The Pennsylvania State Capitol Building, in downtown Harrisburg.

Following is a listing of executive and legislative action for the week beginning Feb. 4. Both houses of the General Assembly were in recess at press time. The state House of Representatives was scheduled to return to session Feb. 19. The Pennsylvania Senate was set to reconvene March 18.

Public Pensions

The Pennsylvania Senate on Feb. 4 unanimously approved a bill that would strip pension rights from public servants who are convicted of any employment-related felony offense.

Senate Bill 113, sponsored by Sen. John DiSanto, R-Dauphin, is aimed at eliminating a loophole that allowed some ex-state officials to plead guilty to “non-forfeiture” offenses in order to avoid losing pension rights.

DiSanto specifically pointed to the case of former Sen. Bob Mellow, D-Lackawanna, whose guilty plea on federal conspiracy charges did not wipe out his $245,000 annual pension.

“This was the most egregious example—but not the only one—of unscrupulous public officials betraying citizens with their actions and being handsomely rewarded for it—with those same citizens being forced to pick up the tab,” DiSanto said in a statement. “It's beyond adding insult to injury. It's outright contempt for the people. This needs to end now.”

The bill also includes language requiring that felony convictions be reported by courts to state pension boards.

The measure now goes to the state House of Representatives for consideration.

Municipal Authorities

The House on Feb. 6 passed legislation that would require municipal authorities to create additional financial protections when collecting money.

House Bill 264, authored by Rep. Zach Mako, R-Northampton, would make municipal authorities remove any individual names from municipal accounts, create a standardized procedure for the handling of an authority's funds, and require annual audits and fiscal reports to be presented to the authority board.

“It is important to have checks and balances in place to prevent mismanagement of public funds,” Mako said in a statement. “When water and sewer customers pay their bills, they should know the money is spent as intended. I'm pleased to shepherd this bill through the legislative process again, and I hope it makes it to the governor's desk for his signature this year.”

The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.

Probation and Parole

Gov. Tom Wolf on Feb. 6 appointed Theodore “Ted” Johnson chairman of the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole. Johnson, who took office immediately upon his appointment, has served as a board member since 2016.

“I am pleased to appoint Ted, a seasoned and experienced professional working with the inmate and parolee population in Pennsylvania, who will take on the responsibility of chairman of the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole,” Wolf said in a statement. “I look forward to working with him and to seeing how his leadership continues to move the board forward.”

Johnson, an Erie native and Pittsburgh resident, most recently served as deputy director of a Pittsburgh-based program serving ex-offenders and has been an adjunct professor teaching undergraduate courses in criminal justice and intelligence studies at Point Park University. He previously was chief of probation and pretrial services for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, and was a probation officer in Allegheny and Erie counties.

Johnson replaced Leo Dunn, who served as chairman since 2016 and now returns to the board as a member until his term expires in 2024, according to a Wolf administration statement.

Mortgage Discrimination

State Sen. Vincent Hughes, D-Philadelphia, on Feb. 4 announced his proposed legislation to prevent mortgage discrimination on the basis of race, a practice known as “redlining,” in Pennsylvania.

Hughes' proposal would provide additional safeguards in the residential mortgage market, including provisions to root out racial disparities in lending practices. Hughes said recent reporting has exposed increasingly clear signs of racial discrimination in lending, particularly in Philadelphia.

A report from the Center for Investigative Reporting, a statement from Hughes said, found that banks in Philadelphia were two-and-a-half times more likely to deny loans to African-American applicants than white applicants with comparable income.

“What we're seeing in Philadelphia is akin to the discriminatory lending practices that created systemic inequality all over this country,” Hughes said. “We need to be in a position to take action across Pennsylvania and tell banks they cannot continue to discriminate against black and brown borrowers without repercussions.”