HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — Governor Josh Shapiro signed 14 bills into law Friday.
Nine of the bills are budget appropriations bills, Shapiro’s office says.
“Today I signed into law the first pieces of budget legislation for the next year — ensuring we continue to fund our workers’ compensation system, support our retirees, and process professional licenses and certificates quickly,” said Shapiro. “This is the first step toward a final budget, and we will continue to have productive conversations and work with the House and Senate in order to get this done.”
Sponsored by Rep. Lisa Borowski (D-Delaware), House Bill 209 allows second class townships to adopt ordinances immediately upon adoption.
Boroughs and first class townships already enjoy that ability, though second class townships must select a date no sooner than five days after adoption.
“This unique restriction hinders their ability to effectively govern,” Borowski contended in her co-sponsorship memorandum.
The bill passed the House on March 26 by a 194-7 vote.
It nearly passed the Senate on Wednesday unanimously. Lehigh County Republican Senator Jarrett Coleman was the lone no vote.
Sponsored by Rep. Kerry Benninghoff (R-Centre/Mifflin), House Bill 240 eliminates multiple hearing aid tests for school bus drivers.
The bill previously passed the House of Representatives unanimously in 2023-24.
“Under PennDOT’s current regulations, a school bus driver with a hearing aid is required to pass two types of hearing tests,” Benninghoff wrote in his co-sponsorship memorandum. “First, a standard hearing test while wearing a hearing aid. Second, the hearing aid itself must undergo an electroacoustic analysis test to ensure that the hearing aid is functioning according to the manufacturer’s standards.”
“Since there are many brands of hearing aids, it can be difficult for school bus drivers to find medical professionals to approve their hearing aids, which can cause them to forego their school bus endorsement,” he adds.
Benninghoff says many school bus drivers are retired individuals and there is already a shortage of drivers in Pennsylvania. Thus, he says, the bill would lessen the burden on bus drivers.
The bill passed the House unanimously in March and the Senate unanimously on Monday.
Sponsored by Rep. Chris Pielli (D-Chester), House Bill 355 increases penalties for corruption of minors in certain situations to a felony.
Specifically, if the perpetrator is a peace officer or school employee and had sexual contact with a minor in their care, the crime would be a third degree felony. If said officer or employee corrupts, aids, abets, or encourages any minor in the commission of a sexual offense, it would be a second degree felony.
“Too often, people with authority in our society who should serve as mentors and role models abuse their position and prey on minors,” Pielli said. “This bill would provide for extra accountability should someone in one of these roles decide to use the influence of their position to harm a child that they should be helping instead.”
The bill was unanimously passed by the House on May 5 and unanimously passed the Senate on Wednesday.
Also sponsored by Pielli, this bill would allow Pennsylvania authorities to prosecute juveniles charged with crimes on military installations in the state.
“These installations occupy a unique legal position, in that they may be under federal jurisdiction, where the system is not designed to deal with certain elements of family law,” Pielli writes in his co-sponsorship memorandum. “When military installations are under exclusive federal jurisdiction, military children may be forced through an adult judicial system, which lacks appropriate juvenile-focused resources and may result in military-connected juveniles being tried as adults while their peers off-base may be steered into more appropriate channels.”
The bill passed the House unanimously on April 7 and the Senate unanimously on Wednesday.
Sponsored by Rep. Jordan Harris (D-Philadelphia), this bill is a budget appropriations bill.
Specifically, the following appropriations are made:
The bill passed the House 155-47 on June 4 and the Senate unanimously on Wednesday.
Also sponsored by Harris, this bill is a budget appropriations bill.
Specifically, the following appropriations are made:
The bill passed the House on June 4 160-42 and the Senate unanimously on Wednesday.
Also sponsored by Harris, this bill is a budget appropriations bill.
Specifically, the following appropriations are made:
The bill passed the House on June 4 168-34 and the Senate unanimously on Wednesday.
Also sponsored by Harris, this bill is a budget appropriations bill.
Specifically, the following appropriations are made:
The bill passed the House on June 4 157-45 and the Senate on Wednesday 48-2.
Also sponsored by Harris, this bill is a budget appropriations bill.
Specifically, the following appropriations are made:
The bill passed the House on June 4 157-45 and the Senate on Wednesday 47-3.
Also sponsored by Harris, this bill is a budget appropriations bill.
Specifically, the bill appropriates $2,193,000 from the Philadelphia Taxicab and Limousine Regulatory Fund to the Philadelphia Parking Authority.
It passed the House on June 4 154-48 and the Senate on Wednesday 49-1. Senator Doug Mastriano (R-Franklin) was the lone no vote.
Also sponsored by Harris, this bill is a budget appropriations bill pertaining to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.
Specifically, $96,006,000 in state funds are appropriated to the PUC along with $5,110,000 in federal funds for the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety program, $500,000 for Motor Carrier Safety, and $2,500,000 for the IRA Transmission Siting Program.
The bill passed the House on June 9 148-54 and the Senate on Wednesday 48-2. Coleman and Senator Chris Gebhard (R-Berks/Lancaster/Lebanon) were the no votes.
Also sponsored by Harris, this bill is a budget appropriations bill.
Specifically, the bill makes appropriations from the restricted revenue accounts within the State Gaming Fund and from the restricted revenue accounts within the Fantasy Contest Fund and Video Gaming Fund to the Attorney General, the Department of Revenue, the Pennsylvania State Police and the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
The bill passed the House initially by a 102-100 vote on June 4, was amended and passed by the Senate 48-2 on Wednesday, and concurred by the House Thursday by a 178-24 vote.
Also sponsored by Harris, this bill is a budget appropriations bill.
The bill appropriates $7,252,000 from the restricted revenue account within the General Fund to the Office of Consumer Advocate.
It passed the House on June 4 by a 157-45 vote and the Senate on Wednesday 48-2.
Sponsored by Senator Chris Gebhard (R-Berks/Lancaster/Lebanon), this bill adds virtual currency transmission to the Money Transmitter Act.
The bill requires virtual currency transmission to be treated similarly to money transmission.
“As a result, entities managing the transfer of virtual currency, such as virtual currency exchange companies, would need to meet licensure requirements in the same manner as all other money transmitter licensees,” Gebhard wrote in his co-sponsorship memorandum. “This change will enhance consumer protections related to virtual currency in Pennsylvania.”
“Before this law, if a company transmitted money for a fee, they had to be licensed by us — but if they transmitted virtual currency like Bitcoin, they didn’t. That gap left consumers unprotected,” said Department of Banking and Securities (DoBS) Secretary Wendy Spicher. “Now, by requiring licensure for virtual currency transmitters, we can close that gap and keep bad actors out of the business.”
The bill passed the Senate 49-0 in March and the House Wednesday 201-2.
Reps. Stephanie Borowicz (R-Clinton/Union) and Rep. John Lawrence (R-Chester) voted no.
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