The Barb Wire 5-10-2024

May. 10, 2024

The Barb Wire

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The latest news from the State Capitol

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Session Update

The following bills either came out of committee or were voted out of the House. Click the links for more information:

Wednesday, May 8, 2024
• House Bill 2153: PA Prevailing Wage Act/prohibiting split rates & providing for custom fabrication on public works projects
• House Bill 2225: Rural PA Revitalization Act/Rural Population Revitalization Commission
• House Bill 1419: Title 15/Consistency In Domestic And Foreign Filing
• House Bill 1169: Administrative Code/water bottling refilling stations
• House Bill 851: Public School Code/providing for Menstrual Hygiene Products Accessibility Grant Program
• House Bill 2017: Title 50/providing for protection of minors on social media
• House Bill 1958: Tax Reform Code/providing for employer child care contribution tax deduction

Tuesday, May 7, 2024
• House Bill 98: Equal Pay Law/wage rates, violations and collection of unpaid wages
• House Bill 478: Title 75/child safety restraints in all truck classifications
• House Bill 1608: Human Services Code/Medicaid coverage for Doulas
• House Bill 1615: PA Energy & Water Efficiency Standards Act
• House Bill 1626: Title 51/posting of veteran benefits/services
• House Bill 1632: Workers' Compensation Act/providing for compensation for post-traumatic stress injury
• House Bill 1926: County Code/records privacy-coroners/medical examiners
• House Bill 2097: Human Services Code/providing for coverage for blood pressure monitors
• House Bill 2138: Insurance Company Law/expanding maternal blood pressure monitoring coverage
• House Bill 2174: Title 64/establishing the Mixed-Use Revitalization Fund
• House Bill 2204: Tax Reform Code/exempting all 529 plans from inheritance tax
• House Bill 2220: Real Estate Appraisers Certification Act/modernizing rules for real estate appraisers
• House Bill 2233: Title 75/towing during an emergency as instructed by law enforcement
• House Bill 2247: Healthcare Workplace Violence Protection Act
• House Bill 2251: Title 75/expediting junk titling for abandoned vehicles

Monday, May 6, 2024
• House Bill 335: Title 18/ban on multi-burst trigger activators
• House Bill 2105: PA Human Relations Act/removes exemptions from the act’s protections for employees working in agriculture and domestic service as well as workplaces with less than four employees
• House Bill 2206: Title 18/electronic records of firearm sales

On the Floor
Speaking on House Bill 98 - Gender Wage Disparity

Click here to watch

In the News
Pennsylvania Advances Legislation to Address Gender Wage Disparity – Franklin County Free Press.

Pa. Lawmakers Pushing Bills to have Students' Cell Phones Locked Away During School Hours -Pittsburgh Post Gazette

House GOP Calls on PA Attorney General to Investigate Handling of Boyle Arrest Warrant

Pennsylvania House Republicans are calling on state Attorney General Michelle Henry to investigate Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner on the handling of an arrest warrant issued for state Rep. Kevin Boyle (D-Philadelphia) and any possible election law violations.

Officials issued the warrant last month saying Boyle had violated a Protection from Abuse (PFA) order but six days later said the PFA was no longer active and therefore no violation occurred.

The involvement by Krasner and his office in the issuance and withdrawal of the arrest warrant issued for Boyle on the literal eve of a primary election in which he was a candidate for office raises serious questions, especially given the known partisan and unprofessional manner in which Krasner has run his office.

Read a copy of the letter requesting the investigation here.

Secret Scrutiny in the House?
This week Pennsylvania House Republican Leader Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster) voted against and refuses to participate in the House Democrats’ secret committee, which was advanced and approved by House Democrats, that lacks due process and can secretly punish lawmakers.

“The double-secret mental health fitness committee created by House Democrats to investigate one of their own members is the most dangerous proposal I have seen during my time in the Legislature. It is a partisan committee, completely shut off from public oversight and transparency, that goes against American values by privately determining the fate of elected officials,” Cutler said. “I will not participate in a weaponized retribution committee that can make determinations, violate health privacy, and adjudicate member fitness entirely outside of the public view and does not allow minority positions.”

Cutler warned the creation of the committee should send an alarm bell, not just to members of the House who happen to cross their caucus leadership, but to all Pennsylvanians.

“If this is how Democrats wish to treat members of the House, the public should be concerned about what they would have in mind for justice for the general public,” Cutler said. “Much like we have laws and consequences already in place to provide justice in our daily lives, there are already constitutional and internal rules governing how to appropriately deal with members who are no longer fit to serve. We should be using the tools at our disposal to engage in holding members responsible for their conduct, not souped up secret legislative courts that deny basic rights to the accused.”

You can watch the committee meeting in its entirety here.

You can view that resolution, House Resolution 412, here.

Following the vote in the Rules Committee, members of Republican leadership commented here.

Celebrating Agriculture with a Blessing of the Balers!

This week I joined lawmakers, farmers and agriculture advocates at the state Capitol for the Second Annual Blessing of the Balers and May is Beef Month Celebration.

The event celebrates the state’s hard-working farmers and related agriculture operations that help keep food on our tables. Balers were blessed in hopes of a productive hay season, and a proclamation was presented to the Pennsylvania Beef Council in recognition of the state’s growing beef industry.

Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding was a featured speaker, along with Duff George of the Pennsylvania Beef Council and Pennsylvania Cattlemen’s Association, and Chris Hoffman of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau. I was honored to flip a few burgers at the grill for colleagues and the public at large. Beef is what’s for dinner. May all farmers have a safe growing season.

Watch the event here.

Lifeline Scholarship Lies
This week, the Senate Education Committee took a huge step toward advocating for children trapped in violent and/or failing schools across the Commonwealth.

After a bipartisan vote of 8-3, Lifeline/PASS Scholarships are once again taking center stage ahead of this year’s state budget negotiations.

You are undoubtedly hearing misinformation and outright lies from the special interest education bureaucracy opposing urgently needed expansions of educational opportunities.

This week, misleading emails from taxpayer-funded lobbyists attacking the Lifeline Scholarship Program (Senate Bill 795), introduced by Sen. Judy Ward, were flooding email in-boxes.

The truth is that Senate Bill 795 helps students trapped in Pennsylvania’s lowest performing 15% of public schools.

Despite the lies, Lifeline Scholarships do not take one cent from public schools. The program will be a separate fund and new appropriation. School districts keep all their state, federal and local tax dollars even when a child leaves.

This saves public schools money, will result in lower class sizes and more funding per student, and allow for property tax relief.

The program provides scholarships of up to $5,000 and $10,000 for students who leave public school—a fraction of the $22,000 per student that school districts receive.

Moreover, the recent Commonwealth Court ruling said our funding system must ensure that “every student receives a meaningful opportunity to succeed.” Lifeline Scholarships deliver on that promise.

50 Years of Voting

On Tuesday, Lexi Peterson from my office joined the Cumberland County Commissioners and the Cumberland County Elections Bureau in recognizing Wanda Hunter for her unbroken record of voting consecutively in 50 years of elections. Truly an amazing accomplishment! Congratulations, Wanda!

2024 Senior Farm Market Voucher Applications Available

Cumberland County Aging and Community Services is now accepting applications for Farmers Market Vouchers for qualifying Cumberland County seniors aged 60 and over.

Financially eligible seniors receive five $10 ($50 total) vouchers that can be used to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables grown in PA. The program starts each year in June and the vouchers are good until Nov. 30.

For more information or to have an application mailed to you please call 717-240-6110 or email us at hndewire@cumberlandcountypa.gov.

Click here to print application.

Prevent Lyme: Check for Ticks

May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month. As you spend time outdoors, it is important to check yourself, loved ones and pets for ticks and be aware of the symptoms of Lyme disease and other tick-related ailments.

The first line of defense against Lyme is to take precautions outdoors by treating clothing and gear with products containing 0.5% permethrin, using insect repellent, and avoiding wooded and brushy areas with high grass or leaf litter. When you return indoors, check your clothing, gear and pets for ticks; shower as soon as possible after being outdoors; and check your body for ticks, particularly in areas such as under the arms, in and around the ears, back of the knees and other similar areas.

If bitten, an individual should monitor the area for the appearance of a bull’s eye rash, though the rash does not develop in all cases. Early symptoms of Lyme disease include fever, fatigue, headache and muscle aches. However, symptoms may progress to arthritic, neurologic and cardiac symptoms if not treated.

Lyme disease is caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted by the bite of a blacklegged tick or deer tick. If you pull a tick from yourself, a loved one or your pet, you may have it tested to determine if it carries Lyme or other tick-borne diseases. More information about how to get a tick tested at the East Stroudsburg University Tick Lab is available here.

Learn more about Lyme disease symptoms, treatment and prevention here.

Get FAFSA Help!

The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) is offering free, virtual, one-on-one assistance with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays during the month of May.

PHEAA recently extended until June 1 the deadline by which students must file the FAFSA with relation to the Pennsylvania State Grant Program.

Virtual assistance is available to the public, including families and high school counselors who need assistance with completing the FAFSA. To schedule a session, call Diona Brown at 717-678-9681. More information is available at PHEAA.org.

Congratulations, Graduates

On behalf of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and as your state representative, I applaud and commend your dedication to academic achievement. I am certain your family and friends share your joy upon the celebration of this very important milestone in your life!

Dickinson Law School Friday, May 10
Dickinson College Fri-Sun, May 17-19
Carlisle Christian Academy Thursday, May 23
Shippensburg Area School District Thursday, May 30
Big Spring School District Friday, May 31
South Middleton School District Friday, May 31
Cumberland Valley School District Saturday, June 1
Carlisle Area School District Wednesday, June 5

Mother’s Day Sunday, May 12