|
|
Capitol Update
|
|
Friday, December 20, 2013
|
The latest news from the State Capitol
|
Several Child Protection Measures Now Law
Based on recommendations from the
Task Force on Child Protection created in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky
scandal at Penn State, the General Assembly has enacted several new
laws designed to protect Pennsylvania’s children.
Bills signed into law by the governor on Wednesday
include those that better clarify what constitutes child abuse;
establish enhanced penalties for child pornography and luring a child
into a motor vehicle; and make it a crime to falsely report child abuse,
as well as to intimidate, retaliate or obstruct child abuse cases.
Another measure establishes due process protections for people subjected
to unfounded reports.
These and other legislative
initiatives still before the House or Senate were recommended after the
Task Force on Child Protection conducted a comprehensive review of the
state’s child abuse laws, policies and practices to determine what laws
needed to be strengthened, added or changed. For more information, click here.
|
Reducing the Legislature Diminishes Voice of Rural PA
The House took up legislation this
week that would reduce the size of the state House from 203 members to
153 and the state Senate from 50 members to 38. I voted against both of
these measures.
It is already a struggle to ensure
the voice of rural Pennsylvania is heard when legislation is being
debated and discussed in Harrisburg. Cutting down on the number of
legislative districts in the state would result in rural areas being
merged into suburban or even urban districts with different interests
and priorities. There is no doubt in mind that the voice of rural
Pennsylvania would be significantly diminished if such a plan was
enacted.
Despite my concerns, and similar
concerns raised by others, the bills passed the House and are now
awaiting consideration in the Senate. Reducing the size of the
legislature requires an amendment to the state constitution. In order to
do that, the legislation would have to be passed in two consecutive
sessions of the General Assembly and then approved by referendum of the
voters.
|
Supreme Court Ruling on Megan’s Law Won’t Put Kids at Risk
Earlier this week, the state Supreme
Court struck down portions of the state’s Megan’s Law – the law that
requires maintenance of a registry of sex offenders in the Commonwealth –
because its enactment violated the single subject rule of the
Pennsylvania Constitution.
Fortunately, the General Assembly
already took the necessary steps to correct these problems in the law
back in 2011 when other updates were being made to comply with federal
laws. So there will be no interruption in the service or protections
provided to our children by the law.
|
Resolution Calls for Affordable Care
Act Exemption for Volunteer Fire, Rescue and EMS Companies
The House approved a resolution this
week calling on President Barack Obama and Congress to exempt volunteer
fire, rescue and emergency services (EMS) companies from the
requirement of businesses to purchase insurance policies under the
Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Currently, 71 percent of fire
departments in the nation are staffed by volunteers, and in
Pennsylvania, that number jumps to 97 percent. Some volunteer fire
companies have been notified that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) may
be poised to rule that such companies are businesses with 50 or more
employees, bringing them under the requirements of ACA.
House Resolution 584
recognizes that such requirements could force substantial tax increases
to cover the expense of health insurance or cause departments to
close.
|
Merry Christmas!
Best wishes to you and your loved
ones for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Please note that my
offices will be closed Dec. 24-26 for Christmas and on Jan. 1 for New Year’s Day. You may visit me online anytime at RepCauser.com or Facebook.com/RepCauser.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment