00:01 - The following program is sponsored in part by

00:04 - customer's bank.

00:14 - Representative Jason or tea Ty republican from Washington and allegheny counties

00:20 - you have several bills that address domestic violence

00:24 - in Pennsylvania

00:25 - why did you take cup this particular issue.

00:29 - So

00:30 - back home we had a situation a few years ago with constituent of mine.

00:35 - Who while she was trying to sleep her then husband tried

00:38 - to break into her room and nearly stabbed her to death

00:42 - and the only reason that she survived that night was because her son was there

00:46 - was able to break through the door all

00:48 - all him off of her

00:49 - and then their twelve year old daughter was holding and

00:52 - bandaging her up until the ambulance could get there.

00:56 - Now

00:56 - after having this conversation

00:58 - with this constituent

01:00 - you couldn't help but be moved by what she had gone through and what she's going

01:04 - through now i mean he was ultimately

01:06 - pled guilty he's now serving seven and a half to fifteen years in prison

01:10 - but

01:11 - the the situation of what she's dealing with from the financial fallout from the sale

01:15 - of her house is flooding of marital assets

01:17 - what he's entitled to

01:19 - seems so blatantly unfair that something needed to be done.

01:23 - And outside the experience of your constituent representative in general and just how

01:27 - often does domestic violence happen in Pennsylvania.

01:32 - Far more often than than is acceptable it does seem like it happens

01:36 - a lot

01:37 - i remember proposing a bill i think back in twenty twenty and i had a

01:41 - a lady from the other side of the state

01:44 - on your

01:44 - near Philly reach out to me and it was basically

01:48 - if if you have been found guilty of

01:51 - domestic abuse use an especially

01:54 - extreme domestic abuse where you're physically beating your spouse

01:58 - or your partner

01:59 - that you are not entitled to alimony of any kind

02:01 - and in this case this particular case for this woman

02:04 - on her now ex husband was beating her so

02:06 - severely that she was ending up in the hospital

02:10 - almost on a weekly basis and then she was able to file for divorce and then

02:14 - the court found that she had to pay him money and i'm thinking

02:17 - how fair is that why is the state incentivizing spousal abuse

02:21 - basically if this guy wanted to be out of the

02:22 - marriage and he was beating his wife so much.

02:25 - Why should he be paid money that doesn't make any sense to me whatsoever in what in

02:30 - what world is that even remotely fair

02:32 - a rubber resented of you know how important languages

02:35 - in legislation so as far as the law's concerned

02:38 - what constitutes domestic abuse in other words what forms can i take.

02:43 - While the and that's the thing it can be in many forms

02:45 - outside of physical it could be emotional and verbal

02:48 - it could even be financial and that's

02:50 - one of the bills that are in here about the about coercion and

02:53 - and basically ruining someone's credit if you're living with someone who you're

02:56 - married to someone you even have to be married

02:59 - they could basically take your information and raw open up credit cards and

03:02 - and run up debts and you'd be completely unaware of it

03:04 - until they leave and then all of a sudden debt collectors

03:07 - are calling you

03:08 - on it

03:10 - and again that's just one building that's in the

03:11 - package another one it is a bifurcation bill.

03:15 - Apparently both parties in Pennsylvania need to agree

03:18 - to the terms

03:19 - for divorce in order to finalize a divorce well someone who's in a

03:23 - relationship where they're getting beat up or

03:25 - in this case for my constituent nearly murdered

03:28 - and

03:29 - they all of a sudden need permission from the person who almost killed them

03:32 - too to leave the marriage like that

03:34 - it is

03:35 - stuff like that just doesn't make any sense at all

03:38 - and and why it was written in the law i'm sure many years ago there was a good reason

03:41 - for it but part of the reason that we're doing this package.

03:45 - Is to fill those gaps that have existed in law

03:49 - and make it right because

03:51 - it's not

03:51 - mean it's blatantly unfair

03:53 - for someone to have to relive that in someone to have that kind of power

03:57 - over you

03:58 - especially as the victim in all of this

04:00 - when you're trying to recover

04:02 - it just it seems so blatantly unfair

04:04 - we're going to talk about some of those bills you mentioned representative so

04:08 - let's start with the bill that has to do with monitoring devices for offenders

04:13 - these or offenders with

04:14 - pfj orders against them and that stands for

04:17 - protection from abuse

04:19 - and let's start there what is the protection from abuse order about

04:24 - what is the offender required to do before we get into the monitoring device

04:28 - that you're proposing.

04:30 - So that this is a bill that I've done in tandem with representative Lindsay pie Paul

04:33 - who was one of my neighbors in allegheny county.

04:36 - She has been absolutely fantastic to work with on on this package

04:39 - she's taken a couple of bills I've I've taken a couple here

04:43 - to split that up

04:44 - but basically what we were trying to do because we were running into

04:47 - constitutionality issues was that

04:49 - after sentencing is done

04:51 - you really can't do anything in the world of gp

04:53 - as monitoring their sentence has been delivered

04:55 - once they have served their sentence they have paid their debt to society they

04:58 - are then released

05:00 - so what we're proposing to do

05:02 - is at sentencing require GPS monitoring

05:05 - for someone who's been found guilty of

05:07 - physical.

05:09 - Physical abuse through through a pf a permanent

05:11 - pfj not just a temporary pfj because there is

05:14 - there is a difference and

05:16 - in this way

05:17 - this is for the safety of of the victim because

05:20 - some counties already do this i believe Washington county and westmoreland county do

05:23 - it allegheny county has yet to do it

05:25 - and which has provide this GPS monitoring because it is

05:28 - it does cost money

05:30 - and in this case

05:31 - and.

05:32 - The person

05:33 - who was found guilty would have to pay for it they'd have to reimburse the county for

05:38 - the tracking services itself through the GPS monitoring

05:40 - and what this does is provide a level of safety for the victim

05:43 - because they can know where this person is and if they get

05:46 - within so many miles or a certain radius of this person

05:49 - they're at least alerted

05:50 - because in the case of my constituent she's

05:52 - genuinely concerned that when he gets out prison

05:54 - that he's going to come kill her

05:56 - and at least having some advance notice

05:58 - of where he's at and

06:00 - if he's anywhere nearby can give can be the

06:02 - difference between life and death for for a person

06:05 - especially in a situation like that so

06:07 - that's why i feel like this bill was probably one of the more important ones and in

06:10 - my opinion i'd love to go a lot further

06:12 - but in order to keep the constitution full and

06:14 - legal so lawyers don't challenge it in court

06:17 - we decided to to try to

06:18 - make this change upfront we do and hear more about

06:21 - the technology of that device you're proposing but

06:24 - let's take a step back and just consider

06:26 - pfs in general in other words when somebody has the bf a order against them

06:30 - what is a required to do.

06:33 - Well

06:33 - they're required to stay within a certain distance away from

06:36 - from the victim

06:37 - and that is usually monitored but the problem is is that

06:41 - are there at times there are so many pfs it's

06:43 - not like the police can keep up with this so

06:45 - unless that personally physically shows up at your house and you're calling.

06:48 - It might be too late that person may be there to cause harm

06:51 - to yell to scream

06:53 - or whatever the cases they are already via violating that that pf a order

06:56 - that was issued by a judge so

06:59 - sometimes and if you talk to most victims they'll

07:01 - say that the pfs are just a piece of paper

07:03 - and that they aren't really enforced to the degree that they should be and i mean

07:08 - look i don't disagree with them at that that's why we need to take it a little bit

07:11 - in my opinion take this a step further

07:13 - you said a minute ago that the pfj can be permanent and it can be temporary

07:18 - why should a pfj be

07:20 - temporary why not make them all permanent.

07:23 - So odd part of the process when you go in front and ask for a p f a is you

07:28 - you may not have all the information on the person you may not have the last name you

07:31 - know exactly where they live

07:33 - i mean you could have just had an you went out on a date

07:36 - and just met this person so without a number

07:38 - identifier or a way to identify the specific person

07:41 - it's hard to get a permanent pfj and so what

07:44 - you do is you start with a temporary p s a

07:47 - and then you try to track this person down so then you can get like a driver's

07:50 - license number and address whose security number or something to tie to

07:53 - an actual person in the sea system

07:55 - and then you can get the actual full blown p f a

07:59 - and that you go in front of a judge and that gives them the ability to defend

08:02 - themselves as as well so you're not just making accusations because

08:06 - that's also something we want to be very cognizant of

08:08 - and there are false claims made against people for p s a's

08:12 - as much as it pains me to say that it does happen

08:14 - and not say it happens frequently

08:16 - but it is something that we absolutely need to be aware of.

08:19 - Because at times people do make up stories whether

08:21 - it's for attention or other nefarious reasons

08:24 - we want to make sure that these pfs are real

08:26 - what actually happened happened and it's not just an accusation

08:30 - so now let's go on and consider the technology of the device you're proposing just

08:34 - how would it work rk is this a tracking device

08:37 - is effects in the body

08:38 - can't be removed can be disabled.

08:42 - While

08:42 - it varies and i would say no that it can't

08:44 - be disabled and if it is then the police will

08:47 - only show up at your house and figure out what's going on

08:50 - but i would i would make it akin to like a

08:53 - like an ankle bracelet and then i would imagine

08:55 - the sec ecology would exist where it could be

08:57 - like

08:58 - in your in your phone in your in your watch

09:01 - in some kind of device that you carry or wear on yourself though at all times to make

09:05 - sure that it is actually tracking you

09:08 - i'm from what i hear a lot of district attorneys are investing in technology

09:11 - not just in GPS tracking but in drone technology as well

09:14 - i mean times are are are really changing words getting a lot easier to

09:18 - to to track criminals

09:20 - and do this kind of work it's still relatively

09:21 - expensive which has been holed up in certain counties

09:24 - and

09:25 - but

09:26 - i think having the victim or i'm sorry not the victim

09:29 - the criminal in this case pay for it will help

09:30 - offset some of those costs and the counties will

09:33 - and undoubtedly incur.

09:35 - If this were to take effect

09:36 - let's go back and explore a point

09:38 - you made a minute ago about pfj orders and the

09:42 - simple abundance of them at least as far as

09:45 - police

09:46 - are concerned so with so many pfs to keep an eye on

09:49 - what is the success rate in general of pfs.

09:54 - While

09:54 - that's almost impossible to tell just because there are so many out there and

09:58 - i under spread throughout the state too and we we all know that

10:01 - Pennsylvania doesn't have a

10:03 - job

10:03 - and

10:04 - a consistent police force i would say outside of the state police but every

10:07 - municipality is different in their police protection

10:10 - and depending on where you live you could have one or two officers on duty at a time

10:14 - you could have one or you could just have state police coverage

10:16 - i mean that that could determine whether or not a psc is actually enforce

10:20 - and if any kind of

10:22 - future violence is is prevented

10:24 - i obviously where there is a much more heavily

10:27 - heavy police presence than it makes it easier to enforce these via Facebook.

10:31 - If you're out let's say in my neck of the woods in rural Washington county you might

10:34 - only have one or two police officers on duty and

10:36 - they might be policing a twenty mile

10:38 - geographical region in the on the other side of the township or.

10:42 - So it does make it difficult to police these

10:45 - it really does and i think having this this tracking

10:48 - would certainly

10:49 - help in that that in that manner

10:51 - let's go on to another

10:53 - bill about domestic violence prevention that is in the package you're working on

10:57 - and this has to do with stopping abusers from benefiting financially

11:02 - from their victims so

11:03 - I'll give us an example of the kind of situation

11:06 - you're trying to address here.

11:08 - So we have seen cases this was not the case and in my instant in my constituents case

11:13 - it was just something that we had the conversation with her about

11:15 - and just.

11:17 - I gave the credit card example earlier i mean what if they open your in your home and

11:21 - they open a home equity line of credit that you don't know about and then they go Max

11:24 - it out and then all of a sudden they're gone

11:25 - and

11:26 - this

11:27 - i think this happens traditionally more with people

11:29 - who are dating than it does in in in marriages

11:32 - where someone is purposely using you to to steal money from you

11:36 - and then there's no real recourse but this bill

11:39 - basically puts the onus back on them and the credit

11:42 - card companies or or the the lender saying look

11:45 - if you can prove to us within a certain period of time that you weren't the one

11:49 - who opened this account

11:50 - and benefited from it

11:51 - or had access to it

11:53 - then we won't hold it over your head as a domestic violence

11:57 - situation Asian.

11:58 - So

11:59 - that's the gist of what we're trying to do is

12:01 - make sure that they aren't then on the hook

12:04 - for someone who they were with that maybe

12:06 - abusing them

12:07 - for ten twenty thirty forty fifty one hundred

12:09 - whatever that amount is hundred thousand dollars

12:12 - because it was debt the debt person incurred

12:14 - then the creditor would then have to go after

12:16 - that ursi who actually incurred the debt

12:19 - instead of sticking this poor person over here who has been

12:22 - beaten up or

12:23 - or even worse

12:24 - with the bill and then their credit ruined for the rest of their life because that's

12:27 - part of the problem with domestic violence victims

12:30 - and the oftentimes they are financially strapped after this their credit has been

12:34 - destroyed they have no way out and honestly

12:36 - a lot of

12:37 - pity actually a lot of women.

12:39 - Once they're in these relationships they have no financial

12:42 - means to get out of these relationships so they feel stuck

12:45 - so this is one Avenue to help them

12:47 - out of a situation that is already horrific and as if a domestic violence situation

12:53 - isn't bad enough sometimes the alimony

12:57 - child support

12:58 - and

12:59 - divorce settlements can enter into this situation and complicate things.

13:04 - Yeah they are they absolutely can and is i was saying earlier too

13:07 - it is absolutely absurd

13:09 - for somebody to absolutely beat their wife to

13:11 - the point where they have to go to the hospital

13:14 - the wife then files for divorce

13:16 - and then is forced to pay their ex-husband alimony for a period of time

13:19 - like there's nothing more insulting to the justice system

13:22 - than watching that injustice ha happen

13:24 - because like i said it it just incentivized incentivized people to beat their spouse

13:29 - because they'll know they'll get paid if they're

13:31 - if they're the breadwinner in this case the

13:33 - the the wife was the breadwinner of the family she made more money

13:36 - and and i don't know the particular

13:39 - the particulars of that situation itself but

13:41 - hearing that on face value just seems absurd

13:43 - and then in this situation of my constituent

13:45 - the guy who nearly killed her is now entitled to half of her pension

13:49 - like

13:49 - are you kidding me

13:50 - like

13:51 - how does

13:51 - it again in what reality

13:53 - is that justice served that to me is just utterly ridiculous on it's face

13:58 - let's talk about another bill

14:00 - in your package and it occurs to me that there seems

14:03 - to be some overlap with what we already discussed

14:05 - and like we said earlier language of course is important

14:09 - when writing legislation and this particular bill

14:11 - involves the phrase i hadn't heard before

14:14 - coerced

14:14 - debt

14:15 - so

14:16 - tell us what that is and what that means to these situations

14:20 - yeah so that's the that's the debt that we just talked about

14:23 - with credit cards and people running up dad saw unbeknownst to them were stealing

14:26 - their their social security number and just

14:28 - basically bleeding them dry without them even knowing

14:31 - this basically allows them an Avenue out

14:34 - from the creditor in the event that

14:36 - they come to them and they find out hey you

14:37 - will one hundred thousand dollars to us on this

14:40 - and they basically just say well alright i

14:42 - had nothing to do with this this was so and so

14:45 - and they have to prove their case

14:47 - but putting that in law into statute for the creditor

14:49 - i think makes it

14:50 - more powerful and then the creditor can then go after the person who actually racked

14:54 - up that debt under somebody else's name that's

14:56 - that's to me was what coerced debt is

14:58 - there's also the other situation where sometimes

15:00 - victims are forced to take out loans for example right

15:03 - exactly like it

15:04 - like

15:05 - in

15:06 - in one example they could be forced to take out a second mortgage on the house under

15:09 - their name because their spouse may not be credit worthy.

15:12 - Or open up another credit card and then they never have access to that credit card

15:16 - and that's coerced at you like you're being forced into

15:19 - into something into a situation that you don't want to

15:22 - but you're essentially powerless to stop okay we

15:24 - i have a firm understanding of coerce debt now so

15:27 - try and tell us in simple terms what the house bill would do about it.

15:31 - It basically just says that the creditors

15:34 - once you provide documentation and proof that you didn't do it

15:37 - that then goes back to the creditor and then the

15:38 - creditor and then go after the person who did do it

15:41 - and then it frees up your credit report because again part

15:44 - of what domestic violence victims faces financial ruin and

15:47 - having destroyed credit makes it impossible to find an apartment a house to rent

15:51 - get a car basically leave a bad situation and go somewhere else

15:55 - now here's another bill in the domestic violence

15:57 - package and has to do with home security

16:00 - and having a Grant program so

16:02 - what kind of improvements

16:04 - for exam apple would this money pay for.

16:07 - So we're looking at like cameras locks alarm systems

16:11 - things to like tighten up your house give you like advance notice

16:14 - and i mean this could even be just

16:16 - fixing locks on windows or or adding extra deadbolts to your door

16:20 - and you know just

16:21 - small things that can make a person feel safer around the house

16:25 - and

16:26 - this way like again a

16:28 - we have the whole bill we have the GPS tracking in there.

16:31 - It's just another fail safe to to give some sense of security back to people who

16:36 - feel vulnerable

16:37 - no matter what's going on especially if the attacker and the person is still out there

16:41 - and this was something that i worked on very closely with my constituent i was like

16:44 - hey what would make you feel safer

16:47 - in your home today and these were a list of things that

16:50 - that she gave me but it's basically physical security

16:53 - cameras were

16:54 - at the forefront of that

16:55 - and then just having the alarm system

16:57 - in place as well because i ameobi when she was attacked when she was sleeping she

17:01 - really had she had no advance notice what was going to happen

17:04 - at least in her own house now how many does break

17:06 - and that'll give her or at least a fighting chance

17:08 - and look i'm

17:09 - i i hate to paint pictures like that but this is the severity of

17:13 - of what we're looking at and a lot of these cases

17:15 - so representative that

17:16 - if this would be a Grant program then the tricky part for legislators i would think

17:21 - is determining an appropriate sum of money

17:23 - to put in this pot.

17:25 - Yeah and

17:26 - that's something we've we've battled with them and trying to figure out okay what

17:29 - what is even a good starting point because we

17:30 - don't even know what the need is out there for this

17:33 - and maybe we start small with a you know maybe

17:35 - like two hundred and fifty thousand dollars

17:38 - i even hesitate to put a number on and maybe we started at a million i don't know

17:41 - what that number isn't that something i have been trying to.

17:44 - Work out but honestly anything that we can put into an account like that

17:48 - with this legislation i think would go a really long way

17:52 - in helping and plus i i think once you get the the grants established in the account

17:56 - established i think you'll start to see what that true need

17:59 - really is so that you can accurately.

18:03 - Assess what the what the amount

18:05 - might be down the line

18:06 - a representative if you're trying to justify

18:09 - this program about how often do flaws in security

18:12 - get victims back in trouble

18:15 - with their abusers

18:16 - are there documented cases out there that how

18:19 - that can help you build your case.

18:21 - Oh i i'm sure that there are and we're we're going to work with the domestic violence

18:26 - association here in Pennsylvania

18:28 - to get those numbers

18:30 - but i'm sure it's i it's pretty high

18:33 - and especially the ones who actually do get out of these abusive relationships that

18:37 - maybe go into a women's shelter or city mission or

18:40 - or something like that it's just like these people have a way of finding them.

18:44 - Almost no matter what so anything we can do to add these extra protections in place

18:49 - to help these people i remember a few years ago there was a lady who reached out to

18:52 - to my office to see if we could find some money for her

18:55 - to put a brand new lock on her door because she was

18:57 - afraid that her ex-husband was going to come kill her

19:00 - and she had just left that bad situation she had taken their their

19:04 - infant son as well

19:06 - i mean

19:06 - so some of the stories I've heard are just that they're just there so.

19:10 - Just

19:11 - that

19:12 - on their face that there are things that you just don't even think about on a daily

19:15 - basis and you think this nightmare is something that

19:16 - this person's living every single day of their life

19:19 - or we've talked about several domestic violence bills here today

19:23 - representative so let's consider

19:25 - what stage are they at in the law legislative

19:27 - process for example have you had hearings

19:29 - what happens next.

19:31 - So

19:32 - last month we had a press conference

19:34 - with representative out if this off

19:36 - and and we were out of session all last month we did get the bills all introduced

19:41 - that are all sitting in the house judiciary committee

19:43 - i am in conversation with

19:45 - a couple of the senators to see if we can get some mirror

19:47 - bills set up over and introduced over in the senate

19:50 - where we have bills in both chambers

19:52 - i look at these bills as as non controversial

19:56 - they're nonpartisan

19:57 - this why was so important to work with a

19:59 - with with a representative through

20:01 - a she's a very good friend and you know when Republicans and democrats work together

20:05 - we usually come up with a pretty good product

20:07 - but it's sitting in judiciary now i actually have my constituent coming up next

20:11 - Monday to meet with chair in Briggs

20:13 - to tell her story to him

20:15 - and he was very open about that and i appreciate

20:17 - the representative Briggs being willing to to listen

20:20 - because it is a very heart wrenching story and one that

20:22 - i think that almost all of my colleagues should hear

20:25 - and my hope is is that after hearing that he will.

20:28 - Hopefully

20:29 - either have a hearing

20:30 - or move the bills.

20:32 - In in callebaut i mean once you put a person in a

20:35 - face to a story that is attract as tragic as this one.

20:38 - My hope is that that that will have some sort of impact and hopefully make

20:43 - hope

20:43 - helped the bills move forward

20:45 - well let's turn our attention away from domestic violence

20:48 - protections for now

20:49 - and consider another bill you're working on has to do with dui why

20:53 - restitution is for kids of parents

20:56 - of a guardian.

20:58 - Killed in a dui crash and why did you get involved here.

21:02 - So this is actually this is what's great about

21:04 - talking to so many of my constituents back home there

21:07 - there is a lady back home who sent me an article about this story

21:12 - of i think it was in Alabama or Tennessee was one of the southern states where

21:17 - this this kid was kill in a tragic accident

21:19 - by a drunk driver

21:21 - and one of the laws that they had passed was is that you as a drunk driver are

21:25 - responsible for lost income i'm sorry that

21:27 - wasn't the kid who passed away was the parents

21:29 - and

21:30 - if you killed the the the the parents of a child then then

21:34 - you should be responsible

21:35 - for making up those payments you have then Rob that child wild have not only of their

21:39 - parents but of their their financial protection

21:42 - until they are adults and look i have a zero

21:45 - tolerance policy when it comes to driving intoxicated.

21:49 - Driving drunk

21:50 - and to me this seems like a no brainer if you

21:52 - knowingly and willingly get behind the wheel

21:55 - of a car

21:56 - after you've had way too much to drink

21:58 - any the actions that that you have after that are solely on you

22:01 - why should some kid or kids suffer

22:04 - because of your poor judgment.

22:06 - You should have to pay for that

22:08 - and you may have to go to jail and as a result of whatever happens for that too but

22:11 - you should also be paying restitution

22:14 - in basically child support for these kids

22:16 - because of what you did

22:17 - you took some ids life away

22:20 - and you ruin this family so there should be some teeth or skin in the game for you in

22:25 - this and i know i think there are five or six other

22:27 - states that have have already passed a similar law to this

22:30 - i believe there is

22:31 - a bill in this and i think senator Flynn has a version of this to

22:34 - my bill in his bill i believe are very similar

22:38 - but you just

22:38 - again

22:39 - it just seems so blatantly unfair just like

22:41 - the domestic violence bills we just discussed.

22:44 - That something like this doesn't already exist

22:47 - and the big question would be how much restitution

22:50 - would be paid

22:51 - to

22:52 - to surviving kids

22:53 - of dui crashes

22:55 - well in that's the thing is when

22:57 - i am in my world what i'd lie to do is look at what the parents were making from an

23:00 - income point of view and base it off of that

23:03 - and

23:04 - i'm trying i'm still trying to figure out legally what we can do without

23:07 - violating constitution

23:09 - the state or federal level here but

23:11 - in a perfect world that's what i would like to see

23:13 - at least until the age of eighteen

23:15 - especially depending on what the

23:16 - current age of the kid is

23:18 - or kids in in that manner.

23:21 - How would the restitution be paid out in installments or all at once.

23:25 - I think it would have to be installments over

23:27 - a period of time doing something all at once

23:29 - probably is not a

23:30 - realistic expectation.

23:32 - In cases like this but i mean i'd be open to both but my my plan.

23:37 - Is probably restitution over a p period of time

23:40 - a minute ago you said that a similar law had been enacted

23:43 - in other states what kind of success that they had

23:46 - as far as you know.

23:48 - While they're all fairly new i think they've

23:49 - all been enacted within the last year or so

23:52 - i think there's all

23:53 - i

23:53 - if i remember correctly i think Tennessee has had one case where they've prosecuted

23:57 - in there is a person paying restitution

23:59 - it was either Tennessee or Alabama i can't remember

24:01 - exactly state but it was one of those states but

24:03 - this is a fairly new law

24:05 - i suspect that you will probably see more of this saw as more states adapt to it

24:10 - and hopefully people learn like hey it's not worth it like we have Uber and lyft and

24:14 - lots of services that can drive you around you don't

24:16 - need to drive drunk so please like this is like my pst a

24:19 - or my psh for this entire group is like

24:22 - if you're drinking and you know you're drinking have a designated driver

24:25 - or call an Uber it's not worth your life and

24:27 - it's not worth someone else's life for one night.

24:30 - Let's change the subject one more time representative and consent of the state budget

24:34 - which is due at the end of this month

24:37 - what has the

24:38 - house accomplished along those lines tell us briefly.

24:42 - So all the vehicles are in place as far as the the budget bills the the

24:46 - the appropriations bill which is the the main spending bill

24:49 - and the nonprofit offers the the code bills

24:53 - everything is teed up and ready to go we passed a lot of those.

24:57 - If you remember we passed a state budget in the house i believe it was last month

25:01 - and that was just a a marker and a vehicle to hand over to the senate

25:05 - so when the

25:06 - when an actual agreement is made they can just amend the

25:09 - bill and then send it back over for concur occurrence

25:11 - that saves time and it makes the process a little

25:13 - bit easier because most times it takes multiple days

25:16 - for a bill to move through each chamber because it has to go to committee

25:19 - as to be on Saturday it has to go to appropriations

25:21 - and then it has multiple considerations

25:24 - before the final vote so

25:25 - what this allows is a much faster response for us

25:29 - both in the house and senate for when an agreement is made because

25:32 - what was passed in the house will not be the final agreement

25:34 - and we were all told

25:36 - by

25:37 - i would say by

25:38 - both the by both chambers and leadership that

25:41 - this was just a way to keep the process moving forward so that we're ready and we're

25:44 - not trying to scramble to find vehicles to put

25:46 - budget bills in

25:48 - i will also say this I've had many conversations

25:50 - now with a couple of my colleagues in the senate

25:53 - and even in the house here.

25:55 - This is the first year that i can remember in my twelve years

25:58 - where the governor and the legislative leaders have been meeting

26:02 - and especially meeting as early as they did i believe they met back in march

26:05 - i believe they actually met yesterday to in the governor's office

26:10 - so the fact that legislative leaders and the governor

26:13 - are actually discussing and talking about the budget

26:16 - now instead of three weeks from now

26:18 - makes me feel a little bit better about this process

26:20 - in this budget hopefully getting done on time.

26:23 - Now let's consider that what the governor is proposing is

26:26 - very similar to the bill that's been passed by the house

26:29 - so as far as you're concerned tell us briefly

26:30 - what's the the highlight of this budget.

26:33 - So

26:34 - it it's it's

26:36 - basically

26:37 - we're putting money in for education to continue

26:40 - the the the money from the the adequacy funding

26:42 - from the commonwealth court case

26:44 - so

26:44 - that's a big component of it we also have a lot of cost drivers and human services

26:49 - that are driving costs up and not just a little

26:50 - bit i mean you're talking to half a million earns

26:53 - half a billion to a b million dollars where the cost drivers

26:56 - for health and human services and those are a lot of times those are mandated costs.

27:00 - For for what we have to pay we really don't have a choice

27:03 - without

27:03 - changing policy

27:05 - and in order to bend that cost curve just to change policy

27:08 - you know

27:09 - at least probably a year before you do your budget

27:11 - or to have any kind of impact you can't do it

27:13 - with the budget and hope that it's going to save you money there

27:17 - but but also

27:18 - part of the problem with this year's budget with as it's passed now is is we don't

27:22 - have the revenue like the revenue coming in from

27:24 - from this year is not enough

27:26 - to meet the spending obligations that are in that budget

27:29 - so i believe it's about a billion to a billion dollar

27:32 - i want to say one to two billion dollars off

27:34 - I've heard

27:35 - several different numbers depending on who you talk to

27:37 - about where revenue is and where the governor's

27:39 - proposal is and what we pass in the house.

27:42 - The good news is i think we were closer to three and a half billion dollars apart

27:45 - back in February when the governor gave his budget

27:47 - address and i think they're much closer now to

27:49 - between that one in two billion

27:51 - and so it's really just addressing the amount spending

27:55 - with the revenue that we have

27:56 - because we already have a bit of a structural deficit

27:59 - which means we're spending more money than we're taking in

28:02 - and without completely rating the rainy day fund

28:05 - we have to do something to try to get that spend number down

28:07 - so that we aren't forced to to raise revenue or raise

28:10 - taxes in the future and i think those are a couple of

28:13 - the major

28:14 - i i'd say the highlights of the sticking points

28:16 - in this year's budget representative Jason or

28:18 - Ty republican from Washington and allegheny counties

28:22 - thank you for your time.

28:24 - Absolutely thank you so much for having me.

28:28 - Hmm

28:31 - wow.