Legislative Agenda Update: Pennsylvania
As the legislative session continues, we are working hard to advance our policy priorities. Here's a quick update to keep you up-to-speed with the goings-on at the Capitol!


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January 2009 marked the beginning of a new legislative session and the beginning of what turned out to be a very long and tumultuous budget year, with a $2 billion budget shortfall, resulting in sweeping state program and service cuts.

Unfortunately, 2010 does not look much more promising. State revenue shortfalls are around $450 million past that of last year and again will likely result in across-the-board cuts in programs. On-going public corruption investigations continue to unfold with a total of 25 individuals indicted and likely more in the future. In addition, half of the Senate and all of the House of Representatives are up for re-election this year and Governor Rendell will be wrapping-up the last year of his Administration, which will undoubtedly have an impact on the state budget.

Despite all of this, there are a number of issues that the American Heart Association will be actively advocating for this year, including:

♥ Heart Disease and Stroke Program Planning
Pennsylvania has a Heart Disease and Stroke Program within the PA Department of Health. However, it is completely supported through federal funds which have decreased over the years.

Representative Eddie Day Pashinski (Luzerne County) recognized the need to prevent heart disease and stroke to save lives, improve the quality of life and save health care costs and introduced House Bill 816. The bill would promote a statewide heart disease and stroke program based on using best practice prevention and treatment protocols.

While funding is needed to implement this bill, a difficult decision was made to eliminate the appropriation and insert language stating that the act would take effect once funds become available.
While this isn’t ideal, it was the only way to keep the bill alive and continue to build on over six years of momentum moving this policy initiative forward. The bill unanimously passed the House of Representatives on March 17, 2010 and has been referred to the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee for consideration.

♥ School Nutrition
Some PA schools offer a limited variety of nutritious beverages and snack foods. However, many schools sell high-caloric, sugary and fatty beverages and snack foods as well. PA schools are not required to meet certain nutritional values for snack foods and beverages, such as those served a la carte or in vending machines.

Representative Mike Gerber (Montgomery) introduced House Bill 1572 that would set strict nutritional standards for items sold in schools to provide students with the healthy alternatives they deserve. The bill is in the House Health and Human Services Committee awaiting a vote.

♥ PE Minute Requirements
PA schools require physical education but there is nothing that requires frequency or duration. Representative Angel Cruz (Philadelphia) introduced House Bill 358 that would require 150 minutes of PE/week for elementary students and 225 minutes of PE/week for middle school students. The bill is in the House Education Committee awaiting a vote.

♥ AED Program Facilitators
While current PA law provides immunity to lay rescuers for using an AED, it is not clear that program facilitators – those who bring an AED program to their building, organization, etc. – are granted immunity. The AHA is committed to removing any potential barriers that would deter placement of an AED program. Senator Lisa Baker will introduce Senate Bill 1322, which will remove this barrier.

This update is part of our legislative updates series. The first post on Pennsylvania's legislative agenda can be found here. Stay-tuned for future legislative updates and a wrap-up at the end of the legislative session.