HARRISBURG, Oct. 23 – State Rep. Jennifer O’Mara is heralding the final passage of legislation she wrote to provide Workers’ Compensation coverage for emergency responders who sustain post-traumatic stress injuries in the line of duty. The legislation has been a passion project for O’Mara, who lost her father – a Philadelphia firefighter – to suicide. “In the aftermath of suicide, we're haunted not just by the loss, but by the silence of what might have been prevented,” said O’Mara, D-Delaware. “That feeling has driven me to see this legislation through, so that it can majorly reduce harm to our emergency-responder community in Pennsylvania.” O’Mara’s bill language from her H.B. 1632 was amended into S.B. 365 , which, upon its final passage today, will be sent to Gov. Josh Shapiro for his signature into law. An estimated 30% of emergency responders develop behavioral health conditions, including depression and PTSI. “While individuals in many other professions can already qualify for Workers’ Compensation for a mental-mental injury like PTSI, Pennsylvania Supreme Court determined first responders do not qualify because witnessing tragedy after tragedy is part of their normal working conditions,” O’Mara said. “But nothing about what first responders experience during an emergency is normal, and this legislation corrects Read more
HARRISBURG, Oct. 22 – State Rep. Jennifer O’Mara, D-Delaware, today announced the award of several high-profile state grants for local projects that will benefit residents of the 165 th Legislative District. Some grants originated from the new Public School Facility Improvement Grant Program, which provides grants to public school districts and area career and technical schools for eligible facility improvement projects. The Program is administered by the Department of Community and Economic Development under the direction of the Commonwealth Financing Authority. Marple Newtown School District: $374,587 to go to Paxon Hollow Middle School Roof Repair Project that will prevent leaks and provide a safer and healthier environment. Springfield School District: $300,000 to go to ET Richardson Middle School Asbestos Floor Tile Replacement Project, which will remediate the health and safety of the school by eliminating potential exposure to asbestos. Delaware County Intermediate Unit Career and Technical School: $1,500,000 to go to roof replacement and repairs at four of their facilities to prevent leaks and improve energy efficiency. Other grants originate from the Statewide Local Share Account, which comes from the PA Race Horse Development and Gaming Act. The act provides for the distribution of gaming revenues through the Commonwealth Financing Authority to support projects in the public interest within the Commonwealth of Read more
HARRISBURG, Oct. 8 – The Pennsylvania House on Monday unanimously passed a bill aimed at freezing property taxes for longtime homeowners. House Bill 2536 would amend the state constitution by removing the limitation permitting Longtime Owner-Occupant Programs only in Allegheny and Philadelphia counties, thereby enabling future legislation to allow all local taxing authorities the option to adopt such a program to provide greater levels of tax relief to seniors. LOOPs provide property tax relief to homeowners who have lived in their homes for at least 10 years by exempting or deferring property tax increases – even if their home assessment values increase in future years. “We’ve been hearing about the impact high property taxes have, particularly on our senior citizens, for decades, so I am very pleased that my colleagues in the House unanimously supported our bill,” said state Rep. Christina Sappey, D-Chester , who sponsored the bill. “This legislation would provide local governments a way to help those who have lived in their homes over a decade and have felt the burden of rapidly rising property taxes the most. Our state constitution already allows Philadelphia and Allegheny counties the option of creating LOOPs. It’s time to make this mechanism available to the whole state. I believe creating options to address property tax burdens on an ever-aging state is a worthwhile endeavor.” Read more
State Rep. Jennifer O’Mara today announced a $120,000 grant to renovate Swarthmore Police Department headquarters, where work began at the end of last month. Read more
I have some exciting news from Harrisburg, my legislation to require employers to provide paid sick leave to employees passed out of the House Labor and Industry Committee! Read more
In recognition of Suicide Prevention Month, I wanted to ensure people know about locally available mental health care. Read more
State Reps. Lisa Borowski and Jennifer O’Mara, along with the Delaware County Veterans Memorial Association, celebrated today a $40,000 grant the legislators helped secure to place automatic external defibrillators in all American Legion and VFW posts in Delaware County. Read more
Delaware County Democratic legislators applauded the Shapiro administration's move in granting $10 million to Delaware County Community College’s expansion project. Read more
MEDIA, Sept. 10 -- U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Delaware/Chester/Montgomery, state Rep. Jennifer O’Mara, D-Delaware, and other members of the PA House Democratic Southeast Delegation celebrated the recent enactment of state Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler’s Solar for Schools program Monday morning. Solar for Schools is a new state grant program designed to help school districts across Pennsylvania install solar panels on school grounds or roofs. The grants will cover up to 50% of the cost of solar projects for schools and can be paired with federal funding available through the Inflation Reduction Act. “My colleagues and I in Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act. This provides incentives for schools, nonprofits, and houses of worship to deploy wind, solar, and other renewable energy technologies to generate clean electricity,” Scanlon said. “I'm so excited that decades after I was on the school board, our state legislature, led by Representative Fiedler, stepped up and took this really important step so our school districts can do renovations, implement solar energy and other clean energy options, and reap the savings of those options. The IRA is an essential step, but it can’t be the last step.” "Solar for Schools is not just an opportunity to bring clean energy and good jobs to our school communities. It’s an innovative way to pair state and federal funds to benefit Pennsylvania’s Read more
“Our police officers in Springfield are the backbone of our community's safety and security, working tirelessly every day to ensure that our neighborhoods are safe and secure,” said O’Mara. Read more
September is Suicide Prevention Month, an ideal time to remind people that help is available and that no one has to fight these battles alone. Read more
Pennsylvania state representatives Lisa Borowski and Jennifer O'Mara said they secured a $40,000 state grant that will be used to buy and install AEDs at all VFW and American Legion posts in Delaware County by the end of the year. The state representatives are partnering with the Newtown Square Fire Company, which will provide VFW staff members with training on how to use AEDs. Read more
Celebrates new law to reform pharmacy benefit manager policy Read more
As a new school year begins, I’d like to extend my best wishes to Delco’s students, teachers, and school staff. Read more
Print newsletter featuring information on Rep. O'Mara's latest bills, new laws, upcoming events, and more. Read more
I was honored to join Gov. Josh Shapiro, Secretary of Education Dr. Khalid N. Mumin, a bipartisan group of state and local legislators, higher education leaders, and students at Cheyney University for a ceremonial signing of historic higher education reforms, part of the 2024-25 budget. Read more
The PUC has scheduled in-person and telephone public input hearings for next month regarding Aqua PA’s proposed rate increases for water and wastewater services. Read more
The efforts of months-long negotiations came to fruition as the legislature passed the state’s annual budget and Gov. Josh Shapiro signed the main spending bill into law last night. Read more
HARRISBURG, July 2 – As Pennsylvania lawmakers work to finalize the state budget and tuition bills are hitting mailboxes for the fall semester, two state lawmakers are looking to provide needed financial relief to student borrowers. State Reps. Jennifer O’Mara, D-Delaware, and Morgan Cephas, D-Phila., have introduced legislation ( H.B. 2476 ) that would exempt tuition reimbursement from the personal income tax, as well as codify that student loan forgiveness is not taxable income. According to the lawmakers, current and former college students in the U.S. have taken out approximately $1.75 trillion in student loans. Pennsylvania borrowers have an average of $39,375 in debt, making the state the third-highest average for student loan debt. The cost of both public and private four-year colleges has tripled since 1980, even when accounting for inflation, contributing to the need for students to take out more loans. “Pennsylvania is a state where borrowers struggle with student loans more than most,” O’Mara said. “It’s even more disheartening when they are handed a tax bill for what relief they do get from their employers in the form of tuition reimbursement. Students are constantly evaluating their career and financial paths to include ways to make college more affordable. When they find an employer who wants to help with those costs in exchange for getting a great employee, they shouldn’t be Read more
HARRISBURG, June 26 – House lawmakers, families and advocates this week renewed their call to pass legislation that addresses anti-bullying policies in Pennsylvania schools. At a Capitol news conference on Monday, the family of Sammy Teusch, a child who was bullied at his school in Indiana and died by suicide on May 5, joined state Reps. Danilo Burgos and Joe Hohenstein, both D-Phila.; Jennifer O’Mara, D-Delaware; Kiria Cora, executive director of the Cora Foundation; and others to call upon the legislature to act on anti-bullying legislation. The legislation includes O’Mara’s House Bill 1293 , which would require schools to notify parents and legal guardians when their child is involved in or experiences bullying, and a comprehensive series of bills known as the Rights and Protections for All Students package, introduced by Hohenstein and others. The urgent plea follows a series of meetings with advocates and the families of victims of bulling – including the Teusch family. The lawmakers said increased bullying incidents have profound impacts on students’ mental health, academic performance and overall well-being. Burgos, who chairs the Pennsylvania Legislative Latino Caucus, urged for the passage these bills. “ Passing anti-bullying legislation to address and prevent bullying in schools is not about punishment but about prevention, Read more
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