Shale fee, abortion bill and liquor privatization also move during busy week
By PA Independent
HARRISBURG — Redistricting took center stage in the state Capitol this week, as the state legislative districts for the next decade were approved, and the new congressional map was made public for the first time.
After making some changes to the state Senate and House districts introduced in October, the five-member State Legislative Redistricting Commission approved the final legislative maps Monday afternoon.
Monroe County is gaining a new state Senate district, which is moving out of Allegheny County. The shift reflects the general population trend of the past decade, as counties in the east have grown and those in the west have declined.
Five state House districts are moving on the new map, following the same pattern. New districts are coming to Berks, Chester, Lehigh, Monroe and York counties, which have been among the fastest growing in Pennsylvania.
The new district lines gained bipartisan approval, as House Minority Leader Frank Dermody, D-Allegheny, voted to support the Republican-drawn maps, while Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, D-Allegheny, stood opposed.
A proposed reapportionment of Pennsylvania congressional districts was introduced Tuesday and moved quickly through the General Assembly this week.
Due to a population that grew less than the national average, Pennsylvania is losing one congressional seat, so that the delegation shrank from 19 to 18. With Republicans in charge of the state House, state Senate and the governorship, they controlled how the new districts were shaped.
“The idea of everyone’s districts staying the same was pretty much out the window right away,” state Sen. Charles McIlhinney, R-Bucks, said. “This represents the 12 Republican districts which the people of Pennsylvania elected and the six Democrat districts, which is similar to what the people already elected in the past election."
Democrats have decried the new district lines — particularly the odd-shaped 7th district, which runs through portions of five different counties — as partisan gerrymandering intended to keep the GOP in power.
Some call for changes to closed-door redistricting process
While Democrats have attacked the new congressional map for being gerrymandered, political observers and even some Republicans have questioned the redistricting process.
The congressional redistricting bill progressed through the state House and Senate like any other piece of legislation. This year, the bill was crafted behind closed doors, introduced publicly Tuesday afternoon and flew through three committee votes and a vote in front of the Senate by Thursday.
“This is not an adequate time frame to give the public a chance to react to what is a significant proposal that affects the state for 10 years,” said state Rep. Steve Samuelson, D-Northampton.
State Sen. Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon, opposed the new district map and said the state should consider changing how the congressional districts are drawn.
"You're never going to ever take the politics totally out of this, but I think you can at least come up with a system that would make it as reasonable as possible," he said.
Specifically, Folmer pointed to the model used in Iowa, where a nonpartisan agency draws the new lines, and is forbidden from considering political data, such as residents’ party affiliations or where incumbents and potential challengers live.
Other political reformers said California’s nonpartisan “citizen’s commission” is the best way to draw new districts.
Shale fee proposal ready for January Conference Committee
A rare joint House and Senate Conference Committee is tasked with creating legislation with a natural gas drilling impact fee and updated safety, environmental and zoning regulations.
The leaders of the House and Senate will select the six members of the committee, which will consist of two legislators each from the House and Senate majorities as well as one from each body's minority.
The members are expected to be announced in January, and committee meetings are likely to begin that month.
The Conference Committee “will try to get it done, but in the end, you need 26 votes in the Senate and (102) in the House and the governor's signature,'' said House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, referring to the final natural gas drilling proposal.
The primary sticking point between the Senate and House is over who would collect the natural gas drilling impact fees and how that money would be divided.
Liquor privatization plan scaled back
House Republicans set aside plans to privatize all liquor stores in favor of a hybrid blend that would allow some competition for wine sales, while maintaining the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board's longtime monopoly on liquor.
The amended bill would allow PLCB-run stores to continue selling hard liquor, such as vodka and scotch, while expanding the sale of wine and beer to beer distributors. This change would add 1,200 places for consumers to buy wine.
House Liquor Chairman John Taylor, R-Philadelphia, revised the original privatization bill with several amendments, which could save hundreds of unionized public jobs and allow the state to sell wholesale wine licenses for $100 million each.
"On paper, this looks to be privatization-lite," Taylor said. "If you play it out, it's much more significant in terms of what will happen after this is passed. I think you'll have a hybrid approach in terms of the retail market, as well.
House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, who has been pushing the privatization plan, gave the changes a thumbs up this week.
Controversial abortion regulation bill ready for Corbett
Gov. Tom Corbett is expected to sign into law new regulations that will require the state Department of Health to hold abortion facilities in Pennsylvania to the same standards as other outpatient surgical facilities.
Supporters said the bill passed by the state House and Senate this week will protect women’s health and ensure the state maintains high standards for abortion in the aftermath of the horrific crimes allegedly committed at a Philadelphia abortion facility.
But opponents argue that the bill has been driven by ideological zealots who are more interested in blocking access to abortion, and the new provisions will limit women’s right to choose.
The bill requires abortion clinics to install hospital-grade elevators and larger operating rooms as well as have parking lots and driveways that can fit an ambulance.
