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

Following is a listing of executive and legislative action from the week of Nov. 18. The Pennsylvania Senate and state House of Representatives were in session at press time.

Child Abuse

The Pennsylvania Senate on Nov. 20 passed a four-bill package to eliminate the statute of limitations in cases over sexual abuse of children, and open a two-year "civil window" for adults who had been barred from bringing actions.

House Bill 962, sponsored by state Rep. Mark Rozzi, D-Berks, which erased the statute of limitations for child sex abuse cases, was unanimously passed by the Senate, and the state House of Representatives on a 182-5 vote concurred in amendments from the upper house. House Bill 963, sponsored by state Rep. Jim Gregory, R-Blair, which provides access to courts via the two-year "civil window," passed the Senate on a 42-6 vote.

House Bill 1051, sponsored by state Rep. Todd Stephens, R-Montgomery, which establishes higher penalties for repeated and systemic failures to report child sexual abuse to law enforcement authorities, passed on a 47-1 vote in the Senate.

House Bill 1171, sponsored by state Rep. Tarah Toohil, R-Luzerne, which specified that civil confidentiality agreements do not prohibit contacts with law enforcement, unanimously passed the Senate, with the House unanimously concurring in Senate amendments the next day.

All of the measures now go to the desk of Gov. Tom Wolf.

"The package of bills passed today protects any future victims and would allow for a constitutionally sound civil window for past victims. By eliminating the criminal statute of limitations, we are addressing the severity of this crime and elevating child sexual abuse to the same prosecution level as murder," Senate President Pro Tem Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, said in a statement calling the series of votes "historic."

Reproductive Rights

Wolf on Nov. 21 promised to veto a bill that would prohibit abortion based on a fetal diagnosis of possible Down syndrome.

House Bill 321, sponsored by Speaker of the House Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, and state Rep. Kate Klunk, R-York, was passed on a 27-22 vote in the Pennsylvania Senate on Nov. 20 after it gained approval in May from the state House of Representatives.

"As Gov. Wolf has said repeatedly, he will veto any bill, including House Bill 321, that seeks to limit health care choices for women and politicize difficult moments for vulnerable families," said J.J. Abbott, Wolf's press secretary. "There is no evidence that this bill is needed in Pennsylvania and no disability rights group supports this bill. This bill masks yet another attempt to ban abortions and put politicians between a woman and her doctor."

Pennsylvania has made bipartisan efforts to address the needs of persons with disabilities, Abbott said, but said HB 321 was not part of that.

"This is a particularly cynical way to impugn women seeking constitutionally protected health care options," Abbott said.

Psychology Services

A bill that would expand access to psychology services passed with unanimous support in the Senate on Nov. 18.

Senate Bill 67, sponsored by Sen. Judy Ward, R-Blair, would allow Pennsylvania to join the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact (Psypact) to allow "tele-psychological" practice across state lines. Current law prohibits psychologists from serving patients across jurisdictional boundaries.

"We have seen incredible advances in technology in recent years, to the point where patients can be instantly connected with providers with the touch of a button," Ward said in a statement. "It is time for state laws to keep pace with these innovations."

Each state has its own set of laws governing the practice of psychology, which curbs multistate practice. The Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards developed Psypact to improve patient access to services by removing barriers that prohibits psychologists from serving patients in other states, according to the statement. Under Psypact, licensed psychologists will be able to apply to practice tele-psychology and conduct temporary in-person, face-to-face practice in other states in the compact.

"This legislation will help patients throughout the state, but it is especially important in rural districts like mine where access to psychological services is extremely limited due to a lack of providers."

SB 67 was sent to the House of Representatives for consideration.

Prescription Pricing

Legislation aimed at ensuring fair drug-pricing practices in the state's Medicaid program and bringing transparency to the pricing practices of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) was passed unanimously by the House of Representatives on Nov. 20.

House Bill 941, co-sponsored by state Reps. Doyle Heffley, R-Carbon, and Rob Matzie, D-Beaver, would give the Department of Human Services the authority to request payment information from PBMs and require certain disclosures upon request.

"We heard from pharmacies in our districts about how they are being negatively impacted by the severe cuts to Medicaid reimbursement rates determined by PBMs," Heffley said in a statement. "Our legislation will help to ensure these community pharmacies are able to survive and serve their customers of all ages, especially in rural areas of the state."

Matzie said the measure would bring accountability for fair pricing and protecting small independent pharmacies, which he called a "lifeline" for communities and patients.

"Today we had a chance to fix a problem that has long been in need of fixing," Matzie said. "As the House Democratic Chair of the bi-cameral, bi-partisan Community Pharmacy Caucus, I've come to know this issue well. I've heard example, after example of PBMs operating in bad faith. Overcharging patients. Wasting untold millions of taxpayer dollars. And worst of all, squeezing local pharmacies out of business."

HB 941 now moves to the Senate for consideration.

Probation Sentences

Wolf was joined by administration officials and criminal justice reform advocates Nov. 18 in the Capitol Rotunda to push for reforms that address the length probation sentences.

"Probation should assist Pennsylvanians with creating stability in their lives and instead, our excessively long sentences and cumbersome rules are causing Pennsylvanians to lose their jobs, employers are losing much-needed workers, families are losing support systems, and taxpayer money is being wasted on a system that is not improving lives or recidivism rates," Wolf said.

Wolf encouraged the end of the practice of forcing Pennsylvanians to spend decades jumping through hoops and putting people into jail for minor probation violations like missing an appointment; to institute hard caps on the length of time a person can be on probation; and to find fitting, productive responses, like connecting people to treatment when they fail drug tests.

'No Trespassing' Signs

The House on Nov. 19 unanimously approved legislation that would give landowners more options to mark their properties as private.

House Bill 1772, sponsored by state Rep. Dawn Keefer, R-York, would empower property owners to use specialized purple paint to mark their property lines and indicate that trespassing onto the land is not permitted.

"Too often, no trespassing signs become tattered or illegible over time, or are removed by trespassers, making it difficult for people to know or easily recognize they are entering private property," Keefer said in a statement. "This purple paint would make it easier to delineate property lines and provide notice that private property is not to be trespassed on."

HB 1772 now goes to the Senate for consideration.