Pennsylvania State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Photo: Shutterstock

Following is a listing of executive and legislative action for the week of June 24. Both houses of the General Assembly were in session at press time in advance of the Monday deadline for approving a budget for fiscal year 2019-20.

School Safety

The Pennsylvania Senate on June 27 unanimously passed a bill designed to improve school safety by focusing on behavioral health and provide new resources for students facing extended absences from school due to injury or illness.

Senate Bill 144, whose prime sponsor is Sen. Scott Martin, R-Lancaster, would make telepresence technology available to more students so they can continue to participate in classroom activities through the use of mobile robotic devices that resemble an iPad mounted on a Segway unit.

“It is already difficult for young people to deal with a serious illness or injury without the added stress of missing out on valuable time with classmates and instructional time with their teachers,” Martin said. “This bill would ensure more students can continue to learn and grow along with their classmates even when they cannot physically attend school.”

An amendment to the bill added a number of school safety measures, with a specific focus on mental and behavioral health.

Under the amendment, legislative committees would be required to develop model plans to help school districts implement best management practices for trauma-informed education.

The measure now moves to Gov. Tom Wolf's desk for signature.

Budget Transparency

The state House of Representatives on June 27 unanimously approved a bill that would require the Pennsylvania Treasury to maintain online access to daily updates of revenue and expenditures.

Pennsylvania Treasurer Joe Torsella implemented a Transparency Portal to provide that information, and House Bill 1502, whose prime sponsor is state Rep. Seth Grove, R-York, would codify the practice, enhance the website and make it permanent.

Under HB 1502, the portal would include an analysis of the General Fund, as well as daily updated revenue and expenditures, short- and long-term investments by the Treasury, an analysis of appropriations for commonwealth programs and other data.

Torsella in February 2017 implemented Treasury's Transparency Portal. But since the portal was created under Torsella's watch, his successor could opt not to continue this service.

“This bill has one simple mission: Give the public the power of knowing how their tax dollars are being spent,” Grove said. “This sort of information shouldn't be tucked away. Rather, it should be readily and easily available to the public.”

HB 1502 now advances to the Pennsylvania Senate for consideration.

Hospital Closure

The Wolf administration June 27 sent a cease-and-desist letter to the private owners of Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia to prevent them from closing the 496-bed health care facility.

Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said the hospital's plan to turn away emergency patients beginning at the end of June would create a potential public health risk during Independence Day festivities in Philadelphia. Hahnemann is located in Center City, close to many city events marking the July 4 holiday.

“This action by the Department of Health was undertaken to ensure the people who rely on the emergency medicine and other services at Hahnemann University Hospital are not suddenly left without care, and its employees aren't left without jobs,” Wolf said in a statement. “We have processes and procedures in place to assure these things don't occur and this letter, in no uncertain terms, advises Hahnemann that it must follow those rules in the best interest of patients and employees.”

Wolf in the statement also said he would work to defer payments owed by the hospital under state and city assessments in order to keep the hospital open.

Hahnemann officials said they planned to shutter the hospital later this summer and said it would begin the process immediately by diverting emergency patients.

Levine, in her letter to the hospital CEO, said the state was owed 90 days' notice in writing before closure could take place.

Refinery Shutdown

Wolf said June 26 his administration would work to mitigate economic and environmental impacts of the decision made by the owners of the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery to shut down the facility by the end of July.

The decision was announced in the wake of a devastating fire at the refinery. Wolf said in a statement that there would be a full investigation into the causes of the fire.

“I am offering the full expertise of the Department of Environmental Protection to ensure the company decommissions the plant responsibly and no corners are cut on mitigating environmental damage,” he said. “Further, there must be a complete investigation of recent fires and the explosion. If any action or failure by the company led to these incidents, there must be accountability.”

Teams, the statement said, will be deployed to address issues of job loss and rehiring of workers at the South Philadelphia-based plant.

Secretary of Labor and Industry Jerry Oleksiak and Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary Dennis Davin have been asked to address economic impacts and provide services for displaced workers. •