fraud and abuse in the trafficking of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

“Today's announcement of a new formal collaboration between Pennsylvania's inspector general and the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office is great news for all those that care about protecting the integrity of public assistance programs,” Aument said, according to a statement posted on the state Senate Republican caucus website. “People need to have confidence that leaders take waste, fraud and abuse in government programs and services seriously.”

The Office of Inspector General was created in July 2017 when Wolf signed Senate Bill 527—now Act 29 of 2017—of which Aument was the prime sponsor.

Beemer and Stedman unveiled a memorandum of understanding for coordination of and collaboration on SNAP benefits trafficking cases.

Child Care

State Rep. Jared Solomon, D-Philadelphia, on Oct. 30 highlighted the ongoing need for quality child care in underserved areas in a news conference at the Bustleton Learning Center, which was created in a previously vacant building under the Fund for Quality grant program.

“Not only did they breathe new life into a vacant building at a vital intersection for our neighborhood, they are also a fantastic community partner that welcomes local groups and families to use this great space,” he said.

Solomon and state Rep. Thomas Mehaffie, R-Dauphin, introduced House Bill 1742, which aims to require all licensed child care centers to display their rating under the state-sponsored Keystone Stars program in order to better inform parents of quality care. The measure was unanimously approved in the House and was sent to the Senate for consideration.

Student Loans

Attorney General Josh Shapiro called on the U.S. Department of Education to immediately discharge the student loans of eligible borrowers who attended schools that abruptly shut down before they could complete their degrees. Many of those schools were predatory, for-profit colleges.

Shapiro joined 20 other attorneys general in urging U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to provide immediate and automatic loan relief to borrowers who attended a school when it closed on or after Nov. 1, 2013, and who did not subsequently re-enroll in an eligible program within three years from the date the school closed. There are about 50 such schools in Pennsylvania, Shapiro said.

“The regulations governing this type of student loan forgiveness unambiguously require Secretary DeVos and the Trump administration's Department of Education to process these discharges immediately and without exception,” Shapiro said. “Two weeks ago, a judge ruled that the borrower defense rule—which protects students and their families—must go into effect immediately.” •