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Govt. Affairs

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Image by Werner Moser from Pixabay

On November 7, 2023, RCPA submitted comments to the Department of Labor’s Hour and Wage Division regarding the proposed rule “Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees (RIN 1235-AA39).” While we understand the need to modernize and update the Fair Labor Standards Act exemption regulations, RCPA strongly urges DOL to re-examine the proposed new salary threshold in a manner that considers the unique pressures on health care providers, as well as regional variations in the cost of living and average salary for human services providers. As currently written, the proposal unfortunately does not consider the implications of current health care funding for safety net services. Thus, the current proposal would have a potentially devastating effect on health care organizations serving low-income individuals with serious and complex disorders and disabilities, resulting in the need for service cutbacks and program closures.

You can read the full comments here.

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A breakdown of election’s yesterday’s results has been announced. Some of the major election results are as follows:

  • PA Supreme Court
    Daniel McCaffery (D) won against Carolyn Carluccio (R).
  • PA Superior Court
    Jill Beck (D) won one of two open seats. Timika Lane (D) is currently ahead in the second open seat race.
  • PA Commonwealth Court
    Matthew Wolf (D) won against Megan Martin (R).
  • Philadelphia Mayor
    Cherelle Parker (D) won by approximately 46% against David Oh (R). Mayor Elect Parker will be Philadelphia’s first female mayor.
  • Allegheny County Executive
    Sara Innamorato (D) will be the new County Executive. Innamorato will be the first woman to hold the Allegheny County Executive position.

A recap of the County Commissioner races throughout the Commonwealth may be found at Politics PA.

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On Tuesday, Governor Josh Shapiro signed an executive order to create a Behavioral Health Council. The council aims to bring together state leaders, local governments, and community providers to develop a statewide action plan to address any gaps in access, affordability, or delivery of services, with the goal of removing silos across state agencies, health care providers, payers, state and local government sectors, and decreasing the wait time for services for Pennsylvanians in need.

Charged with setting the agenda for behavioral health under the Shapiro Administration, the council will be comprised of 33 members and include a diverse array of stakeholders with representation from state, county, and local governments, the provider community, advocacy groups, and individuals with lived experiences. A list of Council members is available online.

The executive order also creates an advisory committee that will share with the council industry knowledge, expertise, reports, findings, and feedback from the communities they serve to assist members in their work to improve the delivery of services. Read the complete press release.

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The PA House of Representatives passed HB 1300 (Fiscal Code) by a vote of 121-82. The Fiscal Code contains language appropriating the $100 million for mental health funding, which follows the recommendations of the Behavioral Health Commission’s recommendations. The Fiscal Code also provides another $34.5 million to expand mental health services, $34 million for workforce initiatives, and over $30 million for criminal justice and public safety.

The House also passed HB 1456, a general appropriations bill. HB 1456 passed by a vote of 115-88. The bill provided new monies of $50 million towards intellectual disabilities and direct support professional (DSP) workforce retention. The bill would also fund $642 million for Penn State University, the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt), and Temple University. While there is good news for the IDD providers in regards to additional workforce funding, the bill was challenged by House Republicans because the Penn State, Pitt, and Temple funding requires a two-thirds (supermajority) vote, which was why the colleges were not funded back in June.

This week, the House also passed a tax code bill and a school code bill.

Despite the flurry of legislative activity on the code bills in the House, the code bills will not have to go to the Senate for a concurrence vote. The code bills passed by the House contain new spending (i.e. IDD workforce retention), and the new spending was not negotiated with the Senate; therefore, the expectation is that because there is not a deal between the House and the Senate on the new spending, the Senate will not concur on the code bills.

The Senate will return to session on Monday, October 16.

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