Harrisburg, May 18, 2016 – With drug overdose deaths reaching epidemic levels, Senate Democrats unveiled legislation today to address the opioid addiction crisis from prevention through recovery.
“Addiction is a disease that does not discriminate and there is no easy solution to fix the problem,” Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) said. “When addiction finds its way into a family, it can nearly paralyze them for fear of what the future may hold.”
Recognizing the need to provide support at all levels, the Senate Democrats’ legislation focuses on providing new opportunities for education and treatment as well as expanded support options in the community for addicts, professionals and families.
“We cannot address this problem in a vacuum and must work to provide the necessary services and support to everyone involved,” Costa said. “Families are being affected and communities torn apart as a result of opioid abuses and heroin addiction.”
Opioids are a class of drug that include heroin as well as the prescription pain relievers oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, morphine, fentanyl and others. According to a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health study, fatal drug overdoses in Pennsylvania increased 14 fold between 1979 and 2014.
“We are in the midst of the worst ever overdose death epidemic and the worst public health crisis of the last 100 years, Secretary of Drug and Alcohol Programs Gary Tennis said. “It will continue to take a collaborative effort among many partners to effectively address this crisis.”
The package of legislation includes:
Emergency Addiction Treatment Program – Charging the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs with establishing a comprehensive program that includes new addiction treatment facilities for those drug users that are currently going without care; new intake methods to provide information to those with addiction problems or their family and friends; advice and assistance in accessing treatment; and data collection to help identify patterns of addiction.
School Aged Children Opioid Awareness Education Program – Requiring the Departments of Drug and Alcohol Programs, Health, and Education to work cooperatively to design an opioid awareness education programs to be delivered in schools.
Addiction Treatment Professional Loan Forgiveness Program – Require the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) to develop an addiction treatment professional loan forgiveness program.
Opioid Addiction Prevention and Treatment Assessment – Impose a 10 percent assessment on the first sale of an opioid into the state. Revenues from the assessment will be used to support the purchase of naloxone for local law enforcement and emergency management personnel in addition to supporting addiction prevention and treatment programs.
Responding to the Senate Democratic proposals to the drug and alcohol problem, Deb Beck from the Drug and Alcohol Service Providers Organization of Pennsylvania said that the drug and alcohol problem “has reached epidemic levels in the state and these proposals will be life saving in impact.”
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HARRISBURG, May 11, 2016 – At a news conference held at the state capitol today, State Senator Art Haywood joined Senate Democratic colleagues and community leaders calling for tax reform to protect middle and low-income Pennsylvanians. At the event, Haywood introduced legislation – Senate Bills 1257 and 1258 – that would reduce the tax burden for everyday Pennsylvanians.
“At a time when our state and nation seem rigged against working people, when our minimum wage remains outrageously low, when schools and social services have been drained of funds – it is a crime that our commonwealth’s tax system is also stacked against everyday citizens,” Senator Haywood said. The Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy placed Pennsylvania on the “Terrible Ten” list of states for unfair taxation in 2015. The researchers found that low-income Pennsylvanians pay three times the tax share of the wealthy in Pennsylvania, while middle-income earners pay twice as much as the well-off.
Senator Haywood introduced a two-part legislative package at the press conference, noting that he was open to additional suggestions for inclusion in the reform effort. First, SB 1257 would amend Article VIII, Section 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution to allow for graduated taxation of income. The amendment would make it possible for Pennsylvania to tax middle income families at a lower rate than those who are high-income. All of the states surrounding Pennsylvania have graduated taxation according to data from the Tax Foundation.
Second, SB 1258 would impose a 4% tax on non-wage, non-interest income classes that are concentrated among the most affluent. The tax would apply to net profits; dividends; net income derived from rents, royalties, patents and copyrights; gambling and lottery winnings; and net gains derived through estates and trusts. According to the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, this legislation could add up to about $1.2 billion in revenue by the end of the 2017-18 fiscal year.
“While Pennsylvania is struggling to manage a more than $1 billion deficit, we cannot afford to continue requiring low and middle income families to pay double or even three times as much as the wealthy,” Haywood said. “What we need is a balanced tax system.”
SB 1258 complies with the Pennsylvania Constitution’s uniformity clause. In Aldine Apartments, Inc. v Commonwealth, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided the uniformity clause requires all taxes to be uniform “upon the same class of subjects” so long as a reasonable, non-arbitrary distinction exists relative to classification. Additionally, the bill’s impact on small businesses would be limited. Under current Pennsylvania law and regulations, if owners of small businesses classified as “S” corporations are employees of the corporations, their income could be classified as “compensation,” and would not fall within the classes of income impacted by SB 1258.
Joining Haywood in support of the legislative reform package were Senate Democratic leadership Jay Costa and Vincent Hughes. Senator Larry Farnese also voiced his support in a statement. “By ‘fair tax reform’ we mean taking the pressure off the people who can least afford to pay for the corporate welfare handouts that have increased under Republican leadership,” Senator Farnese said. “Fair is fair. The people and businesses at the top must stop depending on the people at the bottom to keep them afloat.”
Community leaders representing Pennsylvania’s Choice, a newly-formed non-partisan coalition for a balanced state budget, advocated for the legislation. Marc Stier of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center and Susan Spicka of Education Voters PA, both member organizations of Pennsylvania’s Choice, said the bills could bring important changes to the commonwealth: “Pennsylvania’s uniformity clause has made it difficult to adequately fund services like education while protecting everyday people from high taxes. By amending our state’s constitution, we can ensure middle-class and working people are not unfairly burdened with high taxes,” said Stier. “At the same time, implementing a tax on classes of income concentrated among the wealthy would create a more balanced tax system for all of us without any constitutional changes.”
As 2016-17 state budget conversations focus on addressing the structural deficit facing the commonwealth, dozens of community organizations across the state have joined Pennsylvania’s Choice to advocate for sustainable new sources of revenue as an alternative to continued cutbacks. Senator Haywood has supported Pennsylvania’s Choice, and says his legislation would soften the impact of tax increases on middle and low-income families.
“My hope is that this reform package opens up a responsible revenue discussion in Pennsylvania that looks at the real impact of our budget on everyday people,” Haywood said. “We must lay the groundwork to pay for schools, troopers, nursing home care and other state government services by protecting both the middle-class and those living paycheck-to-paycheck from shouldering the heaviest tax burden in our state.”
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Contact: Melissa Ostroff
Phone: 717-787-1427
mostroff@pasenate.com
Erie – May 5, 2016 – At the request of state Sen. Sean Wiley, the state Senate Democratic Policy Committee held a hearing today on problems related to gas drilling in the Lake Erie watershed.
“We need to make responsible and measured decisions about where we can expand – as well as where we should limit – the presence, growth and impact of gas drilling,” said Sen. Lisa Boscola (D-Northampton/Lehigh), who chairs the committee. “Land owners, local communities and critical watershed regions like Lake Erie cannot take a back seat to company profits. “
Sen. Sean Wiley (D-Erie) said he called for the hearing to focus statewide attention on issues such as clean water withdrawal from Lake Erie as well as concerns over the disposal of shale gas wastewater and the potential for catastrophic contamination of sources of drinking water.
“The Lake Erie watershed is a prime destination for anglers and hunters,” Wiley said. “It is imperative that we take the necessary steps to protect and preserve this pristine resource that has been so important to our region for so long.”
Wiley said that hundreds of thousands of people fish the Ohio and Pennsylvania portions of Lake Erie, which overlie much of the Utica shale gas formation. While agreeing that the economic and job benefits of gas drilling are significant, Wiley cautioned that huge water withdrawals from the watershed, threats of wastewater pollution and well integrity issues could alter stream flows, threaten steelhead fishing and encourage the introduction of invasive species in the region.
Much of today’s hearing focused on state laws regulating gas drilling and what steps can be taken to better protect the state’s watershed regions. Boscola called for the need to strike a “balance” between efforts to encourage gas drilling and competing efforts to protect community, recreational, health and environmental interests.
Erie County Executive Kathy Dahlkemper said she cannot support gas drilling in the Erie watershed because there are too many risks to “our health, public safety and to the beautiful resource that is Lake Erie.
Pointing to devastating natural gas explosions around the state, Dahlkemper asked, “How much risk is too much risk? We have a duty to protect the Lake Erie watershed and a responsibility to protect this fresh water resource that provides drinking water for tens of thousands of people, has generated $980 million in tourism and provides some of the best fishing in the nation.”
Dr. Marsha Haley, who serves as an assistant professor of radiation oncology at the University of Pittsburgh, pointed to studies indicating that leaching of drilling wastewater can affect the chemical composition of streams and adversely impact water ecosystems and watershed wildlife.
She also pointed to separate studies in Washington County, Southwestern Pennsylvania and Northeastern Pennsylvania indicating that people who live closer to well sites experience a greater incidence of health problems ranging from respiratory and heart symptoms to lower birth weight.
Representatives from the oil and gas drilling industry were invited to testify, but declined to attend.
“This hearing shouldn’t be an argument that pits drillers against preservationists, job creators against environmentalists, and the state’s energy sector against health and community interests,” Boscola said. “To me, our task isn’t about taking sides. It’s about finding a balance.”
Boscola and Wiley were joined on the Senate panel by Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) and Sen. Jim Brewster (D-Allegheny/Westmoreland).
In addition to Senate committee members, the following took part in the discussion:
- Erie County Executive Kathy Dahlkepmer
- Marsha Haley, medical doctor (radiation oncology)
- Sister Pat Lupo, Benedictine Sisters, Environmental Education and Advocacy of Erie County
- John Rossi, Pennsylvania State Chapter of the Sierra Club
- John Walliser, Pennsylvania Environmental Council
- Ryan Grode, SWPA Environmental Health Project
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Pittsburgh – April 7, 2016 – At the request of state Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa, the state Senate Democratic Policy Committee today held a hearing on ways to improve access to treatment for people suffering from addiction to opiates, such as heroin, opium and prescription drugs including Oxycontin, Percocet, Vicodin, morphine and others.
“Pennsylvania worsening opioid addiction crisis is both tragic and frightening,” said Sen. Lisa Boscola (D-Northampton/Lehigh), who chairs the committee. “Apart from the devastating human toll, this drug epidemic is spurring a new wave of crime, swelling our prisons and straining limited state and county treatment resources.”
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Last year, 246 deaths in Allegheny County were attributed to opioids, the county medical examiner reported.
Much of today’s hearing focused on treatment coverage and what resources are needed to help people overcome their addiction to opiates. Boscola noted that most Pennsylvania insurance plans only cover two to four weeks of inpatient rehabilitation despite national health expert claims that it takes a minimum of three months of inpatient care for treatment to work.
Costa added that “apart from the devastating human toll on opiate addicts and their families, there is a correlating financial consequence on state and local health agencies, prisons and service delivery systems.
“To help these people get off and stay off these drugs, we have to find a way to give them access to the appropriate level of treatment. Otherwise, we’re doing little more than recycling addicts, adding to police blotters, crowding our prisons and draining limited social service and healthcare resources.”
Last year, the legislature approved a measure (Act 139) that enables first responders and police officers to carry naloxone kits to reverse overdoses. Drug and Alcohol Programs Secretary Gary Tennis announced in September that officers had already saved 289 people. The law also provides Good Samaritan type protections for others who call 911 and provide help to those who are overdosing.
Deb Beck, who serves as president of the Drug and Alcohol Service Providers of Pennsylvania, cautioned that if “addictions go untreated, people will die.” She said the state’s drug and alcohol treatment system is overwhelmed.
Beck was critical of the health insurance industry, accusing them of engaging in “patterns of denial.” She said insurance carriers are playing “keep-away” with benefits. Beck added that she “met with numerous families with children who had died. They learned that they had coverage, but couldn’t figure out how to access it.”
She also noted that the prescription drug industry rakes in $16 billion nationwide from the sale of opiate pain killers, but has done nothing to help clean-up the epidemic these drugs have spurred.
Chris Monahan of the market regulation branch of the state Insurance Department said his agency has not received many individual complaints, but said the department will be doing a widespread market conduct study to make sure insurance companies are complying with coverage requirements.
Pittsburgh City Council President Bruce Kraus, called drug addiction a “cancer on our culture,” and urged a greater emphasis on pre-emptive education, training and treatment.
Boscola said addiction to opiates knows no race, sex, creed, color or economic stature. She said addicts range from the “neighbor who was injured at work and became addicted to pain killers” to the “kid next door who tried some Oxycontin that a friend stole from his mom’s medicine cabinet and sold him at school.”
Costa suggested that the Insurance Department consider appointing an ombudsman to help consumers get around barriers. Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald suggested a database be created to help prevent addicts from supporting their habit by skipping around between doctors.
Senators Wayne Fontana (D-Allegheny), John Wozniak (D-Cambria) and Sean Wiley (D-Erie) joined Costa and Boscola on the Senate panel. The following also took part in the discussion:
- Secretary Gary Tennis, PA Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs
- Secretary Ted Dallas, PA Department of Human Services
- Christopher Monahan, Deputy Insurance Commissioner for Market Regulation
- Sandy Ykema, Department Counsel, Pennsylvania Insurance Department
- Mark Sarneso, Central and Western Region Director, Gaudenzia
- Steve Roman, Chief Planning Officer, Greenbriar
- Paul Bacharach, President and CEO, Gateway Rehabilitation Center
- Deb Beck, President, DASPOP
- Dr. Abigail Schlesinger, Medical Director, Outpatient Behavioral Health and Child and Family Counseling Center, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
- Honorable John A. Zottola, Court of Common Pleas, Allegheny County
- State Rep. Ed Gainey (D-Allegheny)
- Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and Pittsburgh City Council President Bruce Kraus both provided opening remarks.
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Harrisburg, April 5, 2016 – State Sen. Democratic Leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) and Caucus Chairman Wayne Fontana (D-Allegheny) called today for the removal of Pittsburgh Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority (ICA) Executive Director Henry V. Sciortino and requested a criminal investigation into the financial activities involving the authority.
“There certainly are serious questions about the executive director’s activities and there simply has been a lack of scrutiny and accountability,” Costa said. “The ICA is dealing with millions of dollars with little transparency and oversight.
“The ICA should remove Sciortino as the first step toward regaining some semblance of credibility.”
A series of news reports over the weekend and into this week have raised questions about the operations of the ICA and Sciortino’s role with the authority.
“The news reports confirmed what I have believed all along,” Fontana said. “The ICA was accountable to no one; rudderless, led by an individual who had little incentive to help Pittsburgh – other than personal gain.”
“The issues that have been raised over the weekend about the ICA’s executive director add fuel to the fire. Enough is enough.”
Costa and Fontana said that the issues raised in the media reports were so significant that not only should Sciortino be removed as executive director, but they have asked the district attorney and/or attorney general to consider an investigation to determine if laws were broken.
The ICA was created as an oversight board when Pittsburgh was in the throes of a financial crisis. Sciortino is its lone employee.
According to published reports, 92 percent of records, most bank records between 2004 and 2009, minutes of board meetings and information relative to no-bid contracts with vendors have been destroyed.
“Given the lack of records and accountability, we need an investigation that will look behind ICA denials and the loopholes in the law to determine if there were any financial improprieties,” Fontana said.
Fontana, who has been an outspoken critic of the ICA, called for the authority to be disbanded last year. At the time he said that “the authority has morphed into a bureaucracy bent on impeding Pittsburgh’s economic resurgence . and going to ridiculous length to continue operating.”
The Democratic senators said they are preparing legislation to require additional Department of Community and Economic Development oversight and were, for instance, insistent on a forensic audit of the ICA by the state auditor general.
The legislation will also require:
- An update of Act 11 to provide greater transparency at the authority, record keeping that meets the standards of other state agencies, and the means to address governance issues raised by the Auditor General’s recent audit;
- A records retention policy that is consistent with the policy of the Department of the Office of Administration. This record retention policy will require that most financial information be maintained for a minimum of four years; tax information, payroll, and audits have to be maintained for seven years;
- The Auditor General to conduct a forensic audit to determine current fund balances, both for the operation of the ICA and money that was intended to be held or allocated to the City of Pittsburgh. The audit will attempt to ascertain the expenses and contracts of the authority over the last seven years;
- The ICA to file reports with DCED on the finances, including ledger sheets, any contracts that the agency enters, and reports on allocations made to Pittsburgh from gaming revenue;
- The ICA to maintain a publicly accessible internet website and post completed financial records online, including budgets and contracts entered; it will also provide a formal process for determining the use of the gaming monies and will specify when and how gaming money is to be distributed to Pittsburgh;
- Once new staff is hired and the forensic audit is completed, the legislation will require that Pittsburgh use the monies for pension payments.
“The ICA has operated behind the curtain long enough. It is time to shine light on the operations of the ICA, their finances and the activities of their executive director,” Costa said.
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Harrisburg – Feb. 9, 2016 – Facing an unfinished 2015-16 budget with the need to reconcile a 2016-17 spending plan that has a looming $2 billion deficit, Gov. Tom Wolf was forced to focus his second state budget proposal on education and deficit reduction, according to Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny.)
“Lawmakers have choices to make about Pennsylvania’s future; deal with tough issues up front or watch Pennsylvania wither as a consequence of self-inflicted fiscal wounds,” Costa said. “We need to come together and negotiate a bipartisan budget with the governor that makes key investments in education and deals with a $2 billion structural deficit.”
Wolf presented his $32.7 billion spending plan before a joint session of the General Assembly today. The plan uses the $30.8 billion yet-to-be-enacted budget agreement from last fall as the foundation for this year’s plan.
For 2016-17, the governor calls for $200 million more in education funding, $50 million for special education and an additional $60 million in pre-K dollars. The budget also focuses on tackling the estimated $2 billion deficit in 2017 with a revenue enhancement package.
“It is incredibly frustrating to deal with issues year after year because there is no political will in the state House to finish the job it was sent to Harrisburg to do,” Senate Democratic Appropriations Chair Sen. Vincent J. Hughes (D-Philadelphia) said. “We need to complete the 2015-16 budget and get to work in dealing with those issues that are holding us back.
“Lawmakers can address the deficit and invest in education as a simple, direct approach that will pay dividends for years to come or they will have to explain why deep long-lasting cuts have to be made again.”
In his speech, the governor painted a picture of Pennsylvania’s landscape if there is continued inaction on adopting a reasonable forward-looking budget. He said property taxes will rise, human services will be stripped of funds and drug assistance programs for seniors would be slashed.
Senate Democratic Whip, Sen. Anthony H. Williams (D-Philadelphia/Delaware) said it is unwise for Pennsylvania to continue to jump from one fiscal crisis to another and that a bipartisan budget is a necessity.
“The negotiated agreement that passed the Senate in December proved that a bipartisan budget could be crafted even in a very partisan environment,” Williams said. “That spending plan included healthy education investments, support for job creation, human services, seniors and our most vulnerable.
“This budget plan makes lawmakers face up to the reality that if nothing is done to address the budget deficit than its growth will swamp all other initiatives.”
The proposed budget for 2016-17 is built from the budget agreement that awaits a final vote in the state House. However, if there is continued inaction there will be a $500 million deficit by the end of the year that will balloon to a deficit in excess of $2 billion next year.
The governor also said if lawmakers refused to act, funds for state-related universities (Penn State, Pitt, Temple and Lincoln) would be eliminated, another $1 billion would be cut from basic education, human services funding would be reduced by $600 million, and property taxes would skyrocket.
Wolf proposed a revenue package to deal with the deficit and make education investments. His plan would include an increase in the Personal Income Tax from 3.07 percent to 3.4 percent, sales tax expansions, taxes on tobacco, banks and the imposition of a new 6.5 percent tax on shale drilling.
“The Senate worked with the governor in a bipartisan way to produce an accord last year that would have addressed many of Pennsylvania’s most pressing issues,” Hughes said, noting that the bipartisan budget passed the Senate 43-7.
The legislature will soon begin a series of budget hearings to examine Gov. Wolf’s 2016-17 budget in detail.
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