Senator Dominic F. Pileggi: Senate News Brief

"This is a tremendous step forward for government transparency in Pennsylvania, and I am pleased to advance this bill to the governor’s desk. Residents of our state will benefit for decades to come from this rewriting of Pennsylvania’s 50-year-old Open Records Law."

-- Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware) on General Assembly passage of his legislation greatly improving public access to government records. The measure was signed into law Thursday.

SENATE BUDGET HEARINGS BEGIN FEB. 25

Senate Republicans will carefully examine the major spending and borrowing provisions in the 2008-09 state budget proposed by Gov. Rendell, particularly with concerns looming about a slowing economy.

The Senate Appropriations Committee, chaired by Sen. Gib Armstrong (R-Lancaster), will hold public hearings on the spending plan between Monday, Feb. 25 and Thursday, March 6. The panel will question cabinet officials on their funding requests and overall performance of their departments.

Although Pennsylvania is currently running a surplus – thanks in large part to successful Senate Republican efforts to control spending and prevent tax increases – senators are concerned about the administration’s plan to create expensive and far-reaching programs that taxpayers will have to fund now and in the future. They also believe the level of borrowing that the governor is proposing could hurt the economy and cost the state jobs.

The Senate returns to voting session Monday, March 10.

MAJOR EXPANSION OF OPENS RECORDS LAW ENACTED

Legislation to rewrite and strengthen Pennsylvania’s Open Records Law, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware), received final legislative approval this week and was signed into law Thursday.

The House of Representatives amended Senate Bill 1 Monday before approving the bill 199 to 0. The Senate unanimously concurred with the amendments Tuesday.

Senate Bill 1 makes dramatic changes in the records available from various government agencies. For executive agencies and local agencies, Senate Bill 1 reverses the presumption of access to records and puts the burden of proof on a government agency denying access to a record. This was the one change that many advocates of open government consider the most essential. Legislative records and financial records of the judiciary are subject to the same presumption and the same burden of proof.

It provides a list of 30 plainly stated exceptions for executive agencies and local agencies. These exceptions include such things as criminal investigations, Social Security Numbers, personal financial information and individual medical records.

Legislative agencies, including the Senate and the House, are required to provide access to 19 categories of records, and judicial agencies are required to provide financial records.

Senate Bill 1 also makes many important improvements to the process of obtaining public records in Pennsylvania, including the creation of an independent Office of Open Records to hear appeals regarding access to records of state and local agencies. (For more on Senate Bill 1, please see Fast Facts, below.)

SWEEPING OVERHAUL OF MINE SAFETY LAWS APPROVED BY SENATE

Legislation providing the first comprehensive update of Pennsylvania’s mine safety laws in nearly 50 years was approved by the Senate on Monday.

Senate Bill 949 was recently approved by the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, chaired by Sen. Mary Jo White (R-Venango). It would create a new Board of Coal Mine Safety to keep Pennsylvania’s mine safety standards regularly updated, provide for greater responsibility for operators to ensure safety, and enable the state to establish a central database of maps of mines throughout the commonwealth.

It also addresses responses to accidents, requiring mine operators to notify the state within 15 minutes of an accident, and updates ventilation and roof support requirements. The bill was sent to the House of Representatives.

Senator White said: "The Board of Coal Mine Safety will regularly consider new technology and new approaches that improve safety, so that Pennsylvania doesn’t go another 50 years before updating its mining regulations. Passage of this measure was the result of bipartisan cooperation and hard work. I look forward to seeing it enacted so that the proud tradition of Pennsylvania mining is as safe as it possibly can be."

Working to protect the rights of law-abiding citizens, the Senate approved legislation Tuesday introduced by Sen. Bob Robbins (R-Mercer) that would prohibit government officials from seizing firearms from individuals -- who are legally permitted to possess them -- during emergencies or natural disasters.

The need for the basic protection of the right to bear arms provided by Senate Bill 1172 became apparent in the wake of Hurricane Katrina when New Orleans police officers confiscated firearms from citizens -- including those who had valid firearms permits. Because of these incidents, 22 states -- including Louisiana – have passed legislation prohibiting such confiscations during a declared emergency.

Senator Robbins said: "It is very unsettling that police officers would be disarming law-abiding citizens at the very time when they could potentially need these weapons to protect their lives and their families. I hope the House will act on this measure in an expeditious manner and send it to the Governor for enactment into law."

The Senate State Government Committee, chaired by Sen. Jeffrey Piccola (R-Dauphin), approved legislation Tuesday that would prohibit illegal aliens who are living in Pennsylvania from receiving public benefits, including Medicaid, welfare and in-state college tuition.

Senate Bill 9, sponsored by Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R-Jefferson), would also ensure that the commonwealth’s more than 100,000 illegal aliens face tighter scrutiny when applying for services. Under current federal law, illegal aliens are prohibited from receiving federal, state or local public benefits with the exception of emergency medical care, necessary immunizations and disaster relief. However, Pennsylvania law is lenient in enforcing those provisions.

Sen. Scarnati's bill would require anyone requesting public benefits in the commonwealth to provide documentation proving they are legal residents. Additionally, they would be required to sign an affidavit stating they are a U.S. citizen or an alien lawfully present in the United States.

Any applicant signing the affidavit stating they are a legal alien would have their status verified through the Federal Systematic Alien Verification of Entitlement Program (SAVE), operated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Senate Bill 9 was sent to the full Senate for consideration.

Senator Scarnati said: "Without question, we have too many illegal aliens in this country and in this state. This bill acts to discourage illegal behavior, and prevents actions that could place our citizens in financial jeopardy."

Sen. James Rhoades (R-Schuylkill), Sen. John Pippy (R-Allegheny), legislators, mayors and others announced legislation Tuesday that would help municipalities prevent blight and remediate abandoned properties.

The Neighborhood Blight Reclamation and Revitalization Act would expedite the process of prosecuting owners of blighted properties and give municipalities the authority to go after the financial assets of negligent owners. The bill would clarify the identity of property owners and hold them responsible for the municipal costs to secure, remediate or demolish blighted structures.

Senator Rhoades’ legislation was based on the findings and recommendations of the Blight Task Force, a statewide coalition of housing and municipal organizations dedicated to tackling the problems of blighted and abandoned building across the commonwealth.

(For more on Sen. Rhoades’ anti-blight legislation, please see In the Spotlight, below.)

The Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee, chaired by Sen. Tommy Tomlinson (R-Bucks), voted to send Senate Bill 1116 to the full Senate for a vote.

In 2002, Pennsylvanians were first given the opportunity to avoid these calls by registering for the Do Not Call list. One million citizens registered in a single two-week period that year, and millions more have registered through the past few years. Currently, registration on the Do Not Call list is only valid for five years.

Senator Corman said: "Because most people are unaware of the five-year period, unwanted calls can start coming again. My legislation makes a registration permanent, unless a person willfully removes a number from the Do Not Call list."

Under current law, when a property becomes blighted, the local taxpayer usually ends up footing the bill. Legislation announced by Senator Rhoades would hold landlords accountable for the costs of blight that plague many communities.

Property owners would also be required to bring any property they own that has serious code violations which threaten the public’s health and safety into code compliance before they could obtain any municipal or state permits or approvals for any other property they own in the Commonwealth.

The legislation would also help reduce blight by allowing a conservator to be appointed by the court to manage a property before it becomes blighted. The bill would also expand the ability of redevelopment authorities to assist municipalities with blight remediation, as well as require mortgage lenders to maintain properties where a default occurs until there is a new owner.

Senator Rhoades said: "Blight is a serious problem in our communities, and it is not restricted to urban areas. Blighted buildings are a hotbed for illegal activity in suburban and rural Pennsylvania as well, and they have a negative impact on a neighborhood’s property values and tax base."

NEW LAW MAKES IT EASIER TO OBTAIN PUBLIC RECORDS

An independent Office of Open Records will hear appeals regarding access to records of commonwealth agencies and local agencies.
The appeals process is improved, making it easier and less expensive for a citizen to challenge an agency’s decision not to release a record.
It reduces the time period for response by a commonwealth agency from 10 to 5 days.
It increases financial penalties for noncompliance and makes it easier for plaintiffs to recover attorneys’ fees if an agency acts in bad faith.
It requires the Office of Open Records to establish standard fees for photocopying records and create a standard form that can be used to request records.

Adjust Text Size February 15, 2008

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February 15, 2008