Pensions, gambling among issues as lawmakers return
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania lawmakers are heading back to work after a summer break from the Capitol of more than two months, and they're facing decisions on expanding gambling, the budget deficit, the state's opioid addiction crisis and changes to large pension plans for teachers and state government employees.
What's on tap in the General Assembly this fall:---THIS WEEK IN THE HOUSEThe House is returning to session Monday, followed next week by the Senate. House votes this week could include a measure to regulate the use of propane tanks on mobile food trucks, legislation prompted by an explosion that killed two in Philadelphia in 2014, a bill to require prospective tenants or buyers to be informed if a property had been previously used as a meth lab and a Senate-passed proposal to stiffen financial penalties for those with a protection-from-abuse order who commit animal cruelty against the pet of their spouse or partner. Legislation to fine-tune the state's organ donation law also is on the agenda.---GAMBLING EXPANSIONThe state budget passed in July counted on $100 million, mostly from one-time licensing fees, by legalizing casino-style gambling on the internet and allowing gambling in airports and at off-track betting parlors. The legislation to do that was not approved, however, and negotiators will be trying to hammer out a deal to make it happen this fall.---PUBLIC PENSIONSThe state is currently on the hook for crippling annual contributions to the major pension plans, a perennial topic in the Legislature that could become part of the mix in the coming months. In June, the House approved Legislation to put new hires into a combination of a traditional pension plan and 401(k)-style benefit plan, paring down costs modestly and reducing the risk to taxpayers from fluctuations in the market. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf has said he would sign it, but the Senate has not acted. Jennifer Kocher, a spokeswoman for the Republican majority in the Senate, said they plan to "continue to look at it" and work toward a deal that both chambers and Wolf can support.---UBER AND LYFTThe two ride-hailing services have been operating under temporary experimental authority from the Public Utility Commission, but those rules are set to expire early next year. It's unclear if the Legislature will step in and establish permanent guidelines or if the companies will seek an extension from the commission.---OPIOID CRISISSeveral bills have passed either the House or Senate to address prescription opiate and heroin addiction, and some are likely to become law this fall, as Wolf has called for a joint legislative session to address the problem.A centerpiece of Wolf's legislative agenda includes limiting emergency-room physicians to prescribing a week's worth of narcotic painkillers and barring them from refilling prescriptions that patients claim were lost, stolen or destroyed. Wolf also wants to require doctors to check the state's new online database of patients' painkiller prescription histories every time they write a prescription, not just for the first prescription.---IMPEACHMENTBefore then-Attorney General Kathleen Kane's conviction on perjury and other charges in August, a House subcommittee had begun work on what could have resulted in her impeachment from office. Kane resigned after her conviction. But the lawmaker leading the process, Rep. Todd Stephens, R-Montgomery, has said their investigative work would continue.----ANTI-DISCRIMINATIONThe Wolf administration lists among its fall priorities legislation that would prohibit discrimination in employment and housing. A bill to amend the state's anti-discrimination law to include those elements has passed a committee and is pending in the Senate.----ABORTIONA House-passed bill that would ban elective abortions after 20 weeks, compared to 24 in current law, and criminalize procedures that cause the deaths of fetuses by removing their body parts, passed the House in June by a vote of 132-65. The Senate Judiciary Committee reported it out on a party-line vote in July. It's now awaiting action by the full Senate, where a leadership spokeswoman said its fate is uncertain. Wolf has threatened a veto.