Budget Hearings, Committee Meetings and Not Much Else
Most of the time from mid-February until mid-March in the General Assembly was consumed with budget hearings, and various committee meetings. There have been a couple of session days this week where a number of bills and resolutions were passed, but they were things that the whole chamber could pretty much agree on and the votes were often close to unanimous. In other words, nothing of real import.
With the Special Election on March 25, it’s likely that the remainder of March and early April will focus on more substantive issues – like how to develop a budget that both parties can agree on. The House has already completed its budget hearings and now the negotiations will start.
There were several bills introduced that we may want to follow. For example, Rep. Tom Mehaffie (R-Dauphin) introduced HB771, a “soft” Voter ID bill. What that means is a bill requiring Voter ID but with a number of ways that requirement can be met as well as an option for voters to sign an affidavit that will allow them to vote on Election Day if they do not have the proper ID at that time. This bill has Democratic and Republican co-sponsors which may mean it has some ability to move forward. The bill, as written, allows multiple types of ID which satisfies many Republicans, but, at the same time, does not disenfranchise voters on Election Day which satisfies many Democrats.
Representative Valerie Gaydos (R-Allegheny) introduced HB1010, a bill to reduce the size of the PA House from 203 members to 151. Bills like this have been introduced multiple times in the past, been voted on by one chamber or the other, but never received a joint vote by both chambers.
In the State House, there are also multiple bills on voting issues – HB759 to set a standard for Voter ID; HB785 that would allow on-line Voter Registration.
The State Senate also has a number of voting bills: SB332 which would move the date of the Presidential Primary to the 3rd Tuesday in March so that PA might play a more important role in deciding who the nominees are; SB442 which would allow Election Day voter registration; SB443 which would allow employees time off to vote; SB445 which would require Voter Eligibility Notification for younger Pennsylvanians; SB446 proposing a Constitutional Amendment for Direct Ballot Initiative which is currently unavailable in PA but allowed in multiple states. If this were enacted, it could mean that Pennsylvania voters by petition, could force a question to be placed on the ballot. Other states with Direct Ballot initiative have used it to get items like redistricting reform or women’s reproductive health on ballots where they have often won handily.
Although not a voting bill, Rep. Jared Solomon (D-Philadelphia) has introduced HB744, a gift ban bill. The bill has a Republican co-sponsor, so, perhaps the bill will go farther this time than it has in previous sessions.
In late February, after a suit brought by the Shapiro administration, federal aid which had been halted by President Trump was restored meaning that several projects could continue to move forward. Federal money going to U of Pennsylvania, U of Pittsburgh and CMU has been reduced substantially causing those institutions to reduce/eliminate research programs and rescind offers to PhD candidates.