G ove r n men t Re lat ions
PADPAC Reports
The Government Relations (GR) team has been busy over the
last few months as we move your legislative and regulatory
agenda forward. SB 373 (Assignment of Benefits) passed out of
the Senate Banking & Insurance committee in October. It
passed out of the Senate Appropriations committee in the third
week of January and was passed by the full Senate less than
24 hours later. This is the farthest that Assignment of Benefits
legislation, among PDA’s highest priorities, has been in over two
decades. This is a MAJOR victory. We are halfway there. If we all
do our part we can make SB 373 Assignment of Benefits (AoB)
legislation the law of the land in Pennsylvania this year. Please
take a little time to thank the 35 Senators who voted “YES”
(see list on page 7), including Sen. John Eichelberger, the prime
sponsor and legislative champion of our legislation; Sen. Don
White, chairman of the Senate Banking & Insurance committee,
who expertly guided our bill through his committee; and Sen.
Pat Browne, Senate Appropriations chair, who kept his word
and ran our bill quickly so we could make it to the Senate floor
before budget hearings began.
We made contributions to Sen. Jake Corman (R), Senate Majority
Leader, and Jay Costa (D), Senate Minority Leader. The two
leaders are the individuals who set the legislative agenda and
run the legislative calendar for the Senate. Showing our support
for them puts PADPAC in a better position to achieve victory for
you. We made a donation to Sen. Mike Regan (R) who has been
very supportive of PDA regarding SB 373. We also contributed
to Rep. Kurt Masser who is the Majority Caucus Administrator. He
is a member of House leadership and manages business affairs
for the House Republican caucus.
A political action committee (PAC) is an entity that combines
contributions from members and donates the funds to
candidates who share their interests and helps advance their
legislative agenda. By joining the Pennsylvania Dental
Association Political Action Committee (PADPAC), your personal
financial contribution is magnified and plays a pivotal role in
We’ve been to the Capitol meeting with individual senators and
their staff members. The one thing they all mention is that the
senators want to hear from their individual constituents — YOU.
Now that our bill has successfully passed the Senate the next
step is the journey through the House of Representatives.
Please contact your state representative today and ask him or
her to be a “YES” vote on SB 373.
We will make it very easy for you. Just contact GR staff and we’ll
send you talking points if you’d like to make a phone call or a
sample letter if you’d prefer to send an email. It will only take you
60 seconds to do your part. A 60 second effort, or lack thereof,
can make or break the chances of SB 373 ever becoming law.
You can also ask your spouse, your voting age children,
colleagues, employees, patients and your extended family and
friends to call and or email too. If there is anyone in your life or
practice who is of voting age they can and need to contact
their state representative about voting for SB 373.
Our lobbyists work very hard for you but only YOU can vote for
your state representative. That’s why it’s so important for you to
contact your legislators. They WANT to hear from you. You must
make your voice heard on this issue and without delay.
In laying the ground work for the passage of SB 373, PADPAC
has made strategic contributions to a number of senators. We
know your PADPAC dollars are hard earned. We treat your funds
very judiciously by utilizing them to achieve maximum value.
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MA R CH/A P R I L 2018 | P EN N S YLVA N IA D EN TA L J O UR N A L
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