We’re about a third of the way through the budget negotiations, Eachus said. He said the Democrats will caucus at 2:00 p.m. today, and again at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow, going through budget line by line.
Civera questioned what budget the House Democrats are looking at. We’re mirroring the 11-12 hours of work we did at the Governor’s residence, Eachus said. Senate Bill 850 is out of balance, but we’re still using the same reference point, he explained. The purpose is so our members clearly understand what we’ve been working on in Democratic leadership, and make the same informed judgments as the leaders, he said. Our caucus is concerned with education and health care cuts, we’re “really going to dig into” these issues in the next few days, Eachus announced. Investing in the PA economy is another key area, he said.
Even with the busy budget season in full swing, PLS has managed to find a few moments to make our service to you even better.
You know how you’re always waiting around for a committee story to be posted and you have to keep checking to see if it’s there? Well, no longer! Now you can be alerted when a committee story is posted. If you subscribe to the alerts option, all you have to do is subscribe to a committee of interest and you will be alerted whenever a story for that committee is posted. Coming soon, you can be alerted when a story on a bill you’re tracking is posted.
Also, you asked and we delivered! Now you will be alerted when the bills you are tracking appear on the House Voting Schedule. The status will also appear in the bill’s history. We don’t know why we didn’t think of it sooner. Keep those ideas coming.
Since these features are as new to use as they are to you, please bear with us as we work out the kinks. The only way to be sure it works is to try it out!
Questions? You know how to find us.
The committee met to consider four bills. HB 72, HB 1415, SB 142, and SB 380 were unanimously reported as committed. Check the PLS Capitol Toolbox later today for the full story.
The committee met to consider eight bills. HB 250, HB 1102, HB 1415, HB 1656, HB 1754, HB 1770 and HB 270 were unanimously reported as committed. HB 1676 was reported as committed with the Republicans voting in the negative. Check the PLS Capitol Toolbox later today for the full story.
Continuing in his duties as a member of the White House Team of State Legislators for Health Reform, Rep. Josh Shapiro (D-Montgomery) met today with various mental health stakeholders in Pennsylvania. Among them was DPW Secretary Estelle Richman, who took time to join the discussion. Check the Capitol Toolbox later for the full story.
The House Local Government Committee held an informational meeting on HB 1682, which authorizes counties to levy a 1% sales tax. The committee heard from prime sponsor Rep. Sturla and Doug Hill, who spoke on behalf of all local government agencies in support of the proposal. Representatives of Renew Lehigh Valley asked that Northampton and Lehigh Counties, both home rule counties, be granted additional flexibility in the proposal, and lobbyist Holly Kinser spoke in support of authorizing an additional 1% sales tax for Philadelphia County.
Look for the complete story in the Capitol Toolbox this afternoon.
