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Pennsylvania House passes bill to deliver critical education investments

(1 hour ago)

Pennsylvania House passes bill to deliver critical education investments Read more

 

Rep. Ed Neilson: Budget Delivers Long-Overdue Pension Relief for Retired Police Officers, Firefighters, Teachers, State Employees

(1 hour ago)

These retirees spent decades serving our communities, educating our children, protecting our neighborhoods, responding to emergencies, and keeping state government running," Neilson said. "Meanwhile, the cost of groceries, utilities, housing and prescription medications has continued to climb. This adjustment recognizes both their service and today's economic reality Read more

 

Shusterman’s military sexual trauma bill passes Senate

(1 hour ago)

“With nearly 700,000 veterans living in our Commonwealth, it’s incredibly important that our legislative body continues our bipartisan work to honor and support our veterans,” Shusterman said. “As with other forms of trauma, survivors of MST live with their experiences in different ways, and their mental and physical health may be significantly affected for years to come. It is imperative to ensure the resources and support we provide to them is effective. Read more

 

Pielli bill to help seniors stay in their homes heads to governor’s desk

(1 hour ago)

“As a former court-appointed guardianship attorney, I saw clients who lost their homes as a result of unpaid property taxes,” Pielli said. “Too often, these were individuals with cognitive impairment or those who were otherwise incapacitated and could not pay tax bills without assistance.“Tragically, these same individuals sometimes had the financial means but were so impaired that they were unable to keep up with payments. It is simply unfair to leave these people to try to pay these bills alone. My bill helps to prevent overdue tax payments for those who may be suffering from any number of conditions that hinder their ability to regularly pay bills. I thank my colleagues in both the state House and state Senate for their agreement on this bill.” Read more

 

O’Mara proposal to require parental notification of bullying passes General Assembly

(1 hour ago)

A proposal championed by state Rep. Jennifer O’Mara, D-Delaware, to require parental notification of bullying in schools is headed to Gov. Josh Shapiro for his signature after passing the General Assembly today. Read more

 

Solomon’s bill eliminating blighted properties passes Senate

(2 hours ago)

State Rep. Jared Solomon announced today that his legislation to address blighted properties is ready to be signed into law by Gov. Josh Shapiro. “The bill will hold out-of-state landlords accountable and clean up blight. The key to addressing blight is to ensure that municipalities have a contact person to hold responsible for cleaning up the property. Oftentimes, corporations hide behind out-of-state LLCs and other corporate entities. Now, out-of-state landlords will be required to provide an address, email, and phone number of an individual who is responsible for the upkeep of their properties. “There are hundreds of thousands of blighted properties across the commonwealth that lower neighborhood property values and negatively impact quality of life,” Solomon said. This bill will empower our communities to address these blighted properties and increase community pride.” House Bill 858 is headed to Shapiro’s desk for his signature. Read more

 

Pielli’s bill to incentivize National Guard enlistment heads to governor’s desk

(4 hours ago)

“The ever-rising costs of education and training, and the need to recruit even more skilled professionals into the National Guard, have shown us that we should expand the current program to cover additional critical areas beyond the medical field. This requested legislation will fine-tune and expand the program to incentivize recruitment to better serve both our commonwealth’s interests and our national security. I am proud to work with state Sen. Hutchinson on this bill and thank my colleagues for their support and acknowledgment to keep our National Guard strong.” Read more

 

Schlossberg: New state spending plan supports everyday Pennsylvanians

(17 hours ago)

“In a time when the federal government has pulled back from supporting the most vulnerable in our community, I am proud that the House majority leadership is standing with our teachers, our students, our firefighters, our police, our disabled, our small businesses and our veterans. We are supporting our community – I hope that our counterparts in Washington will wake up to the crisis we face in healthcare and someday join us in tackling affordability for everyday Pennsylvanians head on.” Read more

 

Rivera’s 3rd BUS IT TO MARKET is July 14; Event promotes quick, pleasant RRTA bus trip, clean air

(Jul 08, 2026)

LANCASTER, July 8 – State Rep. Nikki Rivera, D-Lancaster, will lead a third “Bus It to Market” trip on Tuesday, July 14, from East Petersburg Borough to Central Market in Lancaster to raise awareness of the Red Rose Transit Authority’s affordable bus system. “I’m delighted to host the third ‘Bus It to Market’ trip to show residents that RRTA buses are a fast, reliable and inexpensive way to travel to Lancaster and other places in the region,” Rivera said. “Public transit is a fast, convenient and affordable way to connect to health care facilities, shopping centers, community hubs and attractive regional destinations like central Lancaster City.” Rivera also stressed that public transit is kind to the environment. “Lancaster city has unhealthy levels of air pollution,” Rivera said. “ The American Lung Association’s 2025 ‘State of the Air’ report listed the Lancaster metro area as rejoining the worst 25 cities in the U.S., at 22nd most polluted in the nation. Lancaster city’s year-round pollution — it’s ranked 45th in the nation — has a negative impact on people’s health, especially affecting those with respiratory problems and seniors. “Regularly taking the bus can help reduce air pollution in our area. Congested roadways, limited street parking, the high cost of parking – who needs any of it when an RRTA bus can get Read more

 

Grant Memo: Agriculture, CTE, Tourism, and Additional Grant Opportunities for your District

(Jul 08, 2026)

Grant Memo: Agriculture, CTE, Tourism, and Additional Grant Opportunities for your District Read more

 

Pa. House passes Sunshine Act 24-hour notice bill

(Jul 02, 2026)

“My legislation would strengthen transparency at public meetings by ensuring residents have sufficient time to review and understand upcoming meetings that affect their daily lives,” said Freeman. Read more

 

House Communications & Technology Committee hearing focused on space exploration and threats to airspace safety

(Jul 02, 2026)

HARRISBURG, July 2 – The House Communications & Technology Committee held an informational meeting on Tuesday on space exploration and Pennsylvania’s leadership in space technology, scientific research, and airspace security. “Today’s meeting stressed the need for increased technological development to protect our airspace,” state Rep. Joe Ciresi, House Communications & Technology Committee Majority Chair, said. “Pennsylvania has the talent and the resources to lead the charge in developing technology to explore space and protect our airspace.” The committee heard from three speakers: Dr. Jason Wright, Professor of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Penn State University on astronomical and scientific research, Ryan Graves, Founder/Executive Director, Americans for Safe Aerospace on aerospace and aviation perspectives, and Chris Mellon, Chairman of the Board, The Disclosure Foundation; Former Deputy Secretary of Defense; and Former Minority Staff Director, US Senate Intelligence Committee. “Exploration begins with curiosity,” state Rep. Ben Waxman, D-Phila. said. “Pennsylvania has the talent and institutions to help push the boundaries of scientific discovery, and today's hearing was an important step in that direction — wherever the evidence leads" Wright said that the search for the means to find extraterrestrial intelligence is leading the development of detection technology, Read more

 

Recognizing ‘Concrete Pavement Week’ in Pennsylvania

(Jul 01, 2026)

Recognizing Concrete Pavement Week, June 28-July 4, 2026, in Pennsylvania Read more

 

House adopts Fleming resolution directing LBFC to study blindness services

(Jul 01, 2026)

The state House of Representatives on Tuesday adopted a resolution sponsored by state Reps. Justin Fleming, D-Dauphin, and Kristin Marcell, R-Bucks, directing an analysis of the effectiveness of Pennsylvania’s current services for people with vision impairment. Read more

 

Legislation to prevent noncompete agreements for broadcast workers passes PA House

(Jul 01, 2026)

Legislation to prevent noncompete agreements for broadcast workers passes PA House Read more

 

Hanbidge bill to protect homeowners’ rights to install solar energy systems on roofs passes PA House

(Jul 01, 2026)

Hanbidge bill to protect homeowners’ rights to install solar energy systems on roofs passes PA House Read more

 

Finance Committee hears testimony on Salisbury bill to ensure lower-income community groups can obtain security funding

(Jul 01, 2026)

HARRISBURG, July 1 – The Pennsylvania House Finance Committee heard testimony Tuesday on state Rep. Abigail Salisbury’s legislation that would remove a major obstacle that prevents many lower-income houses of worship and other community groups from obtaining needed security funding. Salisbury said she drafted H.B. 2639 – which would eliminate the Nonprofit Security Grant Fund’s 33% match requirement for grants ranging from $25,000 to $75,000 if a nonprofit’s annual revenue is less than $250,000 – after seeing the difficulty a church in her own district faced attempting to meet the requirement. “After the attempted shooting at Jesus’ Dwelling Place in North Braddock, the church attempted to strengthen security, but struggled for months attempting to raise the required 33% match required for a state security grant,” Salisbury said. “It took a year and a half to finally get the necessary arrangements in place, and during that time, congregants were left to wait and wonder if they would be safe from another attack. “No one should ever have to gamble on their safety or the safety of their loved ones simply because their chosen house of worship, cultural club, or other community group has a smaller budget. Eliminating the match requirement for these groups would ensure members of all community groups have the protections they deserve.” The committee heard testimony from two Read more

 

Matzie praises deal finalizing partnership between Heritage Valley Health, Allegheny Health Network

(Jul 01, 2026)

ALIQUIPPA, July 1 – State Rep. Rob Matzie lauded news today that regulators have approved an agreement clearing the way for Heritage Valley Health System to become part of Highmark Health and the Allegheny Health Network. Matzie, who is chairman of the House Majority Caucus, said the partnership will bring new benefits for patients in the community. “Today’s announcement that Heritage Valley Health has been approved to become part of Allegheny Health Network is the best possible news for patients in our region,” Matzie said. “Both organizations will benefit from joining forces – AHN will gain access to Heritage Valley’s highly talented network of professionals, while Heritage will enjoy the benefits of an extended consulting network, advanced data sharing, and the enhanced stability, greater bargaining power and easier navigation of regulatory issues that go with affiliating with a larger partner. “But true winners in all this will be our region’s patients, who will see expanded access to care, new paths to specialized treatment and additional options for state-of-the-art technology addressing complex medical needs. I can’t wait to see all the powerful new health resources this partnership will bring.” Matzie testified in support of the agreement before the Pennsylvania attorney general earlier this year. Allegheny Health Network is part of Highmark Health. Read more

 

House members, advocates make bipartisan push for money-saving Advanced Transmission Technologies bill

(Jul 01, 2026)

HARRISBURG, July 1 – Today, a bipartisan group of lawmakers and advocates spoke in strong support of H.B. 2223, the advanced transmission technologies, or ATTs, bill. The bill, which passed the House unanimously in May, offers an efficient way to save both money and energy. “This is commonsense legislation that will save people money and make sure we reduce how much energy we waste during the transmission process,” said Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler, D-Phila, majority chair of the House Energy Committee. “At a time when people are trying to save every dollar they can, this is absolutely legislation we should be able to pass into law. I am proud this bill passed the House unanimously in May and am optimistic it will get over the line in the Senate.” Read more

 

Ciresi bill requiring transparency in data center development passes House

(Jun 30, 2026)

HARRISBURG, June 30 – Legislation introduced by state Rep. Joe Ciresi, D-Montgomery, to increase transparency in data center development in Pennsylvania passed the House today with overwhelming bipartisan support,171-31. “Today’s vote demonstrates how my colleagues on both sides of the aisle agree that Pennsylvanians shouldn’t be left in the dark about the impact data centers will have on their localities and their lives,” Ciresi said. “My necessary legislation would require developers to be open and transparent about the environmental impact with area residents and would give the public the opportunity to ask questions and express concerns about the proposed development.” House Bill 2359 would require developers of data centers with a peak electrical demand of over 10 megawatts to engage with local communities and their residents before construction and disclose information about the facilities’ impact to qualify for a sales tax exemption for data center-related computer equipment. The legislation specifically targets large-scale/high-impact data centers and excludes smaller data centers that do not pose the same environmental or quality-of-life risks to nearby residents. Qualifying data centers would specifically be required to: submit a “community protection plan” documenting the owner/operator’s engagement with the community and municipality before construction, including holding public Read more

 

Pennsylvania House passes bill to deliver critical education investments
1 hour ago

Rep. Ed Neilson: Budget Delivers Long-Overdue Pension Relief for Retired Police Officers, Firefighters, Teachers, State Employees
1 hour ago

Shusterman’s military sexual trauma bill passes Senate
1 hour ago

Pielli bill to help seniors stay in their homes heads to governor’s desk
1 hour ago

O’Mara proposal to require parental notification of bullying passes General Assembly
1 hour ago

Solomon’s bill eliminating blighted properties passes Senate
2 hours ago

Pielli’s bill to incentivize National Guard enlistment heads to governor’s desk
4 hours ago

Schlossberg: New state spending plan supports everyday Pennsylvanians
17 hours ago

Rivera’s 3rd BUS IT TO MARKET is July 14; Event promotes quick, pleasant RRTA bus trip, clean air
Jul 08, 2026

Grant Memo: Agriculture, CTE, Tourism, and Additional Grant Opportunities for your District
Jul 08, 2026

Pa. House passes Sunshine Act 24-hour notice bill
Jul 02, 2026

House Communications & Technology Committee hearing focused on space exploration and threats to airspace safety
Jul 02, 2026

Recognizing ‘Concrete Pavement Week’ in Pennsylvania
Jul 01, 2026

House adopts Fleming resolution directing LBFC to study blindness services
Jul 01, 2026

Legislation to prevent noncompete agreements for broadcast workers passes PA House
Jul 01, 2026

Hanbidge bill to protect homeowners’ rights to install solar energy systems on roofs passes PA House
Jul 01, 2026

Finance Committee hears testimony on Salisbury bill to ensure lower-income community groups can obtain security funding
Jul 01, 2026

Matzie praises deal finalizing partnership between Heritage Valley Health, Allegheny Health Network
Jul 01, 2026

House members, advocates make bipartisan push for money-saving Advanced Transmission Technologies bill
Jul 01, 2026

Ciresi bill requiring transparency in data center development passes House
Jun 30, 2026