Amending the Election Code

When the state Legislature allowed mail-in ballots in 2019, it didn’t anticipate the coronavirus or its ramifications. State officials expected less than 10% of voters would use the new ballots to cast their vote in the presidential

primary and election. The spike of voters using the special ballots and health concerns led legislators to make a host of temporary changes for the primary, including delaying the election several weeks and easing restrictions on where poll workers could serve in their home counties. Perhaps most importantly, the bill permanently allowed counties to start tallying mail-in votes when polls open Election Day instead of when they close. Without the change, the country likely would have waited another day to determine who won the presidential race.

Consolidating colleges

Years of lackluster state funding and a decline in enrollment created a financial strain on Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education. Enrollment in the college system is down about 22% compared with a decade ago; a few campuses have seen their student populations cut in half.

Those bleak figures led to Act 50, which empowers the system’s board of governors to explore consolidating some of the colleges. While the law prevents the state from closing schools, some may be merged to reduce costs. Act 50 also requires schools to provide the board with data it needs for its analysis, and grants the board some immunity from lawsuits over controversial decisions.

Police reform

The murder of George Floyd and other prominent cases of police killing Black people prompted the state to pass two police reform laws. Act 57 intends to prevent problematic cops from bouncing between law enforcement agencies by giving police departments tools to conduct more complete background checks.

Act 59 requires that officers undergo annual training on de-escalation techniques and the use of force. The same law also requires officers receive training on cultural awareness and implicit bias every two years. Officers will also need to undergo a mental health evaluation after cases where they use deadly force.

Police unions opposed two reform bills that made little progress in the Republican-controlled assembly. One would have banned chokeholds and limited when police could use deadly force while the other would have created special prosecutors to investigate police shootings.

COVID-19 response

While Gov. Tom Wolf used many emergency powers to respond to the coronavirus, lawmakers passed legislation to help Pennsylvania through the pandemic as well. Many of the laws eased deadlines and restrictions to help residents, businesses and local governments. Others created programs that directly assisted vulnerable populations or allowed special actions, such as permitting schools to end the 2019-20 year early.

One act set aside $175 million to create the Regional Response Health Collaboration Program, which provided clinical and operational support to health networks, the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Administration, and the state Health and Human Services departments.

Services largely focused on nursing homes, whose older, fragile patients are at greater risk from the virus.

Other bills made it easier for everyday life to function under the difficult circumstances. Because of the economic fallout of the pandemic, the state delayed deadlines for residents to pay their taxes. As a result, local governments found themselves with less cash on hand to pay mounting bills, so the state also extended deadlines for governments to make their payments.