The Pennsylvania Senate Education Committee approved two measures introduced by state Sen.

Jane Orie, R-40th.One bill would prohibit the state Department of Education from imposing any new statewide requirement for high school graduation without legislative approval.The Department of Education signed a contract agreeing to pay a company $201 million to develop a new end-of-year testing plan called the Keystone Exams.Under the department's original proposal, all students would be required to pass 10 subject area tests to graduate."At a time when Pennsylvania faces a $3 billion deficit, we cannot afford to commit funding to an unproven and unneeded test," Orie said.Orie's other bill would amend the School Code by allowing students with severe allergies to carry epinephrine medication, such as EpiPen auto-injectors, upon approval by the students' physician and parents.She noted that there are documented cases of children dying following a treatable attack suffered at their school because they did not have immediate access to life-saving medication."Thirty-seven states currently allow students to self-carry Epi-Pens in case of an emergency," Orie said. "This legislation would protect students and prevent needless tragedies by ensuring that they have access to their life-saving medication at all times."Both bills now go to the Senate Appropriations Committee.———State Rep.

Jaret Gibbons, D-10th, introduced legislation that would empower voters to recall state, county and local elected officials.The two-bill package would amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to create the option of a recall and establish the process for conducting a recall and prohibited practices."The constituents in my district have made it clear that they want the option to remove elected officials for crimes while in office or for failing to represent their interests in the community and Harrisburg," Gibbons said.Gibbons said judicial officers would be exempt from the recall."In Lawrence County, there was interest in removing the former treasurer charged with and convicted of improper acts in performing official duties," Gibbons said. "There has been similar interest in separate cases in central Pennsylvania, but current state law does not contain a recall provision.Gibbons said the recall process would begin with a court hearing to determine if there are grounds for a recall.The legislation contains provisions to prevent abusing the recall process for political purposes and penalties for those who file in bad faith.———Legislation creating a "Mini-COBRA" health insurance plan in Pennsylvania was signed by Gov. Ed Rendell, according to state Sen.

Don White, R-41st, prime sponsor of the Senate version of the measure.The House of Representatives' bill amends the Insurance Company Law of 1921 to create a Mini-COBRA Small Employer Group Health Plan.The measure is identical to the Senate bill, introduced by Sen. White and approved by the Senate on April 1."The Mini COBRA program will not solve all of the problems with Pennsylvania's health care system. However, it is an important step in the right direction to maintain affordable accessibility to essential health care," White said."Most significantly, it does not cost the Pennsylvania taxpayers one dime."The mini COBRA legislation becomes effective immediately, allowing individuals to become immediately eligible for coverage. Individuals who left employment with an employer covered under mini COBRA before its enactment are not eligible for enrollment.The federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) provides former employees, retirees, spouses, former spouses, and dependent children the right to continuation of health coverage at group rates for up to 18 months.However, COBRA benefits only apply to employers with 20 or more employees.The House bill extends the COBRA guidelines in Pennsylvania to group plans that employ two to 19 employees.