PA Legislation Enacted in 2011-12 Session

Editor's note: For more of State Sen. Wayne Fontana's discussion of the 2011-12 legislative session, click here.

The General Assembly last week concluded voting session for the 2011-2012 legislative session.

The following are highlights of quality legislation enacted to benefit Pennsylvanians:

Task Force on Homeless Children’s Education

Act 123 of 2012 is legislation I authored that established a task force to examine the educational needs of homeless children throughout the Commonwealth. The Task Force on Homeless Children’s Education will study and assess the demographics of homeless parents and youth throughout the Commonwealth and the difficulties in providing educational services to homeless students while identifying successful strategies and best practices used in other states. Upon completion, the task force will issue a report and a set of recommendations that will allow the legislature to implement measures to provide education to homeless children.

Restoration of the Homeowner's Emergency Assistance Program (HEMAP) 

Act 70 of 2012 established the Homeowner Assistance Settlement Act which allowed for the reinstatement of the state’s successful HEMAP program.  This law established the Homeowner Assistance Settlement Fund to finance the Homeowner's Emergency Assistance Program (HEMAP). Under the program, the Treasury Department is required to deposit all payments the state receives from the Homeowner Assistance Settlement Agreement into the Homeowner Assistance Settlement Fund. The “Homeowner Assistance Settlement Agreement” refers to the agreement and related documents entered into in February of this year by the PA Attorney General and the leading U.S. mortgage servicing companies. Up to $18 million will be allocated from the Fund to fund mortgage assistance measures, with 90% of the funding reserved for HEMAP and 10% reserved for funding consumer protection programs. An additional $6 million will be available to immediately address residual backlog from the program’s dormancy. HEMAP will receive $12 million in subsequent fiscal years.  HEMAP provides mortgage assistance to thousands of Pennsylvania families each year and also helps to reduce blight and the decline of neighboring home values, both of which are byproducts of foreclosure.

Land Banks

House Bill 1682 (HB 1682), which passed the Legislature last week and is awaiting signature by the Governor, allows municipalities with a population of over 10,000 to establish a land bank. Land banks are used as tools to stabilize and return abandoned or tax-delinquent properties back to productive status.  Land banks act very similarly to municipal authorities and have the power to acquire and rehabilitate abandoned and vacant properties making them once again valuable additions to the community. Abandoned properties have a tendency to burden our communities by encouraging crime and presenting safety hazards in addition to decreasing property values and impeding economic development. Lands banks are effective tools to combat those problems.

Keystone Works Program

Act 107 of 2012 established the Keystone Works Program. This program provides an opportunity for an unemployed worker receiving Unemployment Compensation to obtain job training with a business while continuing to receive their UC benefits, while at the same time incentivizing the employers to hopefully hire these unemployed individuals. The worker benefits by staying connected to the workforce, obtaining new skills and receiving job-specific training in a high-priority occupation. The employer benefits because the program helps off-set the cost of training, and offers incentives of up to $1,500 for every trainee they hire.

Expansion of Keystone Opportunity Zone Program

Act 16 of 2012 expanded the state's Keystone Opportunity Zone (KOZ) initiative. First established in 1999, KOZs provide tax benefits to companies that create jobs in the designated zones. Act 16 strengthens the program by providing additional tools to help focus on job creation here in Pennsylvania. It authorized the creation of up to 15 new zones, known as Keystone Opportunity Expansion Zones (KOEZs). As with existing KOZs, the tax benefits in KOEZs will be available for 10 years and all new zones must be approved by local governments and school boards. For businesses which invest at least $1 billion and create at least 400 jobs within seven years, the tax benefits will be extended to 15 years. The legislation also increases oversight powers and responsibilities for the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED). DCED will be required to monitor job creation and retention data, information on what types of jobs are created, the average hourly wages, and more.

Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Program Expansion

Act 85 of 2012 included a provision to increase the existing EITC Program by $25 million making the total amount of EITC tax credits available to businesses that fund children who get scholarships to other schools totaling $100 million in Fiscal Year 2012-2013. For the 2012-2013 school year, students are eligible to receive a scholarship if their household’s annual income is less than $60,000, plus $12,000 for each dependent member of the household. After June 30, 2013, the maximum household income increases to $75,000 and the income allowance for each additional dependent rises to $15,000. The income allowance will be adjusted after July 1, 2014 based on Consumer Price Index increases.  An average scholarship will be $1,000 per student.

Businesses that pledge money to public and private school scholarships for one year are able to donate up to $300,000 and receive a tax credit from the state for up to 75 percent of the donated amount. The amount a business firm may contribute increases to $400,000 in Fiscal Year 2013-2014, and to $750,000 beginning in Fiscal Year 2014-2015. Businesses may also be eligible to receive a tax cut of 90 percent of the donated amount for committing to an amount for two years.

Corrections Reform

Act 122 of 2012 and House Bill 135 (HB 135)—which passed the Legislature last week and is awaiting signature by the Governor—are measures put into place to reduce severely increased costs within the prison system and to reinvest in corrections programs that are proven to reduce recidivism all the while maintaining the safety of our citizens. The Corrections Reform Act (Act 122) includes several corrections reform initiatives, including provisions to help reduce the prison population without risking the safety of the public, alternative sentencing programs for non-violent offenders and reentry and reintegration programs. This restructuring is expected to yield up to $300 million in savings for Pennsylvania. HB 135, known as the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI), will use $86 million to directly support many of the initiatives that include increased programming for release for non-violent offenders, expediting programming for short-time non-violent offenders and aggressively utilizing alternative sentencing for non-violent offenders and the increased use of treatment programs. Reducing spending on corrections and redirecting funds to programs for non-violent offenders is not only a fundamental step to reducing the number of inmates in our system, but it will also go a long way toward rehabilitation and reducing recidivism which saves taxpayer dollars.

Junior Driver Safety

Act 81 of 2011 requires that for the first six months after the issuance of a junior driver's license, the junior driver may not drive with more than one passenger under the age of 18 who is not a member of the junior driver's immediate family unless a parent or guardian is present. After the first six months, the number of non-family members under 18 would increase to three. The act also requires that the minimum behind-the-wheel driving requirements for licensure increases from 50 to 65 hours. Ten hours must be at night, and five hours must be during inclement weather. Lastly, the act makes it a primary offense if a driver or passenger under 18 is not properly restrained with a seat belt, child safety seat or booster seat.

Ban on Texting While Driving

Act 98 of 2011 prohibits motorists from using a wireless communications device to send, read or write a text message while driving. The violation is considered a primary offense, which means a law enforcement officer can pull over a driver for that offense alone. The statewide ban preempts and supersedes all local ordinances on this type of violation. The act does not apply to a GPS or other navigation system, a system that is built into the vehicle or a communication devise that is affixed to a mass transit vehicle or school bus.

Senator Wayne D. Fontana

42nd Senatorial District

www.senatorfontana.com