Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Legislative
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COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA LEGISLATIVE JOURNAL MONDAY, JANUARY 13, 2020 SESSION OF 2020 204TH OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY No. 2 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Gentiles, and all of God's children would here one day join hand The House convened at 1 p.m., e.s.t. in hand to achieve the dream. The dream, of course, to paraphrase, was that each and every human being, each man and each woman, be judged not by the color of their skin but by the THE SPEAKER (MIKE TURZAI) content of their character. That dream is realized each and every PRESIDING day, but we have so much more to go. I am reminded of the teaching in a collection called "Pirke The SPEAKER. Happy new year to each and every one of Avot: Ethics of the Sages." Those sages inspired us with these you. words: It is not our duty, each and every one of us here today, it is not our duty to complete this task in realization of this dream. PRAYER But it is our duty to work toward it, toward that realization, and always to remember that we are never free to desist from it. The SPEAKER. We are so honored today to be joined by There is a wonderful teaching in the Bible, in the first five Rabbi Seth Frisch. He is with The New Shul of America, Sunrise books referred to in our tradition as the Torah, the Five Books of of Abington, Pennsylvania, and he is the guest of our good friend, Moses. And in those five books is found the following blessing: Representative Jared Solomon, and our good friend, The blessing begins with the words in Hebrew for the sake of Representative Sanchez. tradition. Rabbi. (Prayer in Hebrew.) RABBI SETH FRISCH, Guest Chaplain of the House of Representatives, offered the following prayer: May the Lord bless you and keep you, all of you, on the road to realizing this dream of Dr. King. May God be among us and Eternal One, You who have blessed us and brought us to this teach us and guide us. day, we have just in moments in time, in less than 1 week, the And so we ask You, dear God, in front of this sacred Assembly important day which commemorates the legacy of the Reverend here in this sacred Commonwealth in a state of hallowed ground Dr. Martin Luther King – not only the youngest recipient of the with so much more to go, bless us, keep us, guide us, teach us, Nobel Prize, but teacher, preacher, prophet, one who brought and remain with us forever. Amen. Americans together after so much division and so much that divided us. We have this week in front of us to recognize all that PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE has happened since those days. There is a teaching in the Psalms. (The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by members and visitors.) (Prayer in Hebrew.) The SPEAKER. Thank you, Rabbi. This is the day that the Lord has made joyous and we will profoundly find joy within it, but it is not without the suffering and the division that came before it. JOURNAL APPROVAL POSTPONED We in the Commonwealth here are so blessed with the The SPEAKER. Without objection, the approval of the diversity and the nations and the religions and the peoples that Journal of Tuesday, January 7, 2020, will be postponed until make up this hallowed ground. After so many years of fighting printed. over such hallowed grounds, we have come together, but we recognize so much more needs to be done and must be done to nurture and to continue us becoming closer to one another, BILLS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEES, recognizing each other as a member of the greater family of the CONSIDERED FIRST TIME, AND TABLED Commonwealth, of the State of Pennsylvania. Dr. King once remarked, "I Have a Dream." He repeated it HB 2046, PN 3121 (Amended) By Rep. SONNEY over and over again with the hope that he would inspire the dream An Act amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known to come true. He said that he envisioned a day in which Black as the Public School Code of 1949, in certification of teachers, further people and White people, Catholics and Protestants, Jews and providing for instructional certificate grade spans and age levels and duties of department. 8 LEGISLATIVE JOURNAL—HOUSE JANUARY 13 EDUCATION. Representative Joshua Kail, Beaver and Washington Counties, is elected a member of the Judiciary Committee and resigns as a member SB 790, PN 1446 (Amended) By Rep. METCALFE of the Children and Youth Committee. An Act relating to conventional wells and the development of oil, Representative Jim Struzzi, Indiana County, is elected a member of gas and coal; imposing powers and duties on the Department of the Children and Youth Committee. Environmental Protection; providing for preliminary provisions, for general requirements, for enforcement and remedies, for related funds Representative Gary Day, Lehigh and Berks Counties, resigns as a and for miscellaneous provisions; and making an appropriation. member of the Insurance Committee, Gaming Oversight Committee and Tourism and Recreational Development Committee. ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY. Representative Tom Murt, Montgomery County, is elected a member RESOLUTIONS REPORTED of the Children and Youth Committee. FROM COMMITTEE Representative Natalie Mihalek, Allegheny and Washington Counties, is elected a member of the Gaming Oversight Committee. HR 622, PN 2961 By Rep. SONNEY Representative Meghan Schroeder, Bucks County, is elected a A Resolution designating the month of January 2020 as "School member of the Gaming Oversight Committee. Director Recognition Month" in Pennsylvania. EDUCATION. Representative Jim Gregory, Blair County, is elected a member of the Labor and Industry Committee. HR 650, PN 3071 By Rep. SONNEY Representative David Rowe, Union and Snyder Counties, is elected a member of the Game and Fisheries Committee. A Resolution recognizing the 110th anniversary of Milton Hershey School and the life-changing opportunities it provides to children from low-income families. Representative Andrew Lewis, Dauphin County, is elected a member of the Judiciary Committee. EDUCATION. Representative Mindy Fee, Lancaster County, is elected a member of the Tourism and Recreational Development Committee. The SPEAKER. And there is a request for a rereferral. You can state that; we are not going to rerefer it until I check with our Representative Dawn Keefer, York and Cumberland County, is staff, but you can read it. elected a member of the Insurance Committee. I am not sure that we are going to do it until I have looked at it. I do not just do the rereferrals automatically. Representative Lou Schmidt, Blair County, is elected a member of the Insurance Committee. REPORT OF Representative Parke Wentling, Mercer, Crawford, Erie and COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES Lawrence Counties, is elected a member of the Human Services Committee. The SPEAKER. The Committee on Committees, a supplemental report is issued for January 13, 2020, and I am going to read through these. It is from Stan Saylor, our chairman Respectfully submitted, of Committee on Committees, in conjunction with the Speaker of Stan Saylor, Chairman the House and the members of the majority of that committee. Committee on Committees On the question, The following report was read: Will the House adopt the resolution? Committee on Committees Resolution was adopted. Supplemental Report ANNOUNCEMENT BY SPEAKER In the House of Representatives The SPEAKER. In addition, Representative Gary Day has January 13, 2020 been named the chair of the Aging and Older Adult Services RESOLVED, That, Committee and Representative Tom Murt has been named chair of the Human Services Committee. Thank you. Representative Johnathan Hershey, Juniata, Franklin and Mifflin Counties, is elected a member of the Gaming Oversight Committee. WRITS OF SPECIAL ELECTION Representative Marci Mustello, Butler County, is elected a member The SPEAKER. The Speaker submits for the record copies of of the Gaming Oversight Committee. the writs for the special elections to be held for the 8th Legislative Representative Ryan Warner, Fayette and Westmoreland Counties, District, the 18th Legislative District, and the 58th Legislative is elected a member of the Consumer Affairs Committee and resigns as District. The special elections for each of those districts is called a member of the Gaming Oversight Committee. for March 17, 2020. I did cite this information for the record in public on January 7, 2020. 2020 LEGISLATIVE JOURNAL—HOUSE 9 The following writs of special election were submitted: NOW, THEREFORE, I, MIKE TURZAI, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES BY VIRTUE OF THE AUTHORITY VESTED IN ME BY THE CONSTITUTION OF THE WRIT OF ELECTION COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, AND BY THE ACT OF ASSEMBLY IN SUCH CASE MADE AND PROVIDED, DO TO KATHY BOOCKVAR, SECRETARY OF THE HEREBY COMMAND: COMMONWEALTH, AND TO GINA CERILLI, SEAN KERTES, AND DOUGLAS CHEW, BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THAT YOU CAUSE AN ELECTION TO BE HELD IN THE SAID WESTMORELAND COUNTY. COUNTIES OF BUTLER AND MERCER, ON THE 17TH DAY OF MARCH, TWO THOUSAND TWENTY TO CHOOSE A PERSON TO GREETINGS: WHEREAS, A VACANCY EXISTS IN THE OFFICE REPRESENT SAID LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT IN THE HOUSE OF OF REPRESENTATIVE OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF REPRESENTATIVES OF PENNSYLVANIA, FOR THE PENNSYLVANIA FOR THE FIFTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATIVE REMAINDER OF THE TERM EXPIRING NOVEMBER 30TH, TWO DISTRICT OF THE COUNTY OF WESTMORELAND, CAUSED BY THOUSAND TWENTY, AND THAT YOU GIVE DUE AND PUBLIC THE RESIGNATION OF JUSTIN M. WALSH, THE NOTICE OF SAID ELECTION THROUGHOUT SAID DISTRICT, IN REPRESENTATIVE FROM SAID DISTRICT, ON THE 6TH DAY OF THE FORM AND MANNER DIRECTED BY LAW. JANUARY, TWO THOUSAND TWENTY. GIVEN UNDER MY HAND AND THE SEAL OF THE HOUSE OF NOW, THEREFORE, I, MIKE TURZAI, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE REPRESENTATIVES AT HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, THIS OF REPRESENTATIVES BY VIRTUE OF THE AUTHORITY 7TH DAY OF JANUARY, TWO THOUSAND TWENTY.