Political Notebook
State Sen.
Jane Orie, R-40th, recently introduced legislation that would authorize specialized "problem-solving courts" in Pennsylvania.Orie said the measure would improve public safety and provide more extensive supervision of non-violent offenders.The bill calls for using mental health courts and drug courts to divert non-violent offenders from more costly jail cells and encourage rehabilitation through extensive supervision."These courts will reduce prison overcrowding and improve cooperation between our criminal justice system and drug and alcohol and mental health systems," she said.Orie said specialized problem solving courts are used across the nation to save money and help offenders who have particular issues.The Senate Judiciary Committee already has approved Orie's legislation.———The state Senate Banking and Insurance Committee this week approved three bills in the HealthNET PA legislative package intended to improve health care coverage, according to committee chairman Sen.
Don White, R-41st.One of those measures, which White introduced, amends the Insurance Company Law of 1921 to create a Mini-COBRA Small Employer Group Health Plan.The federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act provides former employees, retirees, spouses, former spouses, and dependent children the right to temporary continuation of health coverage at group rates when coverage is lost due to certain specific events.However, these benefits only apply to employers with 20 or more employees. White's bill would extend the COBRA guidelines to group plans that employ between two and 19 workers."This legislation could provide an important safety net to an estimated 150,000 individuals who worked for small businesses but are between jobs," White said.White also introduced a bill that would permit health insurers to withhold payment to providers in the event of a medical error."Medicare has already stopped reimbursing providers for the cost of medical-related infections and mistakes and it is time that we give health insurance companies the same opportunity," he said.Meanwhile, legislation introduced by Sen. Jake Corman, R-Centre, would extend health insurance coverage, at the expense of policyholders, to certain adult dependent children up to the age of 30.———State Sens.
Bob Robbins, R-50th, and
Jane Orie R-40th, are introducing legislation to provide tax credits to employers who hire veterans and National Guard members.Under Robbins' bill, employers would receive a $1,000 tax credit for every member of the Pennsylvania National Guard or Reserves whom they hire or who re-enlists.The tax credit could be used toward the employer's personal income tax, corporate net income tax, or capital stock and franchise tax and could be carried forward for three years.Orie's bill would provide employers with a $1,000 tax credit for the veterans they have hired since Jan. 1, 2009, who have recently been on active duty overseas.The tax credit would be capped at $5 million per fiscal year.———Legislation to give local governments the option of posting legal advertisements on the Internet has again been introduced in the state Senate.Sen.
Bob Robbins, R-50th, the bill's author, said the measure would provide a way to better inform citizens about meetings and spending, while saving taxpayers dollars.Robbins' "Public Notice Modernization Act" would give municipalities, school districts and local authorities the option to electronically publish legal notices on the Internet instead of newspaper advertisements as is required by law.
