Five for Friday: Legislators’ fall focus

All the talk around town may be about the budget impasse, but lawmakers in Harrisburg will have their plates full in the fall with a wide range of issues and legislation like: Will the debate over school funding and vouchers continue? (Yes). And: will lawmakers address anticipated bills related to e-scooters and election reform? (Maybe). 

City & State has your Five for Friday, detailing what bills and topics state legislators left on the table for when they return in the fall. 

Back to school

Students won’t be the only ones returning to the fall with work ahead of them. The school vouchers debate is the crux of the current budget impasse, and the debate over PASS scholarships and school choice isn’t going away anytime soon. On top of that, lawmakers have a lot of homework ahead of them after GOP officials opted not to appeal the Commonwealth Court decision declaring the state’s school funding system unconstitutional. There’s also the open question over when – and whether – lawmakers can gain the votes needed to approve appropriations bills for four state-related universities. The commonwealth’s education funding both in the short- and long-term will be among the highest priorities in Harrisburg. 

Skill games

Could fall be the time that lawmakers act on legislation to tax and regulate games of skill? Proponents say the games – which courts have ruled differ from chance-based gambling machines – are an untapped revenue source that could deliver hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue to state coffers. Others aren’t so sure, fearing that the games could divert money away from state programs.

Sex abuse constitutional amendment

Another years-long debate in the state’s capitol surrounds survivors of child sex abuse and whether lawmakers will pass a constitutional amendment to give victims the legal opportunity to hold their abusers accountable. Survivors have continually gone to Harrisburg urging legislators to give final approval to legislation that would create a two-year window for victims to sue their abusers or institutions even if the abuse occurred beyond the current statute of limitations. Two different versions of the bill have passed each chamber respectively, with Republicans in the Senate attaching the amendment to two other GOP-favored initiatives and Democrats in the House approving a bill stripped of the Republican priorities related to voter ID and executive power. 

E-scooters

There have been multiple attempts to establish a clear set of regulations and guidelines for the use of e-scooters on Pennsylvania roadways – yet, for one reason or another, such a bill has yet to cross the finish line. Senate Bill 692 advanced out of committee earlier this year and now awaits a vote from the full chamber. As the state builds (metaphorical) guardrails for e-scooters, could the budget-related halt of Pittsburgh’s e-scooter pilot program prompt lawmakers into acting on broader legislation?

Pre-canvassing

Election reforms have been on the docket for years – in particular, pre-canvassing legislation, which would allow county election officials to open, process and tally mail-in ballots prior to Election Day. House Bill 847, which deals with ballot pre-canvassing and curing legislation and was sponsored by Democratic state Rep. Scott Conklin, passed out of the House State Government Committee in April but remains tabled in the chamber. Although the bill has yet to gain traction among Republicans, some of whom call it a “solution in search of a problem,” the need for pre-canvassing is largely agreed upon by county and local officials alike.