Capitol Recap November 20, 2019 AROUND THE ROTUNDA CONTENTS PLS coverage of Capitol events including press conferences, bill signings, & media availabilities AROUND THE ROTUNDA 1 COMMITTEE NEWS 2 DEMOCRATS DISCUSS PASSAGE OF MINIMUM WAGE LEGISLATION NEW LEGISLATION 28 By Matt Hess, Pennsylvania Legislative Services | November 20, 2019 LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS 30 EXECUTIVE ACTIONS 45 A host of Democratic members of the House and Senate gathered for a press conference UPCOMING MEETINGS 45 outside the Lt. Governor’s Office this evening to discussion the passage of minimum wage SESSION STATUS legislation in the Senate. At 9:17 p.m. on Wednesday, November 20, Sen. Christine Tartaglione (D-Philadelphia), prime sponsor of SB 79, emphasized that 2019 the Senate stands raising the wage to $9.50 an hour is just a start. “We don’t control both chambers. If we had, in recess until Thursday, we would have had a $15 minimum wage with a Consumer Price Index (CPI) tagged onto it, November 21, 2019 at as well as local municipalities setting a rate of their choice above the minimum wage,” she 11:00 a.m., unless sooner stated. “Today is 4,882 days since low-wage workers in Pennsylvania had a raise. Everyone recalled by the President says they wanted to get more. I could not turn away and tell those folks making $7.25 an Pro Tempore. hour and tell them it is not enough. Any type of raise was a step in the right direction. This At 7:10 p.m. on Wednesday, does not mean we are giving up. We are going to continue to fight.” November 20, 2019 the House stands adjourned Sen. Arthur Haywood (D-Montgomery) thanked the advocates for helping pass the legislation until Thursday, November in the Senate and affirmed that Democratic lawmakers will continue to fight for $15 an hour. 21, 2019 at 10:00 a.m., “$9.50 is not where we want to be, but it is where we are today. If we get this passed in unless sooner recalled by the House that’s about 600,000 people who will get a raise. It’s about $31 million that we the Speaker. would pay in public assistance that won’t go out. The new pay level will be about $19,000 UPCOMING SESSION DAYS for those who get 40 hours at $9.50 an hour, and that’s a raise of about $4,600. For a family of two, they will finally be above the poverty line,” he stated. “We must continue and, in fact, House Nov. 21 redouble our efforts. This is not the end of the fight. Nothing has changed in our commitment Dec. 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18 to $15 an hour.” Senate Rep. Patty Kim (D-Dauphin) commended the Senate for passing the bill. “This has been Nov. 21 a long haul since Pennsylvania has passed a minimum wage. We have finally focused on Dec. 16, 17, 18 regular people,” she stated. “This is bittersweet because there is no commitment that the House will pass this bill. Advocates, workers; we have to go hard. We have to start balling; there’s no time to rest.” Rep. Chris Rabb (D-Philadelphia) reiterated that there is no assurance from House leadership that the bill will run, let alone pass. “I think, frankly, fear inspired this progress. Fear that this might come up at another point where this may look bad for some of our colleagues who are not voting moving toward a living wage. The vast majority of the population in Pennsylvania and the nation support a living wage. This should not be a partisan issue, and yet it is,” he stated. “We are going to run hard on this. We know that this is progress, but this is not a living wage…irrespective of what happens in this chamber, people are listening to what’s happening in the streets. We’re mobilizing and we are in the majority in the streets, in the nation, and in the commonwealth.” Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-Philadelphia) affirmed that Democratic lawmakers will continue to Provided by Pennsylvania fight for $15 an hour as soon as Gov. Wolf signs SB 79 into law. “We will not stop fighting Legislative Services for $15 an hour for Pennsylvania citizens who are making a difference every day. We have 240 N. 3rd St. 6th Floor Harrisburg, PA 17101 a product of a Republican-controlled Senate and Republican-controlled House. If we were 717.236.6984 phone in charge, these numbers would be a lot higher and we would have done this a long time 717.236.5097 fax ago. We are not in the business, given the circumstances right now, of taking money out www.mypls.com of people’s pockets. If this is the hand that’s being dealt, we have to play it to the end,” he stated. “$2.83 an hour for a tipped wage worker, a number that has existed for over 20 years, must be changed. If a local community wants to raise the wage, they should have the opportunity to do it in response to the economic conditions of their neighborhoods. No low-income or any worker should have to worry year to year whether they get a little more bump in their pay. Budgets, spending, and wages are not just an economic statement, they are a moral statement. The fight for $15 still goes on; we will not give up.” COMMITTEE NEWS Comprehensive coverage of House & Senate public hearings & voting meetings House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee 11/20/19, 9:00 a.m., Room 140 Main Capitol By Matt Hess, Pennsylvania Legislative Services The committee held a voting meeting and an informational meeting on conservation districts. HR 605 Keller, Mark - (PN 2839) Resolution designating the week of February 22 through 29, 2020, as “FFA Week” in Pennsylvania. - The resolution was unanimously reported as committed. Turning to the informational meeting, Chairman Causer explained that the meeting was held to give an opportunity for committee members to ask questions and learn about conservation districts in Pennsylvania. Brenda Shambaugh, executive director, Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts (PACD), explained that Pennsylvania’s conservation districts were established in 1945 when the General Assembly passed Act 217, the Soil Conservation District Act. “Today, there is a conservation district established in every Pennsylvania county except Philadelphia. In general, districts work with partners such as government agencies, private organizations and businesses, offering technical assistance and educational guidance to landowners and managers, local governments, teachers, students and people from every walk of life,” she stated. “They can provide information and help on matters such as reducing soil erosion, protecting water quality, cleaning up acid mine drainage, or preventing hazardous situations such as flooding. Act 217 also created the State Conservation Commission under the concurrent authority of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The commission provides oversight of the districts and directs the implementation of conservation programs.” Shambaugh said conservation districts were established during the Dust Bowl to promote the value of conserving soil and water to farmers. Today, she continued, district expertise has expanded to almost every area of natural resource conservation. “Each district is led by a volunteer board of directors consisting of farmers, public members, and a member of county government. The county district board identifies local conservation needs, decides which programs and services to offer, and develops a strategic plan so the district can assist with their county natural resource needs,” she stated. “Conservation districts receive funding from various entities and each district’s funding sources are unique, depending on the programs they administer in their county. Thanks to you, as members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, every district receives state funding through the annual commonwealth budget process and the state impact fee. Also, many districts enter into delegated agreements with state agencies to administer programs in their county. Some districts receive county funding or in-kind services as well. Additionally, most districts apply for grants to further their mission and to provide funding for projects in their county. We are very grateful for the state funding provided through the state budget process and all the other funding sources to provide the necessary financial support, allowing conservation districts to assist in preserving and protecting land and water resources.” Christopher Thompson, district manager, Lancaster County Conservation District, explained that the district is comprised of 34 professional staff that administers five main programs: agriculture stewardship, erosion and sedimentation control, watershed conservation, conservation education and outreach, and clean water partner coordination. 2 In terms of watershed conservation, Thompson explained that the district provides technical, informational and organizational assistance that will improve watershed organization development and the quality and quantity of the county’s surface and groundwater resources. He indicated that the focus of the work relates to watershed assessment; procurement of funding; technical assistance; and the creation, implementation, and coordination of work plans and strategies to restore and protect groundwater and surface water resources locally. He added that the district works with 12 active watershed groups and there are seven stream projects in total over 8,000 linear feet and $757,000 worth of stream work. Thompson said the erosion and sedimentation control program activities related to new construction projects are required to utilize best management practices (BMPs) in order to minimize negative impacts to the water quality. Moving to agriculture supports and services, Thompson explained that 68 percent of the land in Lancaster County is farmed, and there are 5,462 farms with $1.07 billion in direct sales and $7 billion in extrapolated sales.