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Dear Friend,
The
Senate Appropriations Committee, on which I serve, wrapped up
its second week of public hearings on the proposed 2015-16 state budget. Below
are summaries and videos of each hearing, as well as video clips of my
discussions with the department heads who testified.
The final week of hearings begin Monday at 9:30am. You
can access the
schedule and watch the hearings live
online.
If you find this e-newsletter useful, I invite you to visit my website
www.senatormensch.com for more
information about your state government. If you do not wish to receive these
e-newsletters, please click the "unsubscribe" button at the bottom of the page.
Sincerely,
Bob Mensch
Monday, March 23
Public Utility Commission
Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission Chairman Robert
Powelson and commissioners fielded questions regarding pipeline safety, as
well as transparency and cooperation with local municipalities.
Other topics of discussion included:
- The need for infrastructure upgrades.
- Regulation of private transportation services like Uber and Lyft.
- The potential effect of combined reporting requirements on utility companies and customers.
- Alternative Portfolio Standards for renewable energy sources and compliance with EPA restrictions.
- The potential impact of an additional severance tax on the natural gas industry and the effect on leaseholders.
- Expansion of natural gas service to underserved areas.
- Preventing and responding to utility outages.
- Regulation of household goods carriers.
- The use of anaerobic digesters and other best management practices on farms.
- Changing enforcement responsibilities for the PA One Call system from the Department of Labor and Industry to the PUC.
- The effect of power plant closures in western Pennsylvania.
- The number of union versus non-union employees.
Watch the Hearing here.
SERS/PSERS Public Pension Funds
Officials of
the two state public pension funds, the State Employees’ Retirement System (SERS)
and the Public School Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS), discussed their
systems’ unfunded liabilities. Other topics committee members explored were:
- Whether the 7.5 percent expected rate of return is too optimistic.
- The impact of the Governor’s plan to issue a bond to help fund the plans.
- The possible effect of moving to a passive-management system.
- How system fund managers and boards make investment decisions.
- Termination of poorly performing fund managers.
- Participation in the SERS Deferred Compensation program.
- The effect of the imbalance between active and retired members.
- Why fees paid by systems are greater than in the private sector.
- The cost to taxpayers of unfunded liability.
- Pension bonds over 25 years will cost more to pay off than they save.
- The reported general economic benefit of pension benefits.
- The impact of Act 120 on pension costs.
- The effectiveness of defined benefit versus defined contribution plans.
- The use of index funds to reduce fees and boost returns.
- The returns of fund investments compared to the S&P 500.
- The effect of the Governor’s proposed sales tax on professional services on pension costs.
- The average pension payout since 2000.
- The effect of economic downturns on unfunded liability.
- The need for citizens to plan for retirement.
- Ideas for reducing costs of employees not affected by Act 120 reforms.
- Feasibility of the Governor’s plan to slash management fees yet increase returns.
- Costs of transitioning from defined benefit to defined contribution plan.
Watch the Hearing
here.
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Senator Mensch questions Acting Secretary Curt Topper about the number of
vendors taking part in bidding and preferences for Pennsylvania companies in
awarding contracts. |
Department of Health
Acting Health Secretary Karen Murphy and Physician
General Rachel Levine answered questions from committee members including:
- Implementation of the Prescription Drug Monitoring
Program.
- Status of the number of tanning facilities who
have registered under the state’s new law.
- Rationale for numerous cuts in programs and
services, including biotechnology initiatives.
- The growing heroin epidemic and how the state can
attack this health threat.
- Efforts to improve prevention and education for
Lyme disease and the status of a task force established by the
Legislature to address those issues.
- The need to attract and retain primary care
physicians.
- The rising use of emergency care facilities and
their impact on health care delivery.
- How to determine if there are health issues in
areas around Marcellus Shale well site.
- Challenges that Emergency Medical Services are
having with respect to funding.
Watch the Hearing
here.
Senator Mensch questions reductions in funding for key
health areas such as regional cancer institutes and centers for biotech
research, and discusses efforts to battle the drug epidemic. Watch
here.
Tuesday, March 24
Department of Aging
Members of the Appropriations Committee quizzed Acting Secretary of Aging
Teresa Osborne on programs for Pennsylvania’s senior citizens and several
other issues including:
- The reliance on projected increases in lottery sales to support
programs.
- The Governor’s proposed sales tax expansion to include nursing home
care.
- The extension of the moratorium on Social Security COLAs on PACE/PACENET
income limits.
- The need to promote aging in place.
- The loss of senior centers across the state.
- State support for senior centers.
- Demographic trends and pressures on funding.
- Funding of community care.
- Proliferation in crimes against the elderly.
- The effect of cost containment efforts.
- Inequities caused by “hold harmless” funding to counties.
- Implementation of long-term care programs.
- Unionization of home health care workers.
Watch the Hearing
here.
Senator Mensch outlines his concerns about the sustainability of senior
services given the decline in lottery proceeds that fund them, discusses the
need to meet the increasing needs of Pennsylvanians living with Alzheimer's,
urges collaboration between the Aging and Human Services departments, and
sees the need for more accountability for how Area Agencies on Aging spend
state funds. Watch here.
Thaddeus Stevens College of
Technology
The committee explored the history and mission of the Thaddeus Stevens
College of Technology with school president William Griscom. Among the topics
covered were:
- The need for skilled workers, such as machinists, welders and metal
fabricators.
- The effect of the Governor’s proposed sales tax increase on students.
- The average tuition and student debt.
- Services for students with learning disabilities.
- The results of an audit of the school’s operations.
- Graduates entering the workforce in demand for high-paying jobs.
- The fact that skilled workers are aging and there are not enough
Pennsylvania graduates to fill available six-figure jobs.
- Cost per pupil and student demographics
Watch the Hearing
here.
State-Related Universities
Representatives of Pennsylvania’s state-related universities answered
questions regarding potential tuition increases and the effect of the
governor’s budget proposal on tuition rates.
Other topics discussed during the hearing included:
- The impact on students if the governor’s sales tax increase is enacted.
- Certificate programs and other ways to help graduates meet the needs of
employers.
- The cost, expense and availability of online education programs.
- Potential savings from the elimination of prevailing wage requirements
for construction projects.
- Progress on making higher education more military-friendly.
- The total annual cost of higher education including tuition, fees and
housing.
- Four-year graduation rates.
- The number of employees covered by PSERS and the effect of pension cost
increases.
- The proposed merger between Penn State Health and Hershey Medical
Center.
- Funding for agriculture research and education.
- Tuition remission for university personnel and their families.
Watch the Hearing
here.
Wednesday, March 25
Department of Environmental
Protection
Acting DEP Secretary John Quigley was questioned about his request to fund 50
new inspectors, mostly for unconventional wells. Other topics discussed
included:
- The need to provide the legislature with new regulations as soon as
drafted and additional public hearings when revised.
- The origins and constitutionality of the proposed natural gas severance
tax.
- The proposed cap on the local share of the Act 13 impact fee.
- The ability of the state to prohibit drillers from passing on severance
tax to leaseholders.
- Pennsylvania’s share of funding the Delaware River Basin Commission.
- Locations and construction of natural gas pipelines.
- Reductions in the Hazardous Site Cleanup Fund.
- The fate of coal-fired power plants in Pennsylvania.
- The Governor’s alternative energy tax proposal funded by a portion of
severance tax and bond.
- Plan for reducing delays in issuing DEP permits.
- The need for better time management with existing inspectors.
- A breakdown of unionized workers and lawyers in DEP.
- Projections for oil and gas production for the next several years.
- The number of windmills in Pennsylvania and energy produced.
- An update on tire pile cleanup totals.
- Proposed stricter regulations of riparian buffers and the effect on
much-needed road and bridge projects.
- Improving access to natural gas for middle-class families.
- Grants for endangered species studies in watersheds.
- An update on the effectiveness of alternative energy incentive grants.
- Collaboration between DEP and the Public Utility Commission.
- Borrowing money for solar and wind projects.
- Unfunded mandates placed on municipal authorities for Chesapeake Bay
cleanup.
- DEP working with PEMA over concerns about transportation of oil by rail.
- The need to shore up accountability before offering more alternative
energy subsidies.
- Concerns over the cross-purposes of taxing one energy producer to
subsidize another.
- The apparent unsustainability of proposed new spending to be financed by
a severance tax.
Watch the Hearing
here.
Department of Corrections
Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee questioned Acting Corrections
Secretary John Wetzel and John Tuttle, Acting Chair of the PA Board of Probation
and Parole about several issues relating to Pennsylvania's prison population
including:
- The rising costs associated with incarcerating inmates and high rates of
recidivism among prisoners.
- Efforts to provide job-training to inmates so that they can find
employment when then are released.
- Enlisting the help of non-profits in providing services to prisoners to
help them with re-entry.
- Medical care provided to inmates, particularly mental health services
for inmates who are leaving prison.
- Providing education and vocational education to prisoners to improve
their skills.
- Converting prisons from coal to natural gas to save costs.
- The role that mental health courts can play in lowering prison
populations and costs.
- The high cost of benefits, including pensions, for employees compared to
the private sector.
- Significant caseloads for county probation officers.
- Providing support and mentoring to children of incarcerated inmates.
- Overtime costs and the need to fill vacant prison guard positions to
reduce those expenses.
- Managing non-violent offenders in the community while not compromising
public safety.
- Consolidating the Department of Corrections and the Board of Probation
and Parole to improve services to those who are incarcerated.
Watch the Hearing
here.
Senator Mensch notes that inmates with mental health issues have higher
associated costs and require more staff training to handle, discusses the fate
of such inmates re-entering society, and inquires about job placement for
released inmates. Watch here.
PA Liquor Control Board
Members questioned Pennsylvania Secretary of Drug and Alcohol Programs Gary
Tennis
Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board Chairman Tim Holden and board members
fielded questions regarding various liquor privatization and modernization
proposals.
Other topics of discussion included:
- The decision to allow beer distributors to sell 12-packs to customers.
- An update on tavern gaming licenses.
- The potential to generate additional revenue if Sunday sales are
expanded.
- Additional personnel costs if Sunday sales are expanded.
- The burden on consumers if a sales tax increase is enacted.
- Legislation to allow 24-hour alcohol sales at casinos.
- Current and projected revenues generated by state liquor sales.
- Operational costs, pricing and mark-ups.
- The gift ban for board members.
- Allowing the direct shipment of wine and beer to out-of-state customers.
- Efforts to prevent underage drinking and drunk driving.
- The increase in sales at new and rebranded state liquor stores.
- Investments in alcohol education.
- Securitization of liquor store receipts.
Watch the Hearing
here.
Thursday, March 26
Department of Human Services
Ted Dallas, Acting Secretary of Human Services took questions from senators
on a number of programs and services that his agency provides, including:
- Expanding the Human Services Development Fund and providing greater
accountability in tracking block grants.
- The lack of psychiatrists in state hospitals and the fact that patients
are not receiving care.
- A psychiatric demonstration project that has shown great success but is
not being used in Pennsylvania.
- Concerns about the hiring of a New York-based company to oversee labor
relations with direct care workers involved in home- and community-based
services.
- Combatting the growing heroin epidemic and providing first responders
with Narcan to reverse overdoses.
- Training of those who are administering the new child protection laws.
- Outreach services to homeless veterans and the use of veterans courts to
address issues.
- Strengthening the integrity of the public assistance program to combat
fraud and abuse.
- Changes that have been made to the way community group home providers
are being reimbursed.
- The long delay in processing child abuse clearance checks.
- The waiting list in many group homes and the need to more adequately
fund them.
- Funding for autism and the need to increase the appropriation to handle
the growing number of cases.
- Attempts to unionize direct care workers and the cost of the benefit
package for employees.
- Spending for programs and services for at-risk children.
- Providing care to adult children who have mental illness.
- Concerns about achieving sustainability in budgeting and the impact that
imposing additional taxes will have on programs and services.
Watch the Hearing
here.
Senator Mensch asks what is being done to eliminate delays in processing
clearances for citizens to work and volunteer with children, and voices concerns
that a recent executive order from the Governor will increase unionization at
group homes, resulting in higher costs and longer waiting lists. Watch
here.
Department of Community and Economic Development
Committee members questioned Dennis Davin, Acting Secretary of the Department
of Community and Economic Development
- The need for a proactive approach to help companies expand, stay or
relocate in Pennsylvania.
- Ensuring accountability when providing grants to the private sector to
create jobs.
- Concerns about the Governor’s proposal to expand the sales tax and how
that will impact small businesses.
- The impact of the film industry in Pennsylvania and the film tax credit.
- Concerns about the Governor’s proposal to implement combined reporting
and how it would affect companies because of a lack of predictability.
- The importance of Main Street and Elm Street programs to economic
development.
- How the City Revitalization and Improvement Zone (CRIZ) Program has
improved community development.
- Concerns that the Governor’s plan to increase the tax that small
businesses pay by 20 percent will stifle job-creation and economic
development.
- Concerns about achieving sustainability in budgeting and the impact that
imposing additional taxes will have on programs and services.
- Focusing more resources on tourism marketing and promotion.
- Efforts to attract more skilled workers and provide job training.
- The financial distress that many third-class cities are now under.
View the Budget Hearing here.
Department of State
Acting Secretary of State Pedro Cortes discussed several election-related and
state licensing issues during the final installment of the second week of
Appropriations Committee budget hearings. Specific topics discussed during the
session included:
- Status of a notification system when medical professionals are charged
with a crime.
- Online voter registration.
- Business licensing.
- The Governor’s proposed sales tax expansion to include professional
services.
- The Gosnell abortion clinic case.
- Absentee voting.
- State athletic commission.
- Costs of advertising constitutional amendment ballot questions.
- State boards and commissions.
- Information technology equipment.
View the Budget Hearing
here.
Twitter and Facebook: I post regular
updates on legislative action, committee developments, useful state-related
information, happenings in the 24th Senatorial District and more on Twitter
@SenatorMensch and on my
Facebook page.
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