Pennsylvania Afl-Cio v. Commonwealth8/30/2000
The issue before this Court is whether the Commonwealth Court erred in sustaining preliminary objections to Appellants' claim that the legislative process used in enacting Senate Bill No. 801 (S.B. 801), which ultimately became Act 57 of 1996, violated Article III, Section 5 of the Pennsylvania Constitution. We agree with Appellants that the Commonwealth Court erred in sustaining preliminary objections as to this issue. However, after reviewing the underlying constitutional issue on the merits, as warranted by the circumstances of this case, we conclude that Article III, Section 5 was not violated in the instant matter.
On March 21, 1995, S.B. 801 was introduced in the Pennsylvania Senate and referred to the Senate Committee on Labor and Industry. S.B. 801 was directed at expanding the coverage allowable under the State Workmen's Insurance Fund (SWIF), Act of June 2, 1915, P.L. 762, as amended, 77 P.S. §§ 201-395. On January 31, 1996, the Senate Committee on Labor and Industry reported an amended version of S.B. 801, with amendments relating to SWIF, to the full Senate. The full Senate re-referred S.B. 801 to the Senate Appropriations Committee. This Committee further amended the bill, with amendments again relating to the subject of SWIF and a change in the bill's title, and reported the bill to the full Senate on February 7, 1996. On February 12, 1996, the full Senate passed S.B. 801 by a vote of 48 to 0.
The bill was then referred to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives' Committee on Labor Relations. This Committee further amended S.B. 801, with the amendments again limited to the subject of SWIF and the title of the bill, and reported the bill to the full House of Representatives. On May 1, 1996, the House passed S.B. 801, as amended by its Committee on Labor Relations, by a vote of 197 to 0.
Following passage of S.B. 801 by the House, the bill was returned to the Senate and referred to the Senate Committee on Rules and Executive Nominations (Senate Rules Committee). Pursuant to its authority under Senate Rule XIV.5, the Senate Rules Committee further amended S.B. 801 on June 11, 1996. These amendments included changes to the Workers' Compensation Act, Act of June 2, 1915, P.L. 736, as amended, 77 P.S. §§ 1--1041.4, and a modification of the bill's title. On June 12, 1996, S.B. 801 was referred to the Senate Committee on Labor and Industry, which reported the bill without further amendment. The bill was then re-referred to the Senate Rules Committee, which further amended the bill but retained the amended title, and reported it to the full Senate. The full Senate then passed S.B. 801 by a vote of 27 to 22.
On June 19, 1996, S.B. 801 was returned to the House of Representatives and referred to the House Committee on Rules, which reported the bill to the full House as committed. By a vote of 106 to 97, the full House passed S.B. 801. The bill was then signed by the Presiding Officer in both the Senate and the House on June 20, 1996. Governor Thomas Ridge then signed S.B. 801 into law, and the bill became Act 57 of 1996 (Act 57).
On July 19, 1996, Appellants filed a Petition for Review in the Nature of a Complaint in Equity (Petition for Review) with the Commonwealth Court, addressed to the court's original jurisdiction. In the Petition for Review, Appellants alleged, inter alia, that the General Assembly had violated mandatory provisions of the Pennsylvania Constitution, including Article III, Sections 1-5, when it enacted Act 57. Pursuant to the Petition for Review, Appellants sought a declaratory judgment that Act 57 was unconstitutional and further requested that Governor Ridge be enjoined from implementing the Act.
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