NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE State Rep. Napoleon Nelson D-Montgomery County www.pahouse.com/ N elson Rep. Nelson’s measure to curb hate crimes passes PA House House Bill 1025 is part of larger package of bills designed to address hate crimes HARRISBURG, Oct. 31 – State Rep. Napoleon Nelson’s bill that would address hate crimes and help prevent them passed the PA House of Representatives Tuesday. House Bill 1025 is designed to train educators and school administrators to identify and address hate incidents before they become deadly. It would also expand existing anonymous reporting programs in K-12 schools and institutions of higher education to allow young people to easily speak up when they are the victims of or witnesses to incidences of hate-based intimidation. The legislation is part of a larger package of bills intended to modernize PA’s laws that address hate crimes and ethnic intimidation, The package includes H.B. 1024 , H.B. 1026 and H.B. 1027 . Those three bills were also passed by the PA House and, along with H.B. 1025, head to the state Senate for consideration. “Look at the headlines about what’s happening at our colleges, and you’ll see why kids don’t feel safe on campus Read more

Three state lawmakers announced this week the creation of the Black Maternal Health Caucus in an effort to find legislative solutions to Pennsylvania’s high rates of Black maternal mortality and morbidity. Read more

NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus www.pahouse.com/PLBC PLBC honors former chair Bullock HARRISBURG, Oct. 18 – The Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus today honored its former chair – state Rep. Donna Bullock, D–Phila. Bullock stepped down as chair earlier this month to focus on her work chairing the House Children and Youth Committee. Bullock guided many PLBC initiatives, including the annual Crystal Bird Fauset Awards, honoring women within state government and Speaker K. Leroy Irvis Day of Action, where business owners, public officials and organizations gather to discuss, learn, and network legislative bills, community concerns and visit the Capitol Complex. “I would like to thank my colleagues for putting their trust and faith in me when they elected me to serve as chair of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus. I worked hard every day to ensure that their trust was well founded,” Bullock said. “Every moment was an honor and a pleasure. And it was endlessly fulfilling to be able to advocate for the people, places and spaces that make up Black Pennsylvania. “As I take on new challenges and opportunities, I will continue to advocate every day and in every way for the Read more

HARRISBURG, Oct. 18 – State Rep. Ismail Smith-Wade-El, D-Lancaster, secured $872,340 in grant and loan funding from Pennvest to replace 27 lead service lines in the City of Lancaster’s Jewels neighborhood. “Thanks to this money, 27 homes in the Jewels neighborhood will now have lead-free drinking water,” Smith-Wade-El said. “We’ve got to do everything we can to replace lead pipes as lead exposure is a public health hazard, causing developmental effects in fetuses, infants, and young children. This money will also ensure that the water delivery infrastructure is safe and performs reliably.” According to Smith-Wade-El, these line replacements will be prioritized by the city's selection model and user fees are not expected to increase because of the replacement project. Inquiries about this grant can be directed to Smith-Wade-El office at 717-283-4218. Read more

HARRISBURG, Oct. 17 – State Reps. Morgan Cephas , D-Phila.; Gina H. Curry , D-Delaware; and La’Tasha D. Mayes , D-Allegheny, today launched the Pennsylvania Black Maternal Health Caucus at a news conference in the Capitol Media Center. Joining the launch event were advocates from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Community Health Workers and AmeriHealth Caritas/Keystone First, along with a series of other stakeholders from across the state. The Pennsylvania Black Maternal Health Caucus seeks to address disturbing trends of Black maternal mortality and morbidity and pass the Pennsylvania MOMNIBUS, a legislative package modeled after the federal MOMNIBUS legislation to change the trajectory of maternal health outcomes in Pennsylvania. “I am thrilled to be a part of the Black Maternal Health Caucus as this is a subject close to my heart, a cause that I have been championing for years,” Cephas said. “We join forces to bring visibility to Black maternal health as a critical issue and cause of action. We want to advance legislation and solutions by working with our colleagues in both the House and Senate. One of the keys focuses of our work will be proper data collection, as initiated with Act 5 of 2023 signed into law by Governor Josh Shapiro. Accurate and regular tracking is essential for comprehensive research on medical issues linked to Black maternal health. We need Read more

HARRISBURG, Oct. 17 – State Reps. Ismail Smith-Wade-El, D-Lancaster, and Joe Hohenstein, D-Philadelphia, today outlined their new legislation, House Bill 1630 , that would create an Office of New Pennsylvanians to support, attract and retain immigrants in the commonwealth. The lawmakers were joined by representatives from CASA, Church World Services, Lancaster City Council, IU13 Lancaster-Lebanon Refugee Center and Nationalities Service Center–Philadelphia at a Capitol news conference to discuss the bill. “Immigrants have made Pennsylvania the powerhouse it is,” Smith-Wade-El said. “Yet, despite foreign-born workers comprising over 8% of our state’s workforce and paying $3.3 billion yearly in state and local taxes, they are scapegoated and bear the brunt of punitive policies that drive them from our state. We’re the ones who lose out the most—at the expense of losing skilled workers, entrepreneurs, consumers, and community leaders. “Our bill would create an Office of New Pennsylvanians that would support, attract and retain immigrants in the commonwealth,” he said. “Immigration is what makes Pennsylvania strong,” Hohenstein said. “Our collective ability to come together from all different backgrounds and perspectives for the betterment of the commonwealth is truly wonderful. That’s why it’s particularly unfortunate that so often our immigrant communities face the brunt Read more

NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus www.pahouse.com/PLBC PLBC welcomes National Council of Negro Women HARRISBURG, Oct. 16 – The Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus hosted the Pennsylvania State Coalition of the National Council of Negro Women today for the NCNW’s lobbying day at the Capitol. Members of the NCNW advocated for the following issues: Black women’s health Education Voting incarceration “This was a very informative meeting,” PLBC chair Napoleon Nelson, D – Montgomery, said. “We look forward to continuing to work with the NCNW as many of our goals align with those as the National Coalition of Negro Women.” Added PLBC Tameko Patterson, President, NCNW PA State Coalition, “The members of the National Coalition of Negro Women PA State Coalition are grateful for the partnership with the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus. This relationship is instrumental in helping us support our national initiative towards social justice.” The NCNW was founded in 1935 by Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, an influential educator and activist, to enlighten, inspire and has connected more than 2,000,000 women and men. Its mission is Read more

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 6 – Leaders of the Philadelphia House Delegation and Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus today received an independent report commissioned by the Philadelphia Board of Education nearly two years ago that examined alleged racial bias in the charter school application process. In late 2021, the Philadelphia Board of Education commissioned an independent investigation concerning allegations of racial bias in charter school authorizing practices as alleged by some Black charter leaders, and whether the charter renewal process caused discriminatory effects on Black-led and Black-founded charter schools. Philadelphia-based law firm Ballard Spahr LLP led the investigation, and the Ballard firm engaged the Center for Urban and Race Equity, or CURE, to assist in its analysis. The 190-page report was released at 5 p.m. today. Philadelphia House Delegation Chairwoman Rep. Morgan Cephas said that while the report does not appear to reveal evidence of intentional, overt racially discriminatory acts by the school district or its leaders or find racially discriminatory effects of the charter renewal process, the report does include a series of recommendations based on the work of the investigation and is encouraging the school district to engage quickly with state lawmakers, local officials and the public to ensure a better path forward. “The Philadelphia House Delegation is committed to Philadelphia Read more

HARRISBURG, Oct. 5 – The Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus announced its new officers after a reorganizational meeting this week. The following members were installed as officers: Chairman, state Rep. Napoleon Nelson, D–Montgomery Vice Chair, state Rep. Darisha Parker, D–Phila. Secretary, state Rep. Ismail Smith Wade-El, D–Lancaster Treasurer, state Rep. Justin Fleming, D-Dauphin Outgoing chair state Rep. Donna Bullock, D–Phila., passes the baton to Nelson. Bullock will continue to focus on issues facing Pennsylvania’s children and youth; she chairs the PA House Children & Youth Committee. “We are grateful for Representative Bullock’s leadership, and I look forward to building on the momentum we have to achieve real results for minority communities throughout this Commonwealth,” Nelson said. “I am humbled by this honor.” Bullock guided many PLBC initiatives, including the annual Crystal Bird Faucet Awards, honoring women within state government and Speaker K. Leroy Irvis Day of Action, where business owners, public officials and organizations gather to discuss, learn, and network legislative bills, community concerns and visit the Capitol Complex. “Chairing the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus has been a wonderful and fulfilling experience,” Read more

HARRISBURG, Sept. 26 – Members of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus and Pennsylvania Latino Caucus said they are disappointed to learn that a Philadelphia judge on Tuesday dismissed all charges against former police officer Mark Dial for his involvement in the shooting death of Eddie Irizarry last month but are encouraged to see that charges have been re-filed by the District Attorney’s office. “Yet again, another crime victim, another child, another sibling, another human being let down by our criminal justice system. It is our duty to stand together and demand justice for the family of Eddie Irizarry; they deserve nothing less,” said state Rep. Danilo Burgos, D-Phila., chair of the Pennsylvania Legislative Latino Caucus. “We are deeply disappointed by this decision. Dial, a former police officer, fired his gun six times at close range. The fact that all charges were dropped is enraging. We demand accountability and transparency in this process. This is not a closed case,” said state Rep. Jose Giral, D-Phila., who represents the district where the killing occurred. “We keep talking about the wrongful use of deadly force by the police, and this is an unfortunate example of that. We are on the victim’s family’s side; we are on the side of justice.” “Make no mistake, we are not surprised by this failure to deliver justice to the Irizarry family. Read more