Sep. 22, 2016 /
WHAT: Rep. Stan Saylor (R-York), chairman of the House Education Committee, will hold a joint public hearing with the House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee to consider the effects of amending the Public School Code by added a civics test graduation requirement based on the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services naturalization test.
Sep. 21, 2016 /
HARRISBURG – A problem during a recent telephone town hall meeting hosted by Rep. Justin Simmons (R-Lehigh/Montgomery/Northampton) that affected a number of customers has led him to seek a legislative solution.
Sep. 21, 2016 /
HARRISBURG – The House of Representatives Tuesday voted to approve legislation, authored by Rep. Sheryl Delozier (R-Cumberland), which would encourage more individuals to pursue a career as a certified inspector or plans examiner in Pennsylvania.
Sep. 21, 2016 /
HARRISBURG – Rep. Scott Petri (R-178) and several other members of the Bucks County delegation of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives sent a letter to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, imploring him to reconsider his plan to revoke a 38-year-long reciprocity agreement that allows Pennsylvania residents who work in New Jersey, and New Jersey residents who work in Pennsylvania, to pay income taxes where they live.
Sep. 21, 2016 /
HARRISBURG – Led by majority chairman Rep. Steve Barrar (R-Chester/Delaware), the Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee unanimously approved legislation to reduce the portion of veterans’ VA benefits and compensation that can be counted as income to 50 percent for state benefit programs with income thresholds.
Sep. 21, 2016 /
In May, we devoted a column to legislation that would affect the price of hunting and fishing licenses. I want to take time to let you know where these bills stand.
Sep. 21, 2016 /
HARRISBURG -- Legislation to allow hotel and restaurant licensees to begin selling distilled liquor was introduced Wednesday as a means to further improve Pennsylvania’s liquor laws. The bill’s author, Rep. Mike Reese (R-Westmoreland/Somerset), called his proposal another step to make purchasing spirits more consumer friendly and withdraw Pennsylvania from the business of selling alcohol.
Sep. 20, 2016 /
HARRISBURG – The House Consumer Affairs Committee today unanimously approved legislation, sponsored by committee chairman Rep. Robert Godshall (R-Montgomery), to reauthorize a law that protects underground utility infrastructure and citizens from line hits during excavation projects by requiring sites to be properly marked before work begins.
Sep. 20, 2016 /
HARRISBURG – On Tuesday, Rep. Aaron Kaufer (R-Luzerne) joined hundreds of Pennsylvanians, several House and Senate colleagues, as well as Gov. Tom Wolf and members of his administration and others, at the PA HOPE (Heroin, Opioid, Prevention and Education) Caucus’s “Day of Hope” rally held at the state Capitol.
Sep. 20, 2016 /
HARRISBURG – Rep. Kerry Benninghoff (R-Centre/Mifflin) announced today that his House resolution designating September 2016 as Suicide Prevention Month in Pennsylvania passed the House with unanimous support.
Sep. 20, 2016 /
HARRISBURG – A resolution sponsored by Rep. Mark Keller (R-Perry/Cumberland) that designates Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016, as National Teach Ag Day in Pennsylvania was unanimously adopted by the House of Representatives.
Sep. 20, 2016 /
HARRISBURG – Legislation sponsored by Rep. Mark Keller (R-Perry/Cumberland) that would allow a person or member organization to legally challenge a municipal firearms ordinance today was approved by the House Judiciary Committee in a bipartisan vote of 21-6. House Bill 2258 would also allow reimbursement for the cost of the civil action.
Sep. 20, 2016 /
HARRISBURG – House Judiciary Committee Majority Chairman Ron Marsico (R-Dauphin) moved legislation to change the penalties for specific types of home invasions today during the committee’s scheduled weekly voting meeting.
Sep. 20, 2016 /
WHAT: The House Children and Youth Committee will consider three more bills to reform the adoption process in Pennsylvania. House Bill 1525, sponsored by Rep. Scott Petri (R-Bucks), would streamline and expedite the procedures for terminating parental rights; House Bill 1528, sponsored by Rep. Dan Moul (R-Adams), would allow adoptive families to appeal to the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services the amount of an adoption subsidy provided by local authorities; and House Bill 1530, sponsored by Rep. Harry Lewis (R-Chester), would make it easier for parents who are incarcerated to relinquish their parental rights by allowing correctional staff to witness the individual’s consent to adoption.
Sep. 20, 2016 /
WHAT: The House Game and Fisheries Committee, chaired by state Rep. Keith Gillespie (R-York), will vote Senate bills 1166 and 1168. These pieces of legislation would allow the Pennsylvania Game Commission and Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission to set their own license fees. Currently, hunting and fishing license costs and fees are established, and can only be changed, by legislative action.
Sep. 19, 2016 /
HARRISBURG – To recognize Sept. 19-25, 2016, as “Youth 2 Youth: Partners 4 Peace Week” in Pennsylvania, Rep. Tina Pickett (R-Bradford/Sullivan/Susquehanna) welcomed members of the Red Rock Job Corps from Sullivan County to the state House today.
Sep. 19, 2016 /
HARRISBURG – The state House today unanimously approved legislation sponsored by Rep. Kate Harper (R-Blue Bell) that would help active duty military personnel who wish to run for a local elective office.
Sep. 19, 2016 /
HARRISBURG – Rep. Kerry Benninghoff’s (R-Centre/Mifflin) House resolution designating September 2016 as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month passed the House of Representatives today with unanimous, bipartisan support.
Sep. 19, 2016 /
HARRISBURG — Sponsored by Rep. Kathy Rapp (R-Warren/Crawford/Forest), a resolution officially designating the week of Sept. 18-24, 2016, as “Surgical Technologist Week” in Pennsylvania unanimously passed the state House on Monday.
Sep. 19, 2016 /
HARRISBURG – The state Department of Revenue has announced guidelines for a state tax amnesty program adopted by the General Assembly as part of Act 84 of 2016, Rep. Ron Marsico (R-Lower Paxton) said today.