PA. LEGISLATURE Robbins' bills await Gov. Rendell's OK

National Guard members may receive free college tuition for up to five years.
HARRISBURG -- Two bills sponsored by state Sen. Bob Robbins of Greenville, R-50th, and another bill strongly supported by the lawmaker have been sent to Gov. Ed Rendell for approval.
Senate Bill 959 would provide state and county probation and parole offices with relief from an unnecessary requirement.
Currently, a 48-hour supply of medication is to be provided to state and county probation and parole offices when a prisoner is released from a correctional facility. This legislation would provide 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 distributing medication," said Robbins. "Parolees should be capable of self-medication."
Additionally, Senate Bill 981, which would preserve full funding for Pennsylvania's National Guard Educational Assistance Program, has been sent to the governor.
Robbins wrote the 1996 law that 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 Pennsylvania; 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 are causing uncertainty in the funding of the program."
As a result of the reduction of the Army in the 1990s and the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks, the role of the National Guard has increased substantially, he explained. With the number of Guard members entering and leaving the Educational Assistance Program as a result of deployment, it is difficult to project future participation rates and costs.
Senate Bill 981 would provide that any unspent funds remain in the program at the end of each fiscal year, rather than going back into the general fund. "This bill will help protect the commitment to provide 100 percent of tuition for our guard members. We should do everything possible to make sure that this commitment is kept," Robbins said.
His support
The General Assembly also sent to the governor another bill supported by Robbins that would clarify the state veterans preference law.
House Bill 2055, which is identical to legislation introduced by Robbins, would ensure that the stale 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 bill would clear up a gray area in the law that prevents the State Civil Service Commission from awarding veterans preference to a deactivated reservist because they were 'released from active duty' rather than 'honorably discharged' from military service, as is required in current 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," he said. "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."