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| News You Can Use |
| Legislative Headlines |
Two Delozier Bills Go to the Governor
Two pieces of legislation I authored to reform the judicial and energy sectors were sent to the governor late last week for his consideration.
On Thursday, the governor signed my bill to seal low-level criminal records after 10 years without a subsequent criminal arrest. This will allow people with minor, non-violent offenses to better obtain employment and housing.
Act 56 of 2018 builds upon Act 5 of 2016 by automatically sealing records of second- and third-degree misdemeanor criminal convictions after 10 years without a subsequent arrest, prosecution or conviction. Act 5 of 2016 allows for the sealing if a petition is filed by the accused. This new law does not apply to violent offenses related to endangerment of a person, against a family member, firearms or other dangerous item, sexual offenses and registration, cruelty to animals, or corruption of minors.
Sometimes young people make stupid mistakes. Minor youthful indiscretions should not prevent someone years later from getting a job or obtaining good housing. I’m pleased to have had bipartisan support from a variety to stakeholders, including a number of chambers of commerce, the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, unions and advocacy groups from all sides of the political spectrum.
The other proposal, House Bill 1782, allows electric and natural gas companies to change how they set their rates to adapt to new technologies. The bill strikes a balance between encouraging energy efficiency and assisting utilities with funding necessary improvements to the distribution network. I expect the governor will sign this bill soon.
New Law Makes Important School Safety Improvements
A new law (Act 44 of 2018) makes a number of significant school safety improvements for Pennsylvania’s children.
First, the law creates a $60 million block grant program that will allow schools to apply for grants to be used for a variety of safety and security enhancements. The program is designed so that schools have maximum flexibility to use the funding to meet their own specific needs.
Next, it creates a new Safe2Say tip line to allow students, teachers and community residents to anonymously report any unsafe, potentially harmful, dangerous, violent or criminal activities in schools. The tip line, administered by the Office of Attorney General, will be staffed by trained professionals who can appropriately respond to the situation and provide the reporter peace of mind that their concern will be addressed.
Third, the law calls for the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency to offer a uniform approach to evaluating current security measures in every school building in Pennsylvania. It also requires schools to provide employees with mandatory training on school safety and security, and mandates school security drills to be held in each school annually.
Finally, the new law allows public school entities, such as school boards, to go into private, executive session for school safety discussions. This will give school officials the ability to freely debate and develop security plans that address the needs of their schools without disclosing their plans to would-be attackers.
Impact Fee Revenue Tops $1.4 Billion
More than $200,000 in revenue from Marcellus Shale impact fees will benefit our area, according to the Public Utility Commission (PUC). Statewide, more than $209.6 million was derived from fees collected from the 2017 reporting year, which is $36 million more than last year. That boost is attributed to an increase in the number of wells in Pennsylvania, along with an increase in the average annual price of natural gas compared to the previous year.
In total, county and municipal governments directly affected by drilling will receive a total of $114.8 million with $76.5 million being transferred to the Marcellus Legacy Fund, which provides financial support for environmental, highway, water and sewer projects, rehabilitation of greenways and other projects throughout the state. Also, $18.25 million will be distributed to state agencies.
The PUC, which collects the fees, has established an interactive website through which visitors can search and download statistics, such as distributions to individual municipalities or counties; allocation and usage of those funds, based on reports submitted by various municipalities; eligible wells per county/municipality; and payments by producers.
Since the impact fee was implemented, nearly $1.4 billion in revenue has been generated – with every county receiving funding.
This revenue from Pennsylvania’s drilling activity is more than the drilling tax collected by the states of West Virginia, Ohio, Arkansas and Colorado combined, despite these four states producing more natural gas than Pennsylvania.
Independence Day Reminders
More than 240 years ago next week in Philadelphia, the 13 American colonies signed the Declaration of Independence to break free from British rule. To read more about the origins of American independence and our forefathers, click here.
If you are traveling, check out www.511pa.com, which is free and available 24 hours a day. The site, along with its Twitter handle @511pa, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 770 traffic cameras.
PennDOT will also close its driver license service centers on Wednesday, July 4. Customers may still obtain a variety of driver and vehicle products and services, including all forms, publications and driver training manuals, online through PennDOT’s Driver and Vehicle Services website, www.dmv.pa.gov.
Have a safe and happy July Fourth!
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| Rep. Delozier in the Community |
• This week, the West Shore Plaza Barbershop in Lemoyne celebrated its 60th anniversary. We are fortunate to have long-serving, great small businesses in our community.
• Children from Learning and Sharing Child Development Center visited the Capitol earlier this week. The group was amazed by the size of the building. I hope they enjoyed their visit.
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| Office Locations |
| 2929 Gettysburg Road, Suite 6, Camp Hill PA 17011 | Phone: (717) 761-4665 |
| 141 East Wing, PO Box 202088, Harrisburg PA 17120-2088 | Phone: 717-783-5282 |
| Email: sdelozie@pahousegop.com |
| TTY: 855-282-0614 |
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