Pennsylvania State Capitol, Harrisburg. Photo: Waldteufel – Fotolia

Following is a listing of executive and legislative action for the week of Sept. 2. Both houses of the General Assembly were in recess at press time. The state House of Representatives is scheduled to return to session Sept. 17, and the Pennsylvania Senate is set to go back to the Capitol on Sept. 23.

Charter Schools

The state Department of Education will institute new fees to fund the growing costs of administering the Charter School Law and recoup the rising costs to taxpayers, Gov. Tom Wolf announced at an elementary school in McKeesport on Sept. 4.

The new fee-for-service model, according to a Wolf administration statement, would recoup the costs of thousands of hours of staff time the Department of Education incurs from implementing the Charter School Law.

Beginning Sept. 15, charter schools will be assessed $15 for each "redirection" payment made to them by local school districts, Wolf said. The assessment would reimburse the state Department of Education for administering the law. Additionally, new cyber charter applicants will be charged a fee that reflects the cost to review the application. In the past this cost has been about $86,000 per applicant. This fee will be applied to new cyber charter school applications on or after Jan. 1, 2020.

The fees are part of a Wolf initiative to modernize Pennsylvania's Charter School Law, which he said has become too expensive and has produced underperforming schools.

"Despite costing taxpayers $1.8 billion last year, brick-and-mortar charter and cyber charter schools, and for-profit companies that manage many of them, are not held to the same ethical and transparency standards of traditional public schools," Wolf said.

Wolf's executive action and new regulation will also be accompanied by legislative proposals this fall, according to the administration statement.

School Buildings

State Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler, D-Philadelphia, on Sept. 4 hosted a House Democratic Policy Committee public hearing on toxic conditions in school buildings and emergency funding at the Horace Furness High School.

Committee Chairman Mike Sturla, D-Lancaster, toured the school building and engaged in a discussion of state aid needed to improve learning conditions for students, teachers and staff. Sturla said the General Assembly should act to make sure Pennsylvania's children "should not have to learn in unhealthy and outdated conditions."

Fiedler emphasized the need to update the physical plant of Philadelphia schools.

"Nearly half of the school buildings in Philadelphia are decades old with antiquated systems, including heating, cooling, lighting and electrical. These basic comforts are in dire need of replacement. In addition, these buildings have mold and other hazards that are creating serious health problems for our children," Fiedler said. "We need to come up with policies that will ensure our schools receive adequate funding, so our children receive a quality education in hazard-free and safe environments."

School building improvements are envisioned as part of the infrastructure plan called Plan4PA, according to a statement from the state House of Representatives Democratic caucus.

Rural Broadband

Broadband access is critical for the delivery of high-quality health care, an official with the state Department of Human Services told a state Senate committee Sept. 3 in a field hearing in Stroudsburg.

Sally Kozak, a deputy secretary in the Human Services Department, said the "lack of broadband prevents health care and emergency medical service providers from delivering the best treatment possible."

She was speaking at the second of four scheduled public hearings of the Pennsylvania Senate Communications and Technology Committee. The session took place at the Monroe County Safety Center. State Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill, R-York, was chairwoman of the hearing, which was convened to consider how lack of high-speed internet can affect various key industries in the state.

"As the importance of the internet in modern medicine grows, health care networks are relying on patients having access," Phillips-Hill said. "But with the digital divide in rural areas being so vast, we are leaving a major portion of our population behind. The testimony received today reiterates that the public and private sectors have a major opportunity to close the digital divide and improve health care for many Pennsylvanians."

Sen. Mario Scavello, R-Monroe, hailed recent progress in increasing broadband access to specific communities and institutions. But, he said, state government needs to act to make adequate access the norm throughout Pennsylvania.

Recovery Resources

Recognizing September as Recovery Month nationally, Democrats in the Pennsylvania Senate announced a series of 10 open houses across the state.

At each of these events, a statement from the Senate Democrats said, attendees will have the ability to talk to recovery specialists, family counselors, experts from legal clinics, witness a Narcan demonstration, take home a safe prescription disposal bag, among other things. This will be the second consecutive year that Democrats will stage open houses to spotlight recovery resources.

The first open house was scheduled for Sept. 12 at Delaware County Community College, where state Sen. Tim Kearney, D-Delaware, is set to play host. Subsequent open houses are set to take place in every region of the state, through Sept. 29.

Volunteer Firefighters

Auditor General Eugene DePasquale on Sept. 5 called for changes to state law to give volunteer firefighters more flexibility to use the state aid they receive to help protect their communities.

"When we have an emergency, we count on firefighters to come to our aid," DePasquale said in a statement. "But the way fire companies operate is changing and the brave men and women willing to risk their lives to protect us need our help."

Current state law tightly restricts how volunteer firefighters' relief associations may spend the state aid they receive.

DePasquale said his recent audit of the York Volunteer Firemens Relief Association, which has more than $4 million in cash and investments, highlighted the need for changes in the law.

"In fact, there are nearly 60 volunteer relief associations sitting on a reserve balance above $1 million because current law severely restricts how they can use the money. I want to make sure that state funding intended to help volunteer firefighters is doing exactly that," DePasquale said.

He said that loosening the restrictions can free up money to recruit, train and equip volunteer firefighters. The laws governing state funding of volunteer firefighters' associations has not been updated since 1984, DePasquale pointed out, arguing that much has changed in 35 years and the state needs a 21st century approach.