Regular Session 2017-2018 House Bill 1674 P.N. 2243

PRINTER'S NO. 2243

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

No.

1674

Session of

2017

INTRODUCED BY RABB, TOOHIL, STURLA, SOLOMON, DAVIS, VAZQUEZ,

DEAN, FRANKEL, DAVIDSON, V. BROWN, DONATUCCI, ROZZI,

SCHLOSSBERG, NEILSON, D. COSTA, SCHWEYER, DRISCOLL AND

ROEBUCK, JULY 21, 2017

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, JULY 21, 2017

AN ACT

Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), entitled

"An act relating to the finances of the State government;

providing for the settlement, assessment, collection, and

lien of taxes, bonus, and all other accounts due the

Commonwealth, the collection and recovery of fees and other

money or property due or belonging to the Commonwealth, or

any agency thereof, including escheated property and the

proceeds of its sale, the custody and disbursement or other

disposition of funds and securities belonging to or in the

possession of the Commonwealth, and the settlement of claims

against the Commonwealth, the resettlement of accounts and

appeals to the courts, refunds of moneys erroneously paid to

the Commonwealth, auditing the accounts of the Commonwealth

and all agencies thereof, of all public officers collecting

moneys payable to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,

and all receipts of appropriations from the Commonwealth,

authorizing the Commonwealth to issue tax anticipation notes

to defray current expenses, implementing the provisions of

section 7(a) of Article VIII of the Constitution of

Pennsylvania authorizing and restricting the incurring of

certain debt and imposing penalties; affecting every

department, board, commission, and officer of the State

government, every political subdivision of the State, and

certain officers of such subdivisions, every person,

association, and corporation required to pay, assess, or

collect taxes, or to make returns or reports under the laws

imposing taxes for State purposes, or to pay license fees or

other moneys to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,

every State depository and every debtor or creditor of the

Commonwealth," in additional special funds, establishing the

First Chance Trust Fund.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. Article XVII-A.1 of the act of April 9, 1929

(P.L.343, No.176), known as The Fiscal Code, is amended by

adding a subarticle to read:

SUBARTICLE F

FIRST CHANCE TRUST FUND

Section 1751-A.1. Definitions.

The following words and phrases when used in this subarticle

shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the

context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Annual contract amount." The amount of revenue paid to a

contractor in the fiscal year.

"Child." A child under 18 years of age who resides in this

Commonwealth.

"Commission." The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and

Delinquency.

"Commonwealth agency." An executive agency, an independent

agency or a State-affiliated entity.

"Department." The Department of Corrections of the

Commonwealth.

"Fund." The First Chance Trust Fund established under

section 1752-A.1.

"Program." An evidence-based or outcome-based program for

individuals who meet the eligibility requirements determined by

the commission, aimed at reducing risk factors and producing

positive outcomes, which may include mentoring, individual

counseling and therapeutic services, family-strengthening

activities and case management to support coordination of

services.

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"Scholarship program." A program which assists students in

obtaining education or other vocational training who meet all of

the following criteria:

(1) The individuals reside within this Commonwealth and

attend an accredited, nonprofit educational or vocational

training institution located in this Commonwealth which is a

public community college, a State-owned university or State-

related university or materially affiliated with a public

community college, a State-owned university or State-related

university.

(2) The individuals are not the spouses, siblings,

parents or children of current or former elected officials or

employees of the department or commission.

(3) The individuals meet other eligibility requirements

as determined by the commission in accordance with this

subarticle.

Section 1752-A.1. First Chance Trust Fund.

The First Chance Trust Fund is established as a restricted

account in the General Fund.

Section 1753-A.1. Use of fund.

(a) Source of revenue.--The fund shall include revenues from

the following:

(1) Contributions from selected contractors of

designated contracts as specified under section 1754-A.1.

(2) Grants, gifts, donations and other payments from an

individual, a person, a business entity, a nonprofit entity

or a government entity.

(3) Money appropriated into the fund.

(b) Appropriation.--Money in the fund is appropriated to the

commission on a continuing basis for purposes set forth under

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subsection (c).

from the fund for the following purposes:

(1) Establishing and operating a scholarship program for

individuals residing in those regions of this Commonwealth

which have statistically higher high school dropout rates or

incarceration rates as determined by the commission.

(2) Providing grants to programs offered by nonprofit

organizations in this Commonwealth in good standing that

benefit individuals residing in areas of this Commonwealth

which have statistically higher high school dropout, poverty

or incarceration rates as determined by the commission.

(d) Contributions.--The commission may solicit and accept

gifts, donations, legacies and other revenues for deposit into

the fund from a person or government entity.

(e) Operation.--The following apply:

(1) The commission shall adopt a statement of policy for

the maintenance and use of the fund within 60 days of the

effective date of this section, including a provision

ensuring that the commission select scholarship recipients

and grantees based on independent and blind evaluations. The

policy shall be published as a notice in the Pennsylvania

Bulletin, but shall not be subject to review under any of the

following:

(i) Section 205 of the act of July 31, 1968

(P.L.769, No.240), referred to as the Commonwealth

Documents Law.

(ii) Sections 204(b) and 301(10) of the act of

October 15, 1980 (P.L.950, No.164), known as the

Commonwealth Attorneys Act.

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(iii) The act of June 25, 1982 (P.L.633, No.181),

known as the Regulatory Review Act.

(2) No payment shall be made from the fund before the

statement of policy has been published as provided for under

this subsection.

(f) Report.--By July 31, 2018, and no later than October 1

in each successive year, the commission shall convene a public

hearing and at such time submit a report to the chairperson and

minority chairperson of the Appropriations Committee and the

chairperson and minority chairperson of the Judiciary Committee

of the Senate and the chairperson and minority chairperson of

the Appropriations Committee and the chairperson and minority

chairperson of the Judiciary Committee of the House of

Representatives. The report shall specify all of the following:

(1) The fund's revenues and expenditures in the prior

fiscal year.

(2) The number of academic scholarships awarded and the

gender, age, zip code, school district and county of

residence of the recipients of academic scholarships.

(3) The number of grants awarded and the gender, age,

zip code, school district and county of residence of the

grantees.

(g) Audit.--The Auditor General shall conduct an audit of

the fund's revenues and expenditures no later than three years

after the effective date of this section. The Auditor General

shall conduct subsequent audits of the fund's revenues and

expenditures no more than once every three years from the date

of the preceding audit. The Auditor General shall submit a

report of each audit to the Governor and the chairperson and

minority chairperson of the Appropriations Committee of the

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Senate and the chairperson and minority chairperson of the

Appropriations Committee of the House of Representatives.

Section 1754-A.1. Contributions to the fund.

(a) Department procurement.--The following apply:

(1) Within six months of the effective date of this

section, the department shall include a requirement in a

notice for invitations for bids under 62 Pa.C.S. § 512

(relating to competitive sealed bidding), a notice of request

for proposals under 62 Pa.C.S. § 513 (relating to competitive

sealed proposals) and a notice for sole source procurement

under 62 Pa.C.S. § 515 (relating to sole source procurement),

if the contract dollar threshold is expected to exceed

$5,000,000 annually, that the selected contractor contribute

the equivalent value of 1% of the annual contract amount to

the fund no later than June 30 of any fiscal year when the

contract is in effect. The department may withhold the

equivalent of 1% of the annual contract amount and remit the

money to the fund on behalf of the selected contractor in

order to effectuate the contribution.

(2) Upon prior approval by the Secretary of Corrections,

the department may waive the contribution requirement under

paragraph (1). The department shall submit a notice of a

waiver granted under this paragraph to the commission within

15 days of granting the waiver. The notice of the waiver

shall be published on the publicly accessible Internet

website of the department and the commission.

(b) Commonwealth agency procurement.--Within six months of

the effective date of this section, a Commonwealth agency may

include a requirement in a notice for invitations for bids under

62 Pa.C.S. § 512, a notice of request for proposals under 62

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Pa.C.S. § 513 and a notice for sole source procurement under 62

Pa.C.S. § 515, if the contract dollar threshold is expected to

exceed $5,000,000 annually, that the selected contractor

contribute the equivalent value of 1% of the annual contract

amount to the fund no later than June 30 of any fiscal year when

the contract is in effect. The Commonwealth agency may withhold

payment equivalent of 1% of the annual contract amount and remit

the payment to the fund on behalf of the selected contractor in

order to effectuate the contribution.

be deposited into the fund and shall only be used for the

purposes set forth in section 1753-A.1(c).

(d) Deposits.--Within 15 days of the last day of each month,

the commission and the Office of the Budget, in consultation

with the State Treasurer, shall compute the total amount of

revenue from all sources received by the Commonwealth during the

immediately preceding month which shall be deposited into the

fund by the State Treasurer in accordance with this subarticle.

Section 2. This act shall take effect in 30 days.

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