Lawmakers face crunch time at state Capitol
HARRISBURG – It’s crunch time at the state Capitol. With just three weeks remaining until the Legislature adjourns for summer vacation, lawmakers need to make several important decisions.
Most of the work left to be done involves the state budget. Issues such as school funding, legalizing slots at racetracks and expanding senior benefits must be resolved by June 30, the last day of the current fiscal year.
Legislative leaders also hope to tackle several other issues, including medical malpractice reform. But that may have to wait until later. Here’s a closer look at the major issues to be addressed in the closing weeks.
The budget
Although lawmakers passed a state budget back in March, essentially it was only a first draft.
At the time, Gov. Ed Rendell pleaded with legislators to wait for more details before voting on his proposed $21 billion cost-slashing budget. The Republican-controlled Legislature responded by passing the Democratic governor’s budget in record speed. Rendell then used his line-item veto power to cut out education funding, putting the focus back on his $2 billion plan to reform public education, reduce local property taxes and spur economic growth.
In order to fund his proposals, Rendell wants to increase the state income tax by 34 percent and legalize slot machines at the state’s horse-racing tracks.
No legislation calling for a tax increase has been formally introduced and probably won’t be, since no lawmaker wants to attach his name to such a bill. Instead, the tax increase probably will be proposed as an amendment that will be voted on in the 11th hour of budget negotiations.
Gambling
The gambling issue is stalled in the Legislature.
The Senate was poised to vote early last month on a bill to legalize slot machines at up to eight horse racetracks, but support dwindled when some lawmakers realized the state could make hundreds of millions of dollars by auctioning off the licenses and threatened to amend the legislation. A rift has developed among gambling supporters in the Senate over whether to charge for the licenses and how much.
Meanwhile, House leaders plan to unveil their own legislation later this month that could include any and every kind of gambling imaginable, from video poker at bars to riverboat casinos. Senate leaders, however, say they will pass only slots at racetracks.
Rendell said he’s confident all sides will settle their differences and legalize slots at tracks by June 30.
Federal aid
Regardless of whether the tax increase or slots are approved, lawmakers will have some extra money to throw around. Congress recently came to the aid of all 50 states by approving $20 billion in deficit relief. Pennsylvania received about $900 million.
Rendell wants to use some of the money for the upcoming fiscal year to restore some of the budget cuts he made and save the rest for future years, but some lawmakers want to use all of the money for the upcoming budget not only to restore cuts but to stave off a tax increase.
This much is certain: The austere budget passed in March will be changing. Libraries, drug and alcohol rehab programs and other social services could see some more money than initially expected.
Medical malpractice
Besides the budget, legislative leaders also hope to tackle several other issues.
The House is expected to vote soon on legislation to cap jury awards in medical-malpractice cases. It’s a controversial issue.
Physicians say caps will help reduce skyrocketing medical malpractice rates that are driving many doctors to stop offering risky procedures, move to states with lower rates or retire early. But lawyers say it’s impossible to put a fair price on the pain and suffering of a patient permanently damaged by a careless doctor.
Getting caps would require a constitutional amendment, which requires a two-thirds vote in the House and Senate and a statewide voter referendum. The measure may pass in the House, but that’s probably as far as it goes. Support appears to be lacking in the Senate, and Rendell says caps are not the answer to solving medical malpractice problems.
Senior benefits
There is, however, wide bipartisan support in both chambers for Rendell’s proposal to widen income eligibility standards for Pennsylvania’s low-cost drug programs for senior citizens.
The $320 million five-year plan would be covered by a combination of increased revenue from the state lottery, larger rebates from drug companies, higher co-pay amounts for participants in the Pharmaceutical Assistance Contract for the Elderly program and new restrictions on doctors and pharmacists.
The income limits for participants in PACE, which has no deductible, would increase from $14,000 to $14,500 for individuals and from $17,200 to $17,700 for married couples. The income limits for PACENET, a related program for seniors with higher incomes that provides benefits after $500 in drug costs each year, would change from $17,000 to $22,500 for individuals and from $20,200 to $30,500 for couples.
Officials estimate that the new income levels would attract about $100,000 more participants.
Lawmakers need to take action on the legislation by June 30, or else thousands of current participants will become ineligible due to cost-of-living increases in social security benefits. The Legislature could act on the bill as early as this week.