| Dear Neighbor, I hope you are well! I wanted to take this opportunity to update you on happenings in the district as well as Harrisburg.
As always, I hope you find this informative and useful.
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| It’s been a very busy week in Harrisburg so far, and I want to provide you with an update on some of the legislation and proceedings that have occurred. On Monday, I formally introduced a few more bills for you to be aware of:
- H.B. 1732 Close the Leachate Loophole would require anyone who stores, processes, or disposes of residual waste from oil and gas operations, to test for leachate prior to discharge.
- H.R. 229 Supportive Housing Study would require the Joint State Government Commission to study the availability and demand for both temporary and permanent supportive housing for Pennsylvanians in need. Policy recommendations would then be made to the General Assembly for future legislation to support affordable housing.
- H.R. 230 Examining “Housing First” Policies to Support Unhoused Pennsylvanians would ask the Joint State Government Commission to review “Housing First” policies as a less-expensive and more-successful alternative to providing permanent housing rather than the traditional shelter system.
As always, I will keep you informed on any movement with these bills and the others that I’ve introduced this year.
On Monday, I also attended and spoke at the public hearing on my bill (H.B. 1275) on Riparian Buffers in front of the House Environmental Resources & Energy Committee to discuss the importance of this legislation and how it would impact every Pennsylvanian. You can watch the hearing in full here.
Later that day, House members received an updated list of standing committee assignments. I was assigned to the Environmental Resources & Energy Committee, in addition to the Appropriations, Finance, State Government, and Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness committees on which I already serve. If you have questions about bills in these committees, reach out to me at [email protected].
In session this week, the House passed bills that would allow Philadelphia to impose its own restrictions and penalties on off-road vehicles in the city (H.B. 1338); allows local police departments to purchase vehicles directly from the Pennsylvania State Police at a fixed price (H.B. 251); and would ensure digital content on all state and local government websites is accessible to people with disabilities (H.B. 1479). These bills and a handful of others now move to the state Senate for consideration.
Lastly, on Tuesday night, the House passed a comprehensive tax cut plan (H.B. 1219). I voted for H.B. 1219 because it would close tax loopholes for non-Pennsylvanian corporations and increase tax credits and tax forgiveness for our working families. These include an increase in the state-level Earned Income Tax Credit and Child & Dependent Tax Credit, plus an accelerated reduction in PA’s Corporate Net Income Tax. In its entirety, this plan would strengthen our economy, invest in our communities, and ensure more money goes back into the pockets of our working families. It’s a win for Pennsylvania.
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