ADVISORY/Curtain Raiser for Week of Oct. 5.

--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

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To:        Capitol Correspondents
        News Editors, Assignment Editors
From:        Stephen Drachler
        Press Secretary to the Majority Leader
Re:        Curtain Raiser for week of October 5

Oct. 2, 1998

$80 Million School Safety -- Security Funding Proposal, Tougher
Parole Standards, Protecting Children, on House Agenda

    House members will continue to focus on school violence when they
return to Harrisburg for three days of voting sessions on Monday,
Oct. 5.
    Leading Monday's agenda is House Bill 2801, authored by Rep.
Julie Harhart, which would provide $40 million yearly in the
1999-2000 and 2000-2001 fiscal years for school districts to install
security systems, train personnel, develop a safety curriculum and
implement staff and student identification programs.
    House Bill 1272 increases the penalty for illegal possession of a
weapon on school property from a misdemeanor to a felony.
    On Tuesday, House members are scheduled to consider legislation
stemming from the tragic Delaware County murder of Aimee Willard by a
Nevada parolee.
    HB 2258, authored by Rep. Thomas Gannon of Delaware County,
chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, toughens the standards for
allowing parolees to locate in Pennsylvania from other states.
    HB 2664, resulting from a House special subcommittee's probe of
the child abuse death of an infant, also is scheduled for a vote.
    Authored by Rep. Katie True of Lancaster County, chairwoman of
the Aging and Youth subcommittee, this bill allows judges sitting in
child dependency cases to appoint special advocates to help determine
the best course of action for these children.
    Tuesday's agenda also includes scheduled action on Senate Bill
1157.  This bill was amended in the House Judiciary Committee to
include a provision designed to assist Harrisburg-based AMP, Inc. in
its multi-billion dollar hostile takeover battle with Allied Signal.
    A second provision added by the committee would require the
Secretary of Banking to approve bank acquisitions involving banking
institutions with more than $10 billion in assets.

Monday, Oct. 5
House convenes at 1 p.m.
HB 1272   Oliver         Increases the penalty for
                         possession of a weapon on
                         school property from a misdemeanor
                         to a felony. This would apply to
                         persons who are not eligible to
                         possess a valid license to carry a
                         weapon. Also, creates misdemeanor
                         and felony levels for retaliating
                         against a judicial officer,
                         including judges, district judges
                         and prosecutors.
HB 1527   Van Horne         Expands the authority of county
                         commissioners to
                         create county park police units and
                         defines the powers of county park
                         police.
HB 1660   Gladeck         Names a highway in Montgomery
                         County and a bridge in Chester County.
HB 1847   Trich          Increases from 10 days to 20
                         days the number of
                         days yearly Pennsylvania wineries
                         can utilize permits allowing them
                         to participate in wine and food
                         expositions off-premises.
HB 2039   Dent                 Allows a third party to discharge
                         liens filed against property owners.
HB 2801   Harhart         Provides $80 million in state
                         funding over a two-
                         year period to school districts for
                         school safety initiatives. "Safe
                         and Secure Schools Act" funds can
                         be used for security-related
                         technology, enhancing school
                         security personnel, development and
                         implementation of local violence
                         response plans, purchase of safety-
                         related curriculum materials and
                         student, staff and visitor
                         identification systems.
SB 510          Uliana         Prohibits the completion
                         of real estate sales to
                         persons with delinquent real estate
                         taxes or outstanding municipal
                         utility bills.

SB 996          White          Requires the licensing of hospices by the
                         Department of Health. Forty-two
                         states license hospice services.
                         Hospices that are already certified
                         as Medicare providers would be
                         considered to meet the department's
                         requirements for licensing.


SB 1163   Robbins         Expands the membership of the state veterans'
                         homes advisory councils from 11 to
                         15 members. Allows National Guard
                         enlisted personnel to be placed on
                         special duty by the governor.
                         Exempts veterans organizations from
                         the sales and use tax, as well as
                         property taxes in accordance with
                         the Purely Public Charity Act.
Tuesday, Oct. 6
House convenes at 11 a.m.
HB 1064   Masland         Clarifies Pennsylvania's Child
                         Labor Law, allowing
                         children to be unpaid participants
                         in non-profit, educational
                         theatrical productions without a
                         special permit; allows junior
                         firefighters to participate in fire
                         fighting and training activities
                         between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. on the
                         day before a school day.
HB 1443   Tigue          Allows active-duty military
                         personnel to terminate
                         leases without penalty when they
                         are deployed or transferred due to
                         a national emergency.
HB 1499   Stevenson         Allows First Class Township
                         commissioners to
                         name alternate members on the
                         township Civil Service Commission.
HB 2024   Stevenson         Creates Hero Scholarships by
                         waiving tuition, fees
                         and room and board charges at
                         Pennsylvania community colleges,
                         state-owned and state-related
                         universities for the children of
                         police officers and firefighters
                         who are killed in the line of duty.
HB 2111   Ross                 Repeals an 1811 law dealing with
                         payments of fees
                         for tavern owners and requirements
                         for brigade inspectors to provide a
                         list of militia exempt fines to the
                         auditor general.
HB 2211   McNaughton         Repeals Act 96 of 1919 dealing
                         with city-county
                         agreements for joint municipal
                         buildings.
HB 2258   Gannon         Toughens the interstate agreement that allows
                         Pennsylvania parolees and persons on probation
                         to be supervised in other states.
                         This legislation comes after the
                         murder of Aimee Willard in Delaware
                         County. The defendant, Arthur
                         Bomar, was on parole from Nevada at
                         the time of the crime. He had been
                         accepted into Pennsylvania simply
                         because he had family in the state
                         and had a promise of employment.
HB 2664   True                 Creates a new Court Appointed Special Advocate
                         (CASA)system, enabling judges to
                         appoint a special advocate to
                         monitor and help determine the
                         courses of action for children in
                         dependency cases who are either
                         abused, in foster case, abandoned
                         or determined to be delinquent.
                         This legislation stems from the
                         Maxwell Fisher case and subsequent
                         investigation by a special
                         subcommittee of the House Aging and
                         Youth Committee.
SB 254          Jubelirer         Allows courts to award attorneys fees
                         in cases where public agencies willfully,
                         recklessly or negligently violate
                         Pennsylvania's open meeting law.
                         Also allows attorneys fees to be
                         awarded for frivolous challenges
                         filed against public agencies whose
                         meetings are covered by the law.
Wednesday, Oct. 7
House convenes at 11 a.m.
Carryover from Tuesday's calendar.