Capitol Notebook: What's Happening in the Legislature This Week

I thought I would give you a quick rundown of what I’m up to in Harrisburg this week, just to show that despite conventional wisdom, some state legislators actually do work.

REPORTING LAW FOR REGISTERED SEX OFFENDERS STRENGTHENED

I serve on the House Judiciary Committee, and this week, we took up House Bill 1958, which would bring the state into compliance with the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, as well as close various loopholes in Pennsylvania’s sex offender registry law, called Megan’s Law.

Under the bill, Pennsylvania would adopt the comprehensive set of standards associated with the federal law. Sexual offenders would be required to report any change in address, phone number, email address, job and educational status, verify the name of any location they will be staying at if away from their permanent address seven days or longer, provide advance notice of international travel at least 21 days before departure; and make all required reporting in-person at an approved registration site. 

The bill also places offenders into a three-tiered system based on the level of the offense. Those in Tier 1 must register for 15 years, Tier 2 must register for three years and offenders in Tier 3 must register for life.

Also under the bill, loopholes in the state’s Megan’s Law that were brought to light by recent court cases would be closed. Those provisions call for homeless or transient sex offenders who do not have a permanent address or technical residence to be required to register every 30 days. There are also new provisions regarding out-of state offenders. House Bill 1958 will now head to the full House for a floor vote.

BLOCKING EMINENT DOMAIN FOR NATURAL GAS PIPELINES

I’m also a member of the Consumer Affairs Committee, where this week we voted out another bill I co-sponsored, HB 1926, which would prohibit natural gas pipeline companies from being considered ‘public utilities’ under the law. This is important because if they are considered a utility, they could use the Public Utilities Commission regulations as a way to take people’s property for natural gas pipelines without their permission through the eminent domain process.

With all of the pipelines planned for the region, property owners should have the ability to negotiate for themselves to decide if and where a pipeline should go through their property. HB 1926 also heads to the full House for a floor vote.

PROPERTY TAX REASSESSMENT REFORM MOVING FORWARD

The ongoing battle to reform the way property tax values are assessed in Pennsylvania took another

The focus of this meeting was what remedies may be available to help fix the system and how to make it more uniform for all of Pennsylvania's 67 counties. As we continue to work through this incredibly complicated issue, I’ve been blown away by how truly broken the system has become. I don’t know what’s more shocking—the fact that our property tax system is built on such a rickety foundation, or that no one has ever bothered fixing some of the basic problems that have their root in bad math more than anything else.

We made it a point to get everyone involved, which is why this week’s meeting was attended by task force members from the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, State Tax Equalization Board, Assessors Association of Pennsylvania, County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania School Boards Association and legislators appointed by the House Local Government and Finance committees. 

The findings will be presented in a report in early 2012, but some of the recommendations could be enacted and made available to counties sooner in the form of best practices without formal legislative action. It isn’t sexy, but these reforms could have a major impact on property taxes in Pennsylvania, and I’m committed to working until we get it right.

MARCELLUS MANIA ON HOLD UNTIL 2012?

After recent high-profile votes on and —two separate bills to impose an impact fee on Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling but basically strip away local control from local towns to enact any reasonable regulations on drilling rigs, pipelines and compressor stations—we may not see any final action until after the holidays.

Even though the House added additional voting days to the calendar keeping us in session until just before Christmas, there may not be time to work out all of the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bills.

Additionally, many groups that were arm-twisted into “supporting” the measures originally, specifically groups representing local governments and environmental groups, are under intense pressure from the public and their members, which has lead to some back-tracking—or should I say "back-fracking?"