Pennsylvania State Capitol building in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Photo: Shutterstock

Following is a listing of executive, legislative and judicial activity from the week of June 3. The General Assembly was in recess at press time, with lawmakers in both chambers scheduled to return to session Monday.

Infrastructure Investments

Lawmakers on June 5 unveiled bipartisan proposals to increase investment on infrastructure projects, but a key leader in the Pennsylvania Senate said action might not come until the fall.

Action has begun on bills in both houses of the General Assembly that would complement Gov. Tom Wolf's “Restore Pennsylvania” infrastructure plan.

House Bill 1585, sponsored by state Reps. Jake Wheatley, D-Allegheny, and Thomas Murt, R-Montgomery, has gathered 99 co-sponsors in the 203-member state House of Representatives.

Senate Bill 725, sponsored by Sens. John Yudichak, D-Luzerne, and Sen. Tom Killion, R-Delaware, has gained 25 co-sponsors in the 50-member Pennsylvania Senate, according to a statement from the Wolf administration.

“We have a real opportunity to make impactful infrastructure investments in Pennsylvania,” Wolf said in a statement. “Restore Pennsylvania is the only plan presented that can actually address the needs in every community. We have an opportunity to provide all of our students' internet access, an opportunity to help our municipalities truly address the crippling effects of blight, an opportunity to help families devastated by flooding when the federal government turns its back on them, and so much more. We need to seize this opportunity for all Pennsylvanians.”

In an interview with the Capitolwire website, however, Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre, said the measures won't likely get to a vote before fall. He said that more details were needed from backers of the measure and the Wolf administration before he would consider them for a floor vote. Meanwhile, Corman said Republicans this summer would begin to fashion their own infrastructure plan, Capitolwire reported.

Funded by a severance tax on natural gas drillers, Restore Pennsylvania will invest $4.5 billion over the next four years in significant, high-impact projects across Pennsylvania, many of which were identified in a statewide information-gathering process, the Wolf administration said.

Criminal Justice

The state Senate on June 5 unanimously passed a three-bill criminal justice reform package. The bills, which now move to the state House for consideration, address county probation, sentencing and support for victim services.

Senate Bill 500, sponsored by Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Luzerne, reinvests in county probation and parole departments, providing evidence-based guidance and training to ensure probationers become productive citizens, not permanent prisoners.

Senate Bill 501, sponsored by Killion, would change sentencing guidelines and increase access to drug treatment programs in order to reduce recidivism. Treatment programs, according to a study by the state Department of Corrections, would save taxpayers more than $33,000 per participant. It also provides automatic parole for individuals serving nonviolent, short-term sentences—prioritizing resources for more serious offenders—and equips parole agents to more effectively deal with probation violations.

Senate Bill 502—sponsored by Sens. Camera Bartolotta, R-Washington, Art Haywood, D-Montgomery, and Vincent Hughes, D-Philadelphia—is aimed at improving victim rights communication and expands eligibility requirements for victim compensation.

GI Bill

The Senate on June 4 unanimously passed legislation that would create the Military Family Educational Program, or “Pennsylvania GI Bill for Families.”

Senate Bill 589, sponsored by Sen. Mike Regan, R-York, would amend the state's Military Code by establishing a new program providing five years' worth of higher education benefits to the spouse or children of a Pennsylvania National Guard member who reenlists to serve another six years.

“When a Guard member completes their initial six-year enlistment, they are likely to have started a family and a career,” Regan said. “The GI Bill for Families will help incentivize the Guard member to re-up for another six years. Furthermore, knowing that the military is not just an individual commitment, but a family commitment, this legislation supports our National Guard families, who are called on to sacrifice when their spouse or parent is training once a month or deployed.”

SB 589 now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration. Wolf has repeatedly signaled his support for the bill.

Drug Injury

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a measure to strengthen penalties for the delivery or distribution of illicit drugs that results in serious bodily injury to the user, such as a permanent disfigurement or the loss or impairment of a body part or organ.

Senate Bill 93, which is sponsored by Bartolotta, would be a tool district attorneys could use to hold drug dealers more accountable for damages their business causes.

In a statement June 6, Bartolotta said the “heroin and opioid epidemic has destroyed too many promising lives and left countless others with the scars of addiction,” Bartolotta said. “As we continue to explore solutions to this public health crisis, we need to ensure the people who are inflicting this pain on our communities suffer the consequences of their crimes.”

Pennsylvania currently lacks a statute pertaining to serious bodily injury resulting from overdoses. The absence of that statute often forces district attorneys to refer these cases to federal prosecutors who can seek tougher penalties under federal law, according to a statement from Bartolotta's Senate office.

The legislation now goes to the full Senate for consideration.

Opioid Addiction

In an effort aimed at helping Pennsylvanians struggling with opioid addiction, the state House has unanimously approved a resolution to create a team of experts to explore ways to break the “cycle of addiction.”

House Resolution 216, sponsored by state Rep. Todd Polinchock, R-Bucks, would direct the Joint State Government Committee to form a task force and advisory group composed of physicians, hospital administrators, emergency medical service providers, law enforcement officials and drug-treatment experts. The task force would be asked to collect useful data, identify funding sources, and recommend practices to stabilize addicted persons and get them into treatment.

“I, and many of my colleagues, hear from volunteer emergency services personnel in our communities about how frequently life-saving Narcan is used to rescue the same individuals repeatedly,” Polinchock said. “My resolution calls for the Joint State Government Committee to form a task force and advisory committee to study ways the commonwealth can forge the next link in the chain of care for people struggling with an addiction.”