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| Legislative Headlines |
House Votes to Empower Victims
In a historic, bipartisan vote, the House passed legislation that would empower victims of sexual abuse by eliminating the criminal statute of limitations for prosecutions of sexual abuse of minors and extending the civil statute of limitations for lawsuits alleging sexual abuse of minors until the victim reaches 50 years of age.
The bill would also waive sovereign and governmental immunity for claims, and remove caps on damages against governmental parties sued for sexual abuse of minors.
Among its most notable provisions, the House voted to open a two-year statute of limitations window for those victims claiming abuse who are beyond the age of 50.
According to statistics, one-third of victims of child sex abuse disclose the incidents when they are still children, while another one-third never disclose. For the remaining one-third, studies show that the average age to disclose is 52.
This legislation, Senate Bill 261, includes several of the recommendations outlined by the state attorney general after the August release of a report alleging widespread coverup of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church across the state and dating back generations. While recommendations from the report on the Church is a part of the bill, the bill covers all groups in our communities.
The bill now goes back to the Senate for concurrence.
Broadband Caucus Looks for Ways to Expand Access, Availability
More than 30 members of the state House gathered Tuesday at the state Capitol for the inaugural meeting of the General Assembly’s Broadband Caucus. The goal of the group, which includes members from both sides of the aisle, is to bring access to high-speed internet to unserved and underserved areas of the Commonwealth.
Speakers included representatives from AT&T, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC), Department of Community and Economic Development, Pennsylvania Farm Bureau and Pennsylvania State Grange.
Leaders of the caucus have put forward a four-bill package of legislation that would address compliance of non-rural telecommunication carriers, use of existing state communications assets, recommend improvements to the deployment of high-speed broadband services and audit the existing Educational Technology Fund.
The Broadband Caucus considers addressing the lack of access to sufficient broadband internet service to be critical if Pennsylvania wishes to remain economically, medically and personally competitive.
Organizations Given Option of Carrying EpiPens
To help save lives in emergency situations, the House unanimously approved legislation this week that would allow law enforcement and a variety of organizations and businesses to carry epinephrine auto-injectors, known as EpiPens.
House Bill 126 would permit a number of entities – law enforcement, recreation camps, colleges, universities, day cares, youth sports leagues, amusement parks, restaurants, places of employment and sports arenas – to stock a supply of EpiPens in the event a patron comes in contact with an allergen and has an anaphylactic reaction, which could be fatal.
Under the bill, a designated employee must receive training in how to recognize signs and symptoms of severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis; standards and procedures for the storage and administration of an epinephrine auto-injector; and emergency follow-up procedures. Immunity would be granted for those who reasonably administer the EpiPen in good faith.
Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) reports that as many as 15 million individuals have food allergies, and 6 million of those individuals are children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports the prevalence of food allergies in children increased by 50 percent between 1997 and 2011.
The bill has been sent back to the Senate for agreement.
Emergency Alert to Sound Test Next Week
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) on Oct. 3.
The wireless portion of the test commences at 2:18 p.m. EDT, and the EAS portion follows at 2:20 p.m. EDT. The test will assess the operational readiness of the infrastructure for distribution of a national message and determine whether improvements are needed.
The WEA test message will be sent to cell phones that are connected to wireless providers participating in WEA. During this time, WEA compatible cell phones that are switched on, within range of an active cell tower and whose wireless provider participates in WEA should be capable of receiving the test message. Some cell phones will not receive the test message, and cell phones should only receive the message once.
The EAS test is made available to EAS participants (i.e., radio and television broadcasters, cable systems, satellite radio and television providers, and wireline video providers) and is scheduled to last approximately one minute. The test message will be similar to regular monthly EAS test messages with which the public is familiar.
The WEA system is used to warn the public about dangerous weather, missing children and other critical situations through alerts on cell phones. The national test will use the same special tone and vibration as with all WEA messages (i.e. tornado warning, AMBER Alert). Users cannot opt out of receiving the WEA test.
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| Rep. Delozier in the Community |
• The Salvation Army Harrisburg held its annual Shoe Strut to benefit children in need. A pair of new shoes was donated to a child on behalf of each guest. Money also was raised through a silent auction. Since its inception, the event has allowed almost 2,000 disadvantaged children to receive new shoes.
• Earlier this week, Mechanicsburg’s Washington Fire Company received a Bronze Award from the Office of the State Fire Commissioner for having more than 50 percent of its members meet National Professional Qualification Standards. In order to meet these standards, recipients must demonstrate competency in certain firefighting knowledge and skills.
• Joshua Woodruff of Upper Allen Township served as a guest page on the floor of the House of Representatives this week. He is a senior from Mechanicsburg Area High School. Guest pages serve on the House floor during session days and witness government up close.
• On Monday, I played on the Yousers team in the Capitol All-Stars Softball Game at FNB Field on City Island. While my team came up short on the 10-8 score, we helped the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank strike out hunger by raising $77,000 for Feeding Pennsylvania and Hunger Free USA.
• The Harrisburg Area Riverboat Society celebrated its 30th anniversary at the Capitol. As part of the festivities, I presented the group with a House citation marking its three decades of sailing and serving the community. Congratulations!
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| Office Locations |
| 2929 Gettysburg Road, Suite 6, Camp Hill PA 17011 | Phone: (717) 761-4665 |
| 141 East Wing, PO Box 202088, Harrisburg PA 17120-2088 | Phone: 717-783-5282 |
| Email: sdelozie@pahousegop.com |
| TTY: 855-282-0614 |
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