The subcommittee held a public hearing on HB 1619; the legislation would provide for the merit selection of judges to Pennsylvania’s appellate courts.  The Pennsylvania Association for Justice and the AFL-CIO spoke against the legislation. Tom Folley, speaking on behalf of the PA Association for Justice, said the organization is “extremely concerned about the lottery system being proposed to determine which groups are able to participate directly in the judicial selection process.” Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts and the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association (PMA) were among the many organizations that spoke in support of the bill. Dave Taylor, Executive Director of PMA said “by combining elements of elective and appointive systems for nominating our appellate court judges, Pennsylvania can both uphold the professionalism of the courts and protect our jurists from the conflicts of interest that inevitably arise from political fundraising and campaigning.” Check the PLS Capitol Toolbox later today for the full story.
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Posted by Matt | Category: House Intergovernmental Affairs, House Judiciary | Comments are closed | Share:
The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing this morning on HB 40 which would expand the castle doctrine and would also provide for civil immunity for the use of force. Chairman Tom Caltagirone (D-Berks) and the committee heard testimony from a number of groups including: the National Rifle Association, CeaseFire PA, the Pennsylvania District Attorney’s Association, the Philadelphia Executive Executive Committee, Heeding Gods Call, Pennsylvania State Police Office of Risk Management, the Pennsylvania Self-Defense Rights League, and the Pennyslvania Firearams Owners Association. Check the Capitol Toolbox later for the full story. Posted by intern | Category: House Intergovernmental Affairs, House Judiciary, Public/Informational Committee Hearing | Comments are closed | Share:
By a vote of 18-8 this morning, the House Judiciary Committee voted Rep. Josh Shapiro’s ethnic intimidation bill, HB 745, to the floor. The bill significantly expands the possible victims of the crime of ethnic intimidation to include those targeted based on actual or perceived ancestry, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity. Several amendments offered by Rep. Tim Krieger (R-Westmoreland), who opposed the bill, would expand applicability to veterans and other, broader groups. Each failed or was withdrawn. The committee also voted on several other bills. Check the Capitol Toolbox later for the full story. Posted by Mike | Tags: ethnic intimidation, hate crimes, unemployment | Category: Committee Voting Meeting, House Intergovernmental Affairs, House Judiciary | Comments are closed | Share:
The committee conducted an informational meeting on the recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision in the consolidated cases of Commonwealth v. Omar and Commonwealth v. O’Connor finding the Pennsylvania statute on trademark counterfeiting unconstitutionally vague and overbroad. Representatives from the District Attorneys Association, the International Anticounterfeiting Coalition and others offered suggestions for amending the statute in order to comply with the court decision. Check the Capitol Toolbox later today for the full story. Posted by Jeff | Category: House Intergovernmental Affairs, House Judiciary, Public/Informational Committee Hearing | Comments are closed | Share:
The House Judiciary Committee held an informational meeting today to hear the findings to “A Study on the Use and Impact of Mandatory Minimum Sentences,” as directed by House Resolution 12 of 2007. Mark Bergstrom, the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing lead the committee in reviewing the study which examined the effects mandatory minimum sentences have on school zone drug violations, drug delivery violations, firearms violations, and repeat violent offenders. Among the findings Bergstrom noted was that while mandatory minimum sentences are applied less often than in cases where they are eligible to be applied, the eligibility factor appears to significantly raise the average incarceration rate. Bergstrom reported other findings and made recommendations, after which he answered questions from members. Check the Capitol Toolbox later for more information and a complete copy of the study. Posted by intern | Tags: mandatory minimum sentences | Category: House Intergovernmental Affairs, House Judiciary, Public/Informational Committee Hearing | Comments are closed | Share:
The House Intergovernmental Affairs Committee met today to consider three resolutions and two amendments. HR 406 was reported as amended. Rep. Carl Metzgar (R-Somerset) raised discussion as to the benefits of the resolution and it’s amendment. HR 420 was unanimously reported as amended and HR 441 was unanimously reported as committed. Check the Capitol Toolbox for the full story later. Posted by intern | Category: House Insurance, House Intergovernmental Affairs | Comments are closed | Share:
The House Intergovernmental Affairs Subcommittee on Federal State Relations met to consider three resolutions. HR 406 was reported to the full committee with a negative recommendation; HR 420 was sent to the full committee as amended and HR 441 was unanimously sent to the full committee for consideration. Posted by Matt | Category: House Insurance, House Intergovernmental Affairs | Leave a comment | Share:
The committee voted unanimously to report H.B. 1869 with a recommendation it be re-referred to Appropriations. The bill amends Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) changing certain legal fees and charges in Philadelphia. Check the Capitol Toolbox later for the full story. Posted by Jeff | Category: Committee Voting Meeting, House Intergovernmental Affairs, House Judiciary | Comments are closed | Share:
The House Judiciary Committee met this morning to consider five bills, all of which were reported as committed except HB 1876 which was amended. The amendment to HB 1876 generated a considerable amount of discussion, as it gutted the language of the bill and added new language providing for advertising rates reduced by 25%. The amendment was adopted with Kula, Walko, White, Marsico, Creighton, O’Neill, Gabig, Rock, and Stevenson voting in the negative. Rep. Gabig voted for the final bill, but the other eight also voted against the bill. Look for the complete story in the Capitol Toolbox later this afternoon. Posted by Kim | Tags: advertising, horse racing, legal advertising | Category: Committee Voting Meeting, House Intergovernmental Affairs, House Judiciary | Comments are closed | Share:
House Judiciary met this morning and voted four bills out of committee. SBs 125, 531 and HB 1861 were amended, while HB 1592 goes to the floor as committed. Check the Capitol Toolbox later for the full story. Posted by Mike | Category: Committee Voting Meeting, House Intergovernmental Affairs, House Judiciary | Comments are closed | Share:
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