Enews Update - July 24, 2020

In This Update:

Governor Vows to Veto Bill to Improve Government Transparency
Hearing Explores 2020 Election Issues
Guidance Available to Safely Reopen Pennsylvania Schools
New Laws Support Job Creation, Child Safety, and More
Grants Available to Businesses for Hazard Pay

Governor Vows to Veto Bill to Improve Government Transparency

Maintaining public access to information is critical during an emergency, so the Senate and the House of Representatives voted unanimously for a bill to restore transparency in state government last week. Unfortunately, Governor Wolf has vowed to veto this good-government reform.

The bill would have prohibited any governor from directing a state agency to ignore records requests during an emergency declaration, and also required the Office of Open Records to create guidelines to ensure state agencies could continue to respond to records requests while physical offices remained closed. All normal protections and exclusions to the Right to Know law would remain in place under the bill; it would only ensure that an emergency declaration isn’t used as an excuse to delay or ignore records requests.

I am hopeful that the House of Representatives will begin the process to override the governor’s veto and ensure the public can continue to access information about our state government during a disaster declaration.

Hearing Explores 2020 Election Issues

New voting machines, mail-in ballots, changing polling locations and last-second rule changes by the Wolf Administration created numerous issues during the 2020 Primary Election, including confusion among voters and long delays in reporting election results. The Senate State Government Committee, which I chair, held a hearing this week on these and other issues to discuss ways to avoid similar concerns during the General Election in November.

The hearing included testimony from state and county election officials, with recommendations on possible actions the General Assembly could take to ensure future elections are conducted safely, efficiently, accurately and fairly.

Guidance Available to Safely Reopen Pennsylvania Schools

As many parents, teachers and administrators continue to prepare for the return to school in the fall, the state Department of Health and state Department of Education recently announced guidelines to safely reopen school buildings. The guidance includes recommendations for best practices on social distancing, health screenings, meals, extracurricular activities and more.

Under the new guidance, each school entity will determine whether classes will resume through in-person instruction, remote learning, or a combination of both. Questions and concerns about reopening plans should be directed to local school boards and other education entities.

Lawmakers approved $150 million in CARES Act funding to help schools navigate the challenges created by COVID-19.

New Laws Support Job Creation, Child Safety, and More

Several noteworthy bills that were approved by the Senate recently were signed into law this week, including:

A bill creating the Local Resource Manufacturing Tax Credit Program to create thousands of family-sustaining jobs and provide a boost to Pennsylvania’s energy economy.
Legislation that gives school districts the option to extend real estate tax discount periods and base periods and removes penalties for payments.
Peyton’s Law, a measure to safeguard the health of Pennsylvania’s student athletes by ensuring students and parents learn about the importance of electrocardiogram (EKG) testing.
A bill to improve pricing transparency for prescription drugs and ensure pharmacy benefit managers cannot penalize pharmacies for disclosing information that could save consumers money.

Grants Available to Businesses for Hazard Pay

Businesses, healthcare non-profits, public transportation agencies and certified economic development organizations can apply now for grants to reimburse expenses from paying hazard pay to employees working in vital industries. Applicants can apply for grants of up to $1,200 per eligible employee for up to 500 employees.

Hazard pay would be available for the period from August 16 to October 24. Participants must apply by July 31 using the Electronic Single Application for Assistance located at www.esa.dced.state.pa.us.