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Governor Signs Robbins Legislation Into Law
HARRISBURG --
Two bills sponsored by State Senator Bob Robbins
(R-50), and another bill strongly supported by the Senator, have been signed
into law by the Governor.
Senate Bill 959 -- which has yet to be provided an
Act number -- provides state and county probation and parole offices with relief
from an unnecessary requirement. Prior to this law, a 48-hour supply of
medication was to be provided to state and county probation and parole offices
when a prisoner was released from a correctional facility. This new law will
stipulate that the parolee is directly provided with the medication instead.
“The truth is, probation and parole offices are not
pharmacies and should not be in the business of dispensing medication,” said
Sen. Robbins. “Parolees should be capable of self-medication.”
Additionally, Senate Bill 981 -- now Act 212 of 2004
-- aims to preserve full funding for Pennsylvania’s National Guard Educational
Assistance Program. Sen. Robbins wrote the 1996 law which established the
program. In exchange for six years of service in the National Guard, members
may receive free college tuition for up to five years. Guard members can attend
any public or private university in PA; however, tuition assistance cannot
exceed that charged by the State System of Higher Education. The Pennsylvania
Higher Education Assistance Agency administers the program.
“This program has been a fair exchange for National
Guard members and the Commonwealth,” said Robbins. “However, several factors,
such as the increased number of Guard members being deployed, have caused
uncertainty in terms of planning for enrollment in the program and ensuring that
the budget covers the full costs. This new law stipulates that any unspent
funds remain in the program at the end of each fiscal year, rather than going
back into the Commonwealth’s General Fund. It will help protect the commitment
to provide 100 percent of tuition for our guard members. I am thankful that the
Governor recognized that this is a real issue that needed to be addressed.”
The Governor also signed into law another bill
supported by Sen. Robbins that clarifies the state veterans preference law.
House Bill 2055 -- now Act 195 of 2004 -- ensures that the state veterans
preference law is extended to military reservists and members of the National
Guard who are federally activated for war or armed conflict, then released from
that active duty to serve out their remaining service obligation.
“This new law clears up a gray area in the law that
has prevented the State Civil Service Commission from awarding veterans
preference to deactivated reservists because they were ‘released from active
duty’ rather than ‘honorably discharged,’ as was required by state law,” said
Robbins. “The truth is, the dangers faced by reservists in Iraq are just as
real as those faced by other servicemen and women. The intent of the veterans
preference law is to acknowledge the special contributions of military veterans,
and reservists activated for combat clearly fit into that category.”
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