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In every way, policies and programs designed for individuals who have a disability should aim at helping them achieve the greatest level of independence their capabilities and spirit allow. Listen  

Senate Labor and Industry Committee – March 22, 2016 Listen  

Sen. Lisa Baker welcomed members of the Tri-State Society for Cardiovascular & Pulmonary Rehabilitation to the Senate.  

Sen. Lisa Baker welcomed PIAA Class AA Cross Country champions from Dallas High School to the Senate chamber for special recognition: Listen

  Senator Lisa Baker asked Secretary of Health Karen Murphy about the funding the EMS Operating Fund reductions and the challenges facing Emergency Medical Services and volunteer rates. The senator also raised concern over the zeroing out of the Primary Healthcare Practitioner Loan Repayment line item in the budget.

Sen. Lisa Baker asked Secretary Pedro Rivera to look into transportation reimbursements for rural pre-kindergarten programs. She also inquired as to how counseling services funds are distributed and what improvements are being made to ensure proper vocational education access for disabled students. The secretary, during questions from committee members, agreed that pension costs were the leading cost driver for school districts.  

Revenue Secretary Eileen McNulty was questioned by Sen. Baker about the financial hit families and businesses would take if a proposed retroactive 11 percent increase in the personal income tax and what efforts are being made to boost lottery revenues. In addition, the senator raised concerns about the impact continued talk of a severance tax has had on the natural gas industry.  

During questioning on the Department of Human Services’ budget with Secretary Ted Dallas, Senator Lisa Baker expressed concerns about the governor’s vetoing of funding for critical access hospitals and urged funds to be released based the health, safety and public welfare of members of those hospitals’ communities.  

Sen. Lisa Baker asked department officials for updates on the Gino Merli Center in Scranton and its provisional license status. She also asked for updates on the Veterans Trust Fund and its use. In addition she asked whether a bonus program for those men and women serving in the Iraq and Afghanistan warzones was being considered similar to the Persian Gulf Bonus program.  

  Sen. Lisa Baker asked Chancellor Frank T. Brogan about system operational costs, including pension obligations and health care increases. She also asked about how the schools are meeting the needs spelled out in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.

  Representatives of Pennsylvania’s state-related universities – Temple, Pittsburgh, Lincoln and Penn State — answered questions from Sen. Lisa Baker regarding graduation and freshmen retention rates In addition she asked about initiatives to bolster workforce preparation and training and credentialing programs.

Secretary Russell Redding fielded questions from Senator Lisa Baker regarding ongoing constituent concerns regarding the uncertainty of funding for county fairs and cooperative extensions. She also urged him to have ongoing dialogue with Secretary Curt Topper from the Department of General Services about perhaps eliminating duplication of services and agreeing to use one weights and measurements lab between the two departments as a cost savings measure.  

  Secretary Teresa Osborne was asked by Sen. Lisa Baker to look into speeding up the approval process for the Aging Waiver program. Baker said from recent personal experience she has realized the process is too complicated and too lengthy, something the secretary agreed with.

  Sen. Lisa Baker asked Department of General Services Secretary Curt Topper for updates on the security upgrades being made to the Capitol and wanted to know if duplicating services amongst some departments can be eliminated as a money-savings endeavor.

Senator Lisa Baker asked Secretary Kathy Manderino about initiatives to train and employ people with disabilities and discussed the unemployment rate for the disabled community. She also raised the proposal to transfer the PA One Call oversight and enforcement from the Labor and Industry Department to the Public Utility Commission and the increase in workers’ compensation claims.  

  Senator Baker asked several questions of Department of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel including if there were any plans to close any of the three state correctional facilities in the 20th District and whether pay disparities between commissioned officers, mangers and corrections officers were being addressed.

Sen. Lisa Baker urged Transportation Secretary Leslie Richards to address four-digit state roads in rural areas of the state. She also raised concerns over accidents involving pedestrians around Harveys Lake and Lake Wallenpaupack and the increasing number of incidents involving wrong-way drivers on interstates.  

 

Sen. Lisa Baker, R-20th District, issued the following statement regarding Gov. Tom Wolf’s budget address:

Sen. Lisa Baker introduced a resolution recognizing Friday, February 5, 2016, as “National Wear Red Day” in Pennsylvania. Listen

Senator Lisa Baker speaks in support of House Bill 158, legislation that will allow the Secretary of Education to issue weather related, safety related, and health related emergency declarations under which school entities shall be given additional flexibility to satisfy the 180 instructional days per school year requirement in statute. Listen

During session, Senator Baker offers remarks on the retirement of Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Correale Stevens and welcomes him to the Senate chamber.    

  Sen. Lisa Baker welcomed Western Wayne Middle School eighth grader Ezra Tetreault to the Capitol on Nov. 17 where he served as a guest Senate page. Ezra, 13, of Salem Township, Wayne County, is the son of Kevin and Patricia Tetreault.

Sen. Lisa Baker’s resolution designating November as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Awareness Month in Pennsylvania passed the Senate unanimously today.