State House Begins Session on New Year’s Day
January 4, 2019
Ready to Get to Work in New House Session
My colleagues and I in the state House of Representatives gathered on New Year’s Day to take the oath of office and begin a new, two-year legislative session. The state Constitution stipulates the House must convene on the first Tuesday of each year. The first Tuesday this year fell on New Year’s Day, so legislators were at the Capitol on the holiday to officially convene the new session. I plan to focus my efforts on enacting policies to promote private-sector job creation, fighting the Commonwealth’s opioid epidemic and addressing the burdensome property tax issue. The House is now comprised of 110 Republicans and 91 Democrats, including 43 first-term members. There are two vacancies. On swearing-in day, representatives also selected a speaker of the House, certified election results and adopted rules to govern the chamber. I was joined Tuesday by my wife, Susan. |
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| PA Farm Show Starts on Saturday
In addition to all the delicious food offerings, the Farm Show features 6,000 animals, 10,000 competitive exhibits and 300 commercial exhibitors. Admission to the show is free, but parking is $15 per vehicle. Shuttle service is provided. More information is available at farmshow.pa.gov. |
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| New Law Cracks Down on Repeat DUI Offenders
Pennsylvania was previously one of four states that did not punish repeat DUIs as felonies. Act 153 fixes that by increasing penalties for repeated DUI crimes. Under the new law, any individual convicted of his or her third DUI with a BAC of 0.16 or higher could be found guilty of a felony offense. The same penalty would apply to all individuals convicted of four or more DUI offenses. Repeat offenders who are convicted of homicide while DUI now face a minimum prison sentence of five or seven years, up from the previous three-year minimum. |
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| Increased Funding to Aid Ambulance Services
Approved as part of the 2018-19 budget, reimbursement rates have increased from $200 to not less than $300 for Advanced Life Support (ALS) services and from $120 to $180 for Basic Life Support (BLS) services, effective January 1. The increases, to be funded by $4 million in state funds and approximately $8 million in federal matching funds, are necessary to help meet growing costs faced by the Commonwealth’s emergency medical service providers. It is the first increase since 2004. To further support these life-saving services, another new law, Act 103 of 2018, requires both private insurers and Medicaid to reimburse for treatment provided regardless of whether transport takes place. This is a common occurrence with patients suffering with diabetes as well as for drug overdose calls. Additional initiatives to shore up the state’s fire and emergency response organizations were outlined in a recent report released under Senate Resolution 6 of 2017. The report includes 92 concepts incorporated into 27 recommendations to address challenges in the fire and EMS communities, with most of them focused on staffing, funding and training needs. |
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