HARRISBURG, April 13 -- State Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Phila, is advocating for formal acknowledgement of the extraordinary work of caregivers of Pennsylvania’s veterans through the Hidden Heroes campaign. “Many times, a veteran’s caregiver is a spouse, parent and other loved ones whose lives are transformed, their goals set aside, and they rearrange their lives to help the ones who sacrificed the most for us,” Rabb said. “We need to recognize that these women and men are heroes and sacrifice more than we currently understand.” The Hidden Heroes campaign is an initiative through the Elizabeth Dole Foundation that seeks to raise awareness of the struggles of these special caregivers. It also seeks to establish a national registry where veterans and their caregivers can access resources available to them. Read more
Pa. state Rep. Chris Rabb is worried about the vague words and descriptions used in legislation that could give law enforcement a large amount of ways to abuse their powers. When it comes to resisting arrest, he wants to make sure specific words are used so that law enforcement officers are not able to abuse power as they have been shown to do, especially in the City of Philadelphia. He is worried that the public trust will continue to be eroded by giving officials additional means to arrest individuals who question their motives. Read more
Pa. state Rep. Chris Rabb is opposed to any measure that would undermine the will of Philadelphia voters. He says that the legislature should be looking to solve root causes of violence, rather than attack the city’s District Attorney. Read more
Pa. state Rep. Chris Rabb decries the criminalization of self-preservation instinct that will have a profoundly racially disparate impact on Black and other marginalized individuals. RepRabb knows that yet another felony criminal offense that can be borne of misdemeanor is just another way to feed the prison industrial complex while making us all less safe. Read more
PHILADELPHIA, June 22 – The office of state Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Phila., attended the historic panel unveiling of the Allen Lane Station Saturday with SEPTA General Manager Leslie S. Richards and leaders of First Episcopal District AME Church to showcase the design of forthcoming historical panels honoring the memory and accomplishments of Bishop Richard Allen. SEPTA worked with leaders of Mother Bethel AME Church to design the 2-foot x 3-foot soon-to-be-installed decorative panels, which will tell the story of Allen’s contributions to racial justice in Philadelphia as a preacher and Civil Rights leader during the late 18th century. The SEPTA station will soon be renamed, The Richard Allen Lane Station on the Chestnut Hill West Regional Rail Line. Allens Lane was previously named after William Allen, the 26th mayor of Philadelphia who was an enslaver and British loyalist. Philadelphia City Council, at the behest of Rabb, passed a resolution to have the street renamed after Richard Allen instead of William Allen. “We must closely examine popular narratives we’ve been so conditioned to embrace, especially versions of the past that marginalize the value of Black people and other communities of struggle,” Rabb said. “This is a step in the right direction toward achieving racial equity and inclusion.” Read more
STATE PROGRAMS NOW OPEN FOR APPLICATIONS: Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency: Assessing Racial & Ethnic Disparities (R/ED) in PA’s Criminal Justice System (Funding Source: Federal Funding) Who May Apply : Higher education institutions (public/not-for-profit), nonprofit organizations, and for-profit institutions (i.e., consulting firms). Use : To develop and implement a statewide research initiative to identify current R/ED levels using quantitative methods, understand potential drivers using qualitative methods, and make recommendations to chart a path forward. Funds : Up to $250,000. Application Deadline : July 12, 2022 More Information : Click on https://egrants.pccd.pa.gov/Public/OpenAnnouncements.aspx . Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency: Victim Advocacy – School District of Philadelphia (Funding Source: General Fund) Who May Apply: Organizations that provide direct services to crime victims and may be operated by a non-profit organization or public (governmental) agency, or a combination of such agencies or organizations. Use : To support students and their families who are victims of violence within the School District of Philadelphia. Funds : Up to $375,000 over three years. PCCD expects to fund one (1) applicant over a three-year project period. Application Deadline : Read more
HARRISBURG, June 16 – State Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Phila., along with many of his House Democratic colleagues, has introduced legislation to end charging children as adults in Pennsylvania. In 2017, more than 400 children between 14 and 17 were charged with criminal offenses in adult court due to a law passed by the Pennsylvania state legislature in 1995. Originally heralded as rehabilitative and a deterrent, Act 33 of Special Session 1 of 1995 requires individuals 15 to 17 charged with certain felonies to be charged in adult court if they meet certain requirements, such as the use of a weapon during the alleged crime. “Act 33 was inspired by the racist 'super-predator' trope that was applied to young Black men in the mid-'90s,” Rabb said. “We should ensure the legal system treats all children as children by prohibiting direct filing and transfer of cases involving children to the adult system.” More than 80% of youth prosecuted as adults arrive in adult court through direct file, with young Black men accounting for 57% of adult convictions while only making up 7% of the statewide youth population. In fact, nearly 60% of cases in which youth are tried as adults end up being dismissed, withdrawn, or returned to the juvenile system anyway. Rabb continued: “Instead of helping our youth, this “direct file” law has been proven time and time again to be a failure, nothing more than a cruel, unnecessary punishment Read more
PHILADELPHIA, June 9 – State Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Phila., issued a statement about increasing the minimum wage as Pennsylvania’s secretary of Labor and Industry, Jennifer Berrier, attended Night Kitchen Bakery and Café in Rabb’s legislative district to highlight the need to increase the minimum wage in Pennsylvania. “I greatly appreciate Secretary Berrier attending Night Kitchen Bakery and Café highlighting the need to increase the minimum wage,” Rabb said. “The people who work here and at other establishments across the commonwealth work really hard and they deserve to be compensated with a fair and livable wage.” Rabb has introduced legislation that would protect vulnerable members of the workforce. House Bill 15 would increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour and index it to inflation, strengthen worker protections against wage theft, and expand eligibility to classes of workers originally excluded from the federal law enacted in 1938 creating the minimum wage. These marginalized workers include incarcerated workers, gig workers and workers with intellectual disabilities. Read more
HARRISBURG, June 8 – State Reps. Malcolm Kenyatta and Chris Rabb, both D-Phila., have introduced two pieces of legislation that would ban sedition amongst elected officials in Pennsylvania. The first piece of legislation is a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Pennsylvania. It would prohibit any person convicted of seditious conspiracy against the United States from being eligible for elected office in Pennsylvania. It would also remove civil officers upon conviction of seditious conspiracy against the United States. The second piece of legislation would create a new offense and assess penalties under the Pennsylvania Crimes Code for seditious conspiracy against the Commonwealth. “Misinformation has serious and dangerous consequences. Last year we saw thousands of seditionists storm the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. because they were told the 2020 presidential election was stolen,” Kenyatta said. “We cannot allow individuals who’ve engaged in seditious violence against our state and country to be in positions of public trust.” “The misinformation that is being spread by far-right Republicans is radicalizing people to commit seditious acts of violence and treason,” Rabb said. “To ensure these radical acts of violence do not continue to occur, there need to be consequences for elected officials who spread misinformation.” Read more
HARRISBURG, June 7 – State Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Phila., is introducing legislation to require the reapportionment of wards in Philadelphia. Every 10 years, the U.S. Census is taken, which among other things facilitates reapportionment of legislative districts on the federal, state and local levels. All of these districts are comprised of wards. However, wards are not required to be reapportioned. As a result, Philadelphia has not updated ward boundaries for more than 50 years. Due to shifts in demographics over the years, Philadelphia’s current wards have vastly different populations and geographic footprints. “It is long past time for Pennsylvania’s largest city to modernize its ward reapportionment process and ensure that it is done so in a transparent, efficient and equitable manner,” Rabb said. Rabb continued: “My legislation would amend the Pennsylvania Election Code to require the city of Philadelphia to expand the decennial reapportionment process to political wards within its municipal borders. It would mandate its city council establish a non-partisan commission charged with presenting a plan to reapportion wards in the city to the aforementioned governing body.” Read more
HARRISBURG, June 7 – State Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Phila., has introduced legislation to establish an automatic inflation adjustment for criminal offense grading. Like most laws, the dollar values that determine the grading of criminal offenses are rarely updated. However, unlike other laws, inflation causes these offense grades to become stricter over time as the dollar value of goods and services rise with inflation, while statutory thresholds remain stagnant. “Other areas of law like taxation and the salaries of legislators are indexed to rise with inflation, so we should be consistent and apply this to all criminal offenses,” Rabb said. “No one should face stricter punishment for a crime due to a lack of adjusting to inflation.” This legislation would require all dollar values as elements of a criminal offense be adjusted for inflation every five years based on the Consumer Price Index. Read more
HARRISBURG, June 2 – State Rep. Chris Rabb will soon introduce legislation that would require Pennsylvania to provide compensation and wrap-around services to innocent Pennsylvanians who have been wrongfully convicted and incarcerated. In the wake of Wednesday’s guilty verdict in the case of former police detective Phillip Nardo of the Philadelphia Police Department, Rabb maintains that when such brazen dereliction of duty by members of law enforcement are successfully adjudicated, such revelations demand thorough investigation into all cases linked to convicted individuals. Rabb said, “ This verdict should open the floodgates in terms of re-trying all of the cases of individuals who were convicted based on this crooked detective’s testimony.” Pennsylvania is one of only 15 states without a law to compensate exonerees who were wrongfully convicted and spent time in prison. With substantive input from various exonerees and other stakeholders, Rabb has authored groundbreaking legislation to compensate Pennsylvanians whose liberty was stolen. More information about his legislation can be found at this link: https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20210&cosponId=35330 . “It is incredibly unjust to see people in positions of power get away with such inhumanity because of their status and for innocent Read more
STATE PROGRAMS NOW OPEN FOR APPLICATIONS: Pennsylvania Department of Human Services: Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Quality Improvement Program (Funding Source: Federal Funding) Who May Apply : An entity enrolled with the Department’s OLTL as a Medical Assistance provider type 59 and have a signed OLTL-HCBS Waiver Agreement and be actively rendering services to participants in the CHC or OBRA waiver programs or both as of the date of May 1, 2022. Use : To help HCBS providers implement projects to improve the quality of services provided to individuals in the CHC and the OBRA waiver programs. Funds : Up to $40,000 in funding. Application Deadline : December 31, 2022 or until funds are expended. More Information : Click on https://www.dhs.pa.gov/providers/Providers/Pages/Long-Term-Care-Providers.aspx . Pennsylvania Department of Human Services: Work Force Support Grant (Funding Source: Federal Funding) Who May Apply : Certified child care providers. Use : To support the work force of DHS certified child care providers. Funds : Amounts vary by award. Application Deadline : June 17, 2022. More Information : Click on https://www.pakeys.org/workforcesupportgrants/ . Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency: 2022 Body-Worn Camera (BWC) Policy and Implementation Program Read more
HARRISBURG, May 13 – State Reps. Chris Rabb, Donna Bullock and Joe Hohenstein, all D-Phila., introduced legislation that would untangle real estate titles. An unclear or “tangled” title occurs when a property deed bears the name of someone other than the apparent owner or occupant. This most commonly happens when the recorded owner dies and a relative inherits the property but fails to record a new deed. “A tangled title makes it difficult, if not impossible, to sell the property, take out a home equity loan, obtain homeowner’s insurance, or participate in local home repair programs,” Rabb said. “This increases the risk of a property’s deterioration and foreclosure, and resolving a tangled title can be tedious and expensive. With this legislation we want to fast track this process and make it easier for folks to deal with real estate titles. “ Rabb also stressed that this legislative package addresses the enduring racial wealth gap that plagues our nation due to the unnecessary loss of such family assets. “Making this process easier by untangling real estate titles will help Black families, who often are most harmed by this issue, hold onto these assets,” he said. Rabb plans on introducing two bills to address this issue: The first bill will establish the Unclear Title Grant Fund and appropriate $50,000,000 to provide grants to Read more
As a consumer of legal medical cannabis himself, Pa. state Rep. Chris Rabb is working to ensure that innocent Pennsylvanians aren’t wrongfully prosecuted under current, outdated DUI laws. He shares this testimony from “Annie,” who asked to remain anonymous, because it echoes the concerns of many Pennsylvanians. As things stand, a legal user of medical cannabis can take a small amount of medicine and weeks later, with traces of cannabis still in their system, be subject to arrest on a DUI charge if pulled over by law enforcement —not because they’ve driven impaired, but because state laws haven’t caught up with the science. Read more
HARRISBURG, April 6 -- State Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Phila., has been unanimously reappointed as the chair of the PA House Democratic Caucus Equity Committee. “I am honored to be reappointed chair of the Equity Committee,” Rabb said. “As elected officials, we should be examining all of our decisions through the lens of equity, from the words we use to the votes we cast and the legislation we draft. We need to think about what the outcome means for everyone, not just a select few.” Created by an amendment to the House Democratic Caucus bylaws in 2018, the Equity Committee evaluates and makes recommendations regarding social equity issues related to policy, membership, personnel, legal, procurement, communications and appropriations. “The Diversity and Inclusion Council’s Advisory Board unanimously reappointed Representative Rabb as the primary advisor for the council,” Indira Ridgeway, chair of the Diversity and Inclusion council, said. “The council is very excited to work with him and the board to provide programing to the caucus that highlights diversity in cultures, generations and identities.” Read more
HARRISBURG, April 5 -- State Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Phila., is again seeking support for legislation that would seek to remedy structural flaws in the nomination process for special elections, notoriously known for low voter turnouts. According to Rabb, the requirement for candidates to adhere to their political party’s process impedes prospective candidates from attempting to run in special elections. Originally introduced during his first term in office, the bill would standardize the nomination process by requiring people interested in becoming a candidate in a special election to: • File their candidacy with the political party within each county of the legislative district. • Pay a $250 filing fee. • Prepare, or opt-out of preparing, a short video announcing their candidacy, which would be posted on the website of the PA Department of State and the county party with which candidate is affiliated. “This legislation would establish transparency, accountability and inclusivity in the special election process,” Rabb said. The legislation will also require political parties to publicize and hold a meeting accessible to any eligible voter in the special election whether in person or remotely, with the majority of eligible committee people present, to consider each individual who seeks consideration as a candidate in a special election. Read more
HARRISBURG, March 31 -- State Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Phila, introduced legislation that would ensure protections for low-income consumers from becoming victims of predatory and abusive rent-to-own contracts with corporate chains who use the criminal court system as retribution. Rent-to-own companies often resort to using the taxpayer-subsidized criminal court system in lieu of a collection agency to recover money from low-income individuals who can no longer afford to make payments and who are unable to cover the costs of effective legal counsel, according to Rabb. Rabb said by resorting to using criminal courts to threaten individuals who are struggling to make payments, “the RTO industry is contributing to the criminalization of poor people. It’s leading to a revival of the long abolished ‘debtor’s prisons.’” “There is no reason to permit this predatory practice and make consumers pay more than what is owed and more than they can afford,” Rabb said. “It’s time we stop making the poor pay more and protect them from abusive RTO contracts.” This legislation would make sure these predatory practices would be prohibited. Read more
HARRISBURG, March 29 -- State Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Phila, plans to introduce legislation that would allow candidates for elective office to collect signatures needed for their nomination petitions electronically versus solely by handwritten signatures. This legislation would triple the number of signatures required to run for any office and would require political candidates to collect at least five signatures in every subdivision of a district. It also would direct the secretary of the commonwealth to create an internet portal for qualified voters to access and sign a nomination petition for a candidate in all state, federal and local offices. “This legislation would bring our nomination process into the 21st century,” Rabb said. “It would modernize and much improve the candidate petitioning process for candidates, voters and government employees while promoting a more efficient, cost-effective and equitable way of encouraging civic engagement.” March 28 was the last day to circulate and file petitions for the May 17 primary election. Read more
HARRISBURG, March 24 -- State Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Phila, applauds the decision to adjust the wage threshold to more than quadruple what far too many hardworking people across Pennsylvania earn as tipped workers. Under this new rule, adopted unanimously by the Independent Regulatory Review Commission on Monday, tipped workers can only be paid below minimum wage if they make over $135 per month in tips — a threshold which used to be just $30. “I stand in solidarity with the tens of thousands of people earning a poverty wage of $2.83 per hour — far below the state minimum wage of $7.25 per hour — which too is an unacceptably low wage floor,” Rabb said. “Nobody should work full time and still live in poverty while billionaires expand their wealth at a record pace during this pandemic.” Rabb has introduced legislation that would protect vulnerable members of the workforce. HB 15 would increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour indexed to inflation, strengthen worker protections against wage theft and expand eligibility to classes of workers originally excluded from the federal law enacted in 1938 that created the minimum wage. These marginalized workers include incarcerated workers, gig workers and workers with intellectual disabilities. Rabb has also recently circulated a resolution to conduct a cost/benefit analysis for employer incentives relating to instituting a four-day workweek. Read more
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