Salisbury introduces bill to help communities apply for grants

Pennsylvania House Democratic Caucus    May 25, 2023 | 10:11 AM

HARRISBURG, May 25 – State Rep. Abigail Salisbury, D-Allegheny, introduced legislation today that would aid communities that lack grant writing capacity.

The legislation (H.B. 1216) would create a Municipal Grant Assistance Program within the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. Eligible municipalities would be able to access free grant writing services to when seeking state funding and would receive instruction in writing future grant proposals.

“The current system perpetuates structural inequalities among communities by favoring those municipalities which already have the funding to pay for grant writing services,” Salisbury said. “My bill provides an escape from the chicken-egg loop wherein local governments literally cannot afford to get money from the state.”

Salisbury developed the bill after receiving feedback from local elected officials in her district that they were struggling to access state funding programs.