';
CLOSE
Authors Posts by Jack Phillips

Jack Phillips

739 POSTS 0 COMMENTS
Mr. Phillips is responsible to assist the association with health policy, which primarily includes member communication and advocacy with the Governor’s office, General Assembly, and state regulatory agencies. Mr. Phillips was most recently at the Pennsylvania Department of State as Director of Legislative Affairs.

0 1545

Scaled-down fiscal code includes school safety funding transfer, big money for PA’s Community HealthChoices program.

By Chris Comisac
Bureau Chief
Capitolwire

HARRISBURG (June 22) – This year’s state budget fiscal code – which directs how money appropriated by state lawmakers is to be spent – is trimmer than it has been in many past years.

The actual language of this year’s code totals just 45 pages; it was amended into House Bill 1929 by the Senate early Friday afternoon, and later approved by both chambers of the General Assembly and signed by Gov. Tom Wolf.

While there are plenty of pages covering the usual spending dictation found in any budget fiscal code, there are several new items included this time around.

The Keystone Scholars Grant Program, which was also proposed as a stand-alone bill (Senate Bill 1130), would be created by language within HB1929 on pages 8 through 13.

As part of the program, the State Treasurer is authorized to deposit $100 into a PA 529 account with the stated intent to grow the deposit with interest during the youth of the child and provide the incentive for parents to open their own PA 529 account. The program will be funded through Treasury investment earnings, donations and endowments from the philanthropic community.

According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, 140,000 children are born each year in Pennsylvania. The language within HB1929 would cap the transfer from the Tuition Account Guaranteed Savings Program Fund (PA 529) to the Keystone Scholars Grant Account at $14 million in any fiscal year.

On page 13 of the bill, there are provisions to create a new definition for “lost contact,” with regard to the state’s disposition of abandoned and unclaimed property, so that shares of stock reported to the Pennsylvania Treasury are only those that have truly been abandoned and unclaimed, not merely held in a passive investment account.

The changes to the criteria, which are also contained in House Bill 2167, are anticipated to result in a 10 percent reduction of the state’s net revenue from unclaimed property, to about $68 million.

Like last year, the state is expecting money from the Volkswagen Group of America settlement, which the car company is paying after allegations arose that it was cheating on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency emissions tests.

Language on page 15 of HB1929 would ensure that when it’s received, $30,409,005 from the settlement with be deposited into the General Fund.

On page 20 of the bill, $45 million in transfers to the Business in our Sites Program account are authorized: $10 million from the First Industries Program account, $35 million from the Building Pennsylvania program.

Language from House Bill 431 is also included in the fiscal code, on page 20, creating the Private Dam Financial Assurance Program.

Under that program, a one-time $1,000 fee and an annual fee of 1 percent of the bond amount required by the Department of Environmental Protection shall be deposited into the Private Dam Financial Assurance Fund, with the fees available to be used to establish a revolving loan program to provide maintenance and repair assistance once the fund’s balance is equal to or greater than $1.5 million.

The Rainy Day Fund is supposed to get its first deposit since before the Great Recession, and the fiscal code, on page 26, increases the amount to be transferred to the fund from 25 percent to 50 percent of any surplus in the General Fund for fiscal year 2017-18, which is estimated to provide an additional $9.9 million to the fund.

Water and sewer projects are to get some extra funding – $35 million in total – as part of language found within the fiscal code on page 27.

That funding – to be made available for water and sewer projects with a cost of not less than $30,000 and not more than $500,000 – comes by way of $10 million coming from funds available to the Commonwealth Financing Authority (CFA), as well as a $25 million transfer from the First Industries Program.

Like many other fiscal codes, this one alters the distribution of Tobacco Settlement Fund payments (on pages 28 through 30):

*4.5 percent for tobacco use prevention and cessation programs ($15,539,000);

*12.6 percent for health and related research under Section 906 of the Tobacco Settlement Act ($43,509,000);

*1 percent for health and related research under Section 909 of the Tobacco Settlement Act ($3,453,000);

*8.18 percent for the Uncompensated Care Payment Program ($28,246,000);

*30 percent for the purchase of Medicaid benefits for workers with disabilities ($103,594,000); and

*43.72 percent shall remain in the fund to be separately appropriated for health-related purposes ($150,786,000).

In addition to $351,815,000 distributed for health-related programs during FY2018-19, there’s a one-time $15.4 million transfer to the Office of Attorney General Criminal Enforcement Restricted Account for criminal enforcement – this money comes from the recently announced settlement reached by the Attorney General and tobacco companies that, according to the Office of Attorney General, will deliver a one-time amount of $357 million to Pennsylvania.

The notable difference between this year’s disbursements and last year’s fiscal code tobacco funding disbursements is last year 13 percent of the funding was devoted to home- and community-based services; this year, other than $15.4 million transfer to the Attorney General, the remainder of that one-time settlement windfall (Roughly $341.6 million) will be used for the state’s Community HealthChoices program, Pennsylvania’s mandatory managed care program providing home- and community-based care for individuals who are eligible for both Medical Assistance and Medicare (dual eligibles), older adults, and individuals with physical disabilities.

The other difference is 43.72 percent of this year’s funding will go to health-related purposes that are separately appropriated; last year’s fiscal code directed 30.72 percent to that purpose.

Just as the distribution of tobacco settlement funds can be found in every fiscal code, so are distributions from the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development Fund.

On pages 32, 34 and 35 of HB1929 are provisions that transfer from the fund $19,659,000 (in 22 weekly installments) for agricultural-related programs, and another $10,066,000 for enforcement of medication rules and regulations in FY2018-19.

The fiscal code, on page 35, also transfers $2.5 million from the sale of liquor and alcohol to the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs.

Clarifications regarding the state’s First Chance Trust Fund are spelled out on pages 35 and 36, requiring that when determining preference for student scholarships or programs that benefit children, the victimization of the student or child, the impact of crime on the student or child and the risk factors identified by the current policy statement, be the factors that are considered.

More funds distribution language is found on pages 38 and 39 of HB1929, with the provisions specifying that for the $20 fee collected for the issuance of death certificates by a local registrar, $3 shall be retained by the local registrar until the $60,000 threshold is met, after which fees will be transmitted to the Department of Health to be deposited in the General Fund. Of the remainder of that fee, $16 shall be deposited in the Vital Statistics Improvement Account and the other $1 is to be transmitted to the Department of Health for distribution to the county corner or medical examiner. With regard to the funding to be deposited into the General Fund, the Senate fiscal note offer no detail regarding the potential fiscal impact as it will be entirely dependent upon the demand for death certificates when there is a local registrar.

The code bill, on page 39, requires the amount of $7 million to be used to augment funds appropriated to the Bureau of Occupational and Industrial Safety, and the remaining funds – believed to be less than $1 million – to be transferred to the General Fund.

Funding for the Department of Labor and Industry’s Reemployment Fund is reauthorized through Sept. 30, 2022, on pages 39 and 40 of the code.

Five-percent of the unemployment compensation contributions paid by employees will be contributed to the fund, with those annual contributions expected $10 million in 2018, $10 million in 2019, $13 million 2020, $14 million in 2021, and $15 million in 2022.

In an effort to pump more money ($14 million, coming from the Property Tax Relief Fund) into the State Lottery Fund, HB1929 (on page 40) alters the definition of “income” with regard to the state’s Taxpayer Relief to exclude an amount equal to 50 percent of the average retired worker Social Security payment for a person who receives pension benefits from the Federal Civil Service Retirement System and was not required to make Social Security payments.

The bill, on page 41, also generates an additional $7.1 million for the state’s Access to Justice Account (which provides civil legal assistance to poor and disadvantaged Pennsylvanians) by imposing an additional $2 surcharge on all court filings, as authorized by last year’s fiscal code.

The funding for a new school safety program is transferred by the fiscal code (on pages 42, 42 and 75), ensuring that $60 million is deposited into The School Safety and Security Fund.

Of the $60 million, $30 million is transferred from funds restored from Gov. Tom Corbett’s FY2014-15 line item vetoes that were overturned by the courts late last year. Another $15 million is transferred from fines and fees collected by the Judiciary, with the last $15 million transferred from Personal Income Tax revenue.

The reinstatement of funding from those line item vetoes is spelled out on pages 44 and 45 of HB1929. With $30 million of the restored funds used for the school safety program, the code lapses the remaining $35.1 million.

Found on pages 42 and 43 of HB1929 is authorization for the state Transportation Secretary to waive, for good cause, the requirement for local matching funds as part of the Multimodal Transportation Fund, if the applicant for assistance is the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority (in addition to the existing allowance for municipalities. The match requirements for multimodal funding through the Commonwealth Financing Authority portion of the program are also waived for both, with all of the aforementioned provisions to expire on Dec. 31, 2019.

Pages 67 and 68 contain language providing $30 million annually for the Department of Revenue to administer its Enhanced Revenue Collection Account through FY2019-20.

The administration of the hybrid retirement plan created for the state’s two public pension plans get some funding through the fiscal code. On page 75, a total of about $10.1 million ($4.9 million for the State Employees’ Retirement System, and $5.2 million for the Public School Employees’ Retirement System).

And the dairy industry gets some additional support – $5 million – through the fiscal code, with pages 75 and 76 of HB1929 authorizing yet another transfer from the First Industries program to the Commonwealth Financing Authority for “research and development, organic transition, value-added processing and marketing grants.”

Some other odds and ends from the code:

*The Independent Fiscal Office this year, when it came time for the agency to do its initial and final revenue estimates, ran into some timing issues with regard to corporation tax collection information. Specifically, the collections in May came in later than the IFO expected, and in June, the IFO delayed their June 15 final revenue estimate until June 18 to ensure they captured the tax information. HB1929 (on pages 36 and 37) changes the IFO’s deadlines for the initial and final revenue estimates to May 20 and June 20, respectively, in hopes of addressing the issue going forward.

*Last year’s budget was delayed several months, with that delay preventing the state from re-implementing a moratorium on new applications to the state’s PlanCon program (which provides school districts with some financial help when the districts embark on construction projects). Because the moratorium was not reinstated until the FY2017-18 budget was completed, several school districts submitted PlanCon applications.

On page 43, HB1929 allows all districts that submitted PlanCon applications during the budget stalemate, and which proceed with construction before July 1, 2021, to “be awarded a one-time capital grant, if available, for the approved project in lieu of approved reimbursement payments or, if not available, shall receive payments in the form of reimbursements.”

According to Senate Appropriations Committee Majority Chairman Pat Browne, R-Lehigh, several of the school districts that submitted applications last year are suing the Department of Education for the money that would have been available through the old PlanCon program, and it’s hoped HB1929’s language will help to resolve that issue. Browne added that efforts will intensify during the next year to create a new PlanCon program, implementing recently-released recommendations to improve the process, which many lawmakers believe should occur before the General Assembly considers restarting the reimbursement program.

*On pages 16, 17 and 18, the cap on the number of qualified tours within the Concert Tours Tax Credit is increased from 5 to 10 in FY2018-19. The language also allows the Department of Community and Economic Development to, at its discretion, approve tax credits for two additional tours in FY2018-19, which would count as an advance award against the cap available in the next succeeding fiscal year.

*And pages 37 and 38 call for the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to, in consultation with PennDOT and utilizing existing state roads and state forest roads, develop, open and maintain an ATV trail connecting with Sproul State Forest the Whiskey Springs ATV trail (in western Clinton County) to the Blood Skillet ATV trail (in northeastern Center County) by April 1, 2020; and by April 1, 2024, implement the full Northcentral Pennsylvania ATV initiative, creating a network of ATV trails connecting Clinton County to the New York State border, by utilizing existing state roads and state forest roads.

Questions, contact RCPA Director of Government Affairs Jack Phillips.

0 1782

Today, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry has released their proposed rule making response to Governor Wolf’s proposal to modernize outdated overtime rules to strengthen middle class families and provide fairness to workers.

Members are asked to review the proposed regulations and are encouraged to provide comments to the Department. If members do submit comments, please send those comments to RCPA. Contact RCPA Director of Government Affairs Jack Phillips with questions.

0 4307

Last week, Governor Wolf signed into law the Outpatient Psychiatric Oversight Act – now Act 25 of 2018. Below is the exact language contained in Act 25:

 

An Act

Providing for outpatient psychiatric oversight.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. Short title.

This act shall be known and may be cited as the Outpatient Psychiatric Oversight Act.

Section 2. Definitions.

The following words and phrases when used in this act shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

“Advanced practice professional.” A person who:

(1) (i) holds a current Pennsylvania license as a certified registered nurse practitioner with a mental health certification; or

(ii) obtains a mental health certification within two years of being hired by a psychiatric outpatient clinic or within two years of the effective date of this section, whichever is later; or

(2) (i) holds a current Pennsylvania license as a physician assistant with a mental health certification; or

(ii) obtains a mental health certification within two years of being hired by a psychiatric outpatient clinic or within two years of the effective date of this section, whichever is later.

“Department.” The Department of Human Services of the Commonwealth.

“Full-time equivalent.” Thirty-seven and one-half hours per week.

“Interactive audio and video.” Real-time two-way or multiple-way communication between a psychiatrist and an individual.

“Outpatient psychiatric clinic.” A nonresidential treatment setting in which psychiatric, psychological, social, educational and other related services are provided under medical supervision. It is designed for the evaluation and treatment of individuals of any age with mental illness or emotional distress. Outpatient services are provided on a planned and regularly scheduled basis.

“Psychiatrist.” A physician who has completed at least three years of a residency in psychiatry and is licensed to practice psychiatry in this Commonwealth.

Section 3. Requirements.

The following shall apply:

(1) Except as provided for in paragraph (2), an outpatient psychiatric clinic shall have a psychiatrist on site for two hours of psychiatric time per week for each full-time equivalent treatment staff member.

(2) Fifty percent of the required on-site psychiatric time under paragraph (1) may be provided by:

  • An advanced practice professional.

(ii) A psychiatrist off-site by the use of interactive audio and video using technology that conforms to industrywide compressed audio-video communication and protects confidentiality under Federal and State law in accordance with department-issued guidelines. Interactive audio without video, electronic mail message or facsimile transmission may not be used to meet the requirement under paragraph (1).

(iii) A combination of subparagraphs (i) and (ii).

Section 4. Regulations.

The department shall promulgate regulations as necessary to carry out the provisions of this act.

Section 5. Effective date.

This act shall take effect in 60 days.

Questions, contact RCPA Director of Government Affairs Jack Phillips.

0 2739

Today, Governor Wolf signed into law HB 478 – the Outpatient Psychiatric Oversight Act – now Act 25 of 2018. The law will become effective in 60 days.

The law will require an outpatient psychiatric clinic to have a psychiatrist on site for two (2) hours of psychiatric time per week for each full-time equivalent treatment staff member employed by the outpatient psychiatric clinic. Act 25 of 2018 permits 50 percent of the required onsite psychiatric time to be provided by an advanced practice professional specializing in behavioral health with prescriptive authority in this Commonwealth. Telepsychiatry provided by a psychiatrist that is not on site with prescriptive authority in the Commonwealth may be utilized with a service description approved by the Department of Human Services (DHS) but shall not be included in the required psychiatric time. DHS is required to promulgate regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this act.

Act 25 of 2018 defines the following terms:

“Advanced practice professional.” A registered, licensed, or certified health care practitioner who has gained additional specialized knowledge, skills, and experience through a program of study in that specialty. A person who:

  • (I) holds a current Pennsylvania license as a certified registered nurse practitioner with a mental health certification; or

(II) obtains a mental health certification within two years of being hired by a psychiatric outpatient clinic or within two years of the effective date of this section, whichever is later; or

  • (I) holds a current Pennsylvania license as a physician assistant with a mental health certification; or

(II) obtains a mental health certification within two years of being hired by a psychiatric outpatient clinic or within two years of the effective date of this section, whichever is later.

“Full-time equivalent.” Thirty-seven and one-half hours per week.

“Interactive Audio and Video.” Real-time two-way or multiple-way communication between a psychiatrist and an individual.

“Outpatient psychiatric clinic.” A nonresidential treatment setting in which psychiatric, psychological, social, educational, and other related services are provided under medical supervision. It is designed for the evaluation and treatment of individuals of any age with mental illness or emotional distress. Outpatient services are provided on a planned and regularly scheduled basis.

“Psychiatrist.” A physician who has completed at least three years of a residency in psychiatry and is licensed to practice psychiatry in this Commonwealth.

Contact RCPA Director of Government Affairs Jack Phillips with any questions.

0 1692

Special elections produce no net change in state House political composition; four incumbents lose General Assembly primary contests.

By Chris Comisac
Bureau Chief
Capitolwire

HARRISBURG (May 16) – While most people were paying attention to the storylines from statewide and federal primary contests, the state General Assembly produced plenty of interesting primary outcomes, with a few incumbent lawmakers given their walking papers by their party’s voters.

First up, the special election to fill three currently vacant seats in the state House of Representatives.

Republicans had hoped they could go three-for-three, holding two GOP seats (the 68th and 178th legislative districts) and flipping a Democrat seat (the 48th District).

It appears as though they’ll have to be happy with breaking even – but they did it by flipping that Democratic seat and losing one of the GOP-held seats.

Prior to Tuesday, GOP sources had acknowledged the seat most at-risk is the 178th, which was vacated by Rep. Scott Petri, R-Bucks, to become the executive director of the Philadelphia Parking Authority.

Based on unofficial election results, it appears Democrat Helen Tai, a business consultant and chair of the Solebury Township supervisors, is going to squeak out a victory – 51 percent to 49 percent – over and Republican Wendi Thomas, a business woman and former president of the Council Rock School Board. As of 12:15 a.m., the gap between the two was 257 votes out of 11,751 cast. The two will have a return match in the November general election.

The GOP was able to capture the 48th District seat, which was left vacant after Rep. Brandon Neuman, D-Washington, was appointed to the Washington County trial court.

Republican Timothy O’Neal, a human resources director for a Pittsburgh construction company and an U.S. Army veteran, got nearly 55 percent of the vote (5,441 votes) compared to Democrat Washington attorney Clark Mitchell Jr.’s nearly 44 percent of the vote (4,338 votes). Libertarian Demosthenes Agoris, a member of Houston borough council, got 158 votes, or 1.59 percent of the total vote. Looking ahead to the November general election, Mitchell, having defeated Democratic primary opponent Joe Zupancic on Tuesday, will get another shot at O’Neal.

And in the 68th District, vacated earlier this year by state Rep. Matt Baker, R-Tioga, for a job with the federal Department of Health and Human Services, Republican Clint Owlett easily dispatched Democrat Carrie Heath, with the two also winning their respective primaries to set up a rematch in the November general election.

Tuesday was not a good day for a few incumbents.

On the Democratic side, bad election days were had by the Costa cousins – Dom and Paul, both from Allegheny County – and Rep. Emilio Vazquez, D-Philadelphia, in primaries that normally determine the winners of the general election.

On the Republican side, GOP voters gave a pink slip to Allegheny County state Sen. Randy Vulakovich – the only state Senate incumbent to face a primary challenge on Tuesday.

Dom, of the 21st Legislative District, and Paul, of the 34th, both handily lost to challengers who are members of the Pittsburgh chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.

Dom was defeated 64 percent (5,905 votes) to 36 percent (3,920) by Sara Innamorato, who does marketing and outreach for environmental and other progressive causes. Paul lost by an even bigger margin, 68 percent (6,892 votes) to 32 percent (3,274 votes), to Summer Lee, who does political organizing.

Rep. Dom Costa did mount a campaign for GOP write-in votes that could potentially give him another shot at retaining the seat, but he would have needed at least 300 such votes to get on the GOP ballot in November. According to Allegheny County election data, only 291 GOP write-in votes were cast, and at this juncture, it’s unknown if all were cast for Costa. In the 34th District, only 129 GOP write-in votes were cast.

And in Philadelphia’s 197th District – which was the scene of a crazy special election last year that featured a candidate being tossed off the ballot and election fraud charges being filed against four poll workers (three of which have since entered guilty pleas) – Democratic Rep. Emilio Vazquez came in third in a three-way primary contest that included the candidate that was removed from the ballot in last year’s special election.

However, Frederick Ramirez did not win the primary either; instead Danilo Burgos, who had the endorsements of the 197th District’s Democratic ward leaders, won with 37.2 percent (1,292 votes) of the overall vote. Ramirez got 34.3 percent (1,193 votes), while Vazquez received 28.5 percent (990 votes).

As for the state Senate, many Republicans were quietly concerned about the challenge mounted against incumbent Sen. Randy Vulakovich, R-Allegheny, in the 38th Senatorial District by Ross Township Commissioner Jeremy Shaffer – those concerns turned out to be well-founded.

Shaffer made Vulakovich a state Senate short-timer by getting nearly 59 percent of the vote (10,430 votes), compared to Vulakovich’s 41 percent (7,343 votes).

Those same Republicans that were concerned about the Vulakovich primary have also expressed worry the 38th District could be in play for Democrats in November, since the district narrowly voted for Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election.

That will be decided by a general election matchup between Shaffer and Democrat Lindsey Williams, the communications director for the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, who defeated Stephanie Walsh in the Democratic primary.

Eighteen other incumbents in the state House faced primary opposition on Tuesday – including Rep. Vanessa Lowery Brown, D-Philadelphia (whose government corruption case has been delayed for years) and Rep. Tom Caltagirone, D-Berks (who was the subject of a 2015 sexual harassment complaint that prompted a $248,000 settlement to be paid) – but none of them lost.

GOP Rep. Dawn Keefer, R-York, was thought by some to be vulnerable – facing two GOP challengers in the 92nd Legislative District – but she easily defeated Joshua Hershey and Curtis Werner, garnering more than 62 percent of the total vote. Keefer will go up against Democrat Shanna Danielson, a former public school music teacher, in November.

Additionally, with several open seats in the offing, there were some fairly large fields of primary contenders for a few House and Senate districts.

The open-seat 82nd District GOP primary (due to the decision by Rep. Adam Harris, R-Juniata, to not seek re-election) featured nine candidates seeking the party’s nomination, with Johnathan Dean Hershey the top vote-getter at nearly 35 percent (2,602 votes) of the total vote; the next closest candidate received 15.2 percent of the vote. Hershey will face Democrat Kimberly Hart in November.

Five Democrats were vying for the open seat of the 112th District, with Kyle Mullins topping the quintet of candidates, garnering 43.3 percent (4,237 votes) of the vote. Mullins will face Ernest Lemoncelli for the seat from which Rep. Kevin Haggerty, D-Lackawanna, is retiring. Lemoncelli lost to Haggerty in 2016.

Things weren’t nearly as crazy in the state Senate, and beyond the Vulakovich result – which featured contest primaries for both the Republicans and Democrats – the only other seat to have contested GOP and Democratic primaries was the 28th Senatorial District, which will be vacated by Sen. Scott Wagner, R-York (who will challenge Gov. Tom Wolf in November), at the end of the year.

The 28th District seat hasn’t been held by a Democrat since 1994, and state Rep. Kristin Hill, R-York, hopes to continue the GOP’s streak. Hill defeated Julie Wheeler, with 65.4 percent (14,238 votes) of the total vote. Looking to put the district back in the Democrats’ column is Judith McCormick Higgins, a former adjunct instructor at Penn State York and a 17-year member of the Eastern York School Board of Directors, who defeated West York Mayor Shawn Mauck with 57.7 percent (5,601 votes) of the vote.

Further questions may be directed to Jack Phillips, RCPA Director of Government Affairs.

0 1552

Several female candidates, all Democrats, have good chances to win seats in Congress.

By Chris Comisac
Bureau Chief
Capitolwire

HARRISBURG (May 16) – When you’ve got 84 candidates and 21 contested primaries for 18 congressional seats, there are going to be lots of prospective candidates looking for other things to do with their time come today, a day after the primary election.

Seven of Pennsylvania’s 18 seats are open, and that generated plenty of interest from candidates of both major political parties, although more so by Democrats.

On the Democratic side of the ledger, there were eight primary contests with at least three candidates.

The most candidates (10) were found in the 5th Congressional District, which saw Mary Gay Scanlon win her party’s nomination with about 28.4 percent of the total vote, according to unofficial election results.

The 5th is one of those open seat districts (with much of it having been previously represented by GOP U.S. Rep. Pat Meehan, who recently resigned following sexual misconduct allegations) and Scanlon will face off in November against Pearl Kim – the only Republican candidate in the 5th on Tuesday – for a seat many expect the Democrats to easily win.

The largest crowd of GOP candidates was in the very Republican 13th District (which, for the most part, is the old 9th District from which GOP Rep. Bill Shuster is retiring), and it appears physician John Joyce – with just shy of 22 percent of the vote – outlasted seven other candidates that featured a sitting state senator (Sen. John Eichelberger, R-Blair) and a sitting state representative (Rep. Stephen Bloom, R-Cumberland). Joyce will face Democrat Brent Ottaway in November.

Unlike her GOP colleagues, state Rep. Madeline Dean, D-Montgomery, was successful with her congressional bid, easily dispatching – with 72.6 percent of the vote – former Congressman Joe Hoeffel and gun control activist Shira Goodman in the Democratic primary for the 4th Congressional District. Dean will face Republican Daniel David in the general election for the open seat, which, like the 5th, Democrats are expected to win.

State Rep. Greg Vitali, D-Delaware – the only other sitting Democratic state legislator to have a go at Congress – was a non-factor in the aforementioned 5th District Democratic primary won by Scanlon.

A few more Republican state lawmakers went at it in the GOP primary for the fairly Republican 14th District, which contains a significant chunk of the old 18th District, which state Rep. Rick Saccone, R-Allegheny, lost to Democrat Conor Lamb in a recent special election to fill the short-term vacancy left by the resignation of GOP U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy.

Saccone lost the district again, this time to primary opponent state Sen. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Allegheny, who received nearly 55.3 percent of the vote. Reschenthaler will face Democrat Bibiana Boerio, who got roughly 44.3 percent of the vote in a four-way primary.

Two other open seats featured somewhat unpredictable contests – well, at least three of the four primaries in the two districts had the potential for some volatility, what with a total of 14 candidates between the two parties .

In the Lehigh Valley 7th District, which contains portions of the old 15th District from which GOP U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent just resigned, Republicans have a nail-biter between Dean Browning and Marty Nothstein, with Nothstein appearing to have won with 50.5 percent of the vote (16,000 votes) to Browning’s 49.5 percent (15,696 votes).

If those figures hold, Nothstein would face in the general election Democrat Susan Ellis Wild, who emerged from a six-way contest with 33.3 percent of the vote (15,001 votes), with the next closest candidate being John Morganelli (13,565 votes, or 30.1 percent)

And the open 9th District, which has a decent chunk of the old 1tth District from which GOP U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta is retiring (and maybe for a new job in the U.S. Senate), produced an easy primary win for former state Revenue Secretary Dan Meuser, who got nearly 53 percent of the vote. It was only slightly closer on the Democratic side, with former state Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff pulling 40.7 percent of the overall Democratic primary vote. So, the 9th District general election will feature a matchup between two former state cabinet members (but for different governors).

Here are the rest of the apparent general election matchups:

1st District: GOP U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick v. Democrat Henry Scott Wallace

2nd District: Democratic U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle v. Republican David Torres

3rd District: Democratic U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans v. Republican Bryan Leib

6th District: Republican Greg McCauley v. Democrat Chrissy Houlahan

8th District: Democratic U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright v. Republican John Chrin

10th District: GOP U.S. Rep. Scott Perry v. Democrat George Scott

11th District: GOP U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker v. Democrat Jessica King

12th District: GOP U.S. Rep. Tom Marino v. Democrat Marc Friedenberg

15th District: GOP U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson v. Democrat Susan Boser

16th District: GOP U.S. Rep. George Kelly v. Democrat Ron DiNicola

17th District: GOP U.S. Rep. Keith Rothfus v. Democratic U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb

18th District: Democratic U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, unopposed

Also noteworthy is that seven of the candidates in the 18 districts are women (all but one are Democrats), with at least one woman guaranteed to be elected to Congress (since the 5th District features a matchup of two women) and three others in districts that favor the Democratic candidate.

Further questions may be directed to Jack Phillips, RCPA Director of Government Affairs.

0 2218

Earlier this week, RCPA staff attended the 2018 Pennsylvania Interagency Conference in State College, PA. During this event, RCPA was made aware of the following two upcoming conferences on suicide prevention, also to be held during the month of May:

  • State Suicide Prevention Conference on Thursday, May 10 & Friday, May 11 at the Best Western Premier – Harrisburg. Full conference information can be found by visiting this web page.
  • Higher Education Suicide Prevention Conference on Monday, May 21 & Tuesday, May 22 at the Penn Stater – State College. Full conference information can be found here.

Further questions may be directed to Jack Phillips, RCPA Director of Government Affairs.

Prev1...636465...74Next Page 64 of 74
© 2021 - Rehabilitation & Community Providers Association