The General Assembly returns to legislation session this week after six weeks of budget hearings in which representatives of the Shapiro administration, state agencies and others testified before the House and Senate Appropriations Committees.

Multiple bills relevant to employes are scheduled to be considered in committee or the subject of a committee hearing:

House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on H.B. 300, which would expand state anti-discrimination law, known as the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, to include sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, as well as expand the definition to include “actual or perceived” membership in all covered classes.

The House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee is scheduled to host a hearing on H.B. 962, which would allow the PA Department of Environmental Protection the Environmental Quality Board to increase bonding amounts for conventional oil and gas wells.

The House Labor and Industry Committee is scheduled to vote on several bills:

• H.B. 930 would significantly expand the amount of and eligibility for an additional benefit that may be awarded to a workers’ compensation claimant if the injury results in a scar.
• H.B. 413 would narrow eligibility to qualify as an independent contractor in the construction field.
• H.B. 760 would provide for direct deposit of workers’ compensation wage-loss benefits.

The House Labor and Industry Committee is also scheduled to hold a hearing on H.B. 950, an amendment to the state constitution that would prohibit Pennsylvania from becoming a Right to Work State.

The House Insurance Committee is scheduled to vote on H.B. 739, known as the PA Insurance Data Security Act.