Santarsiero joins volunteers at Tyler State Park cleanup

Sen. Steve Santarsiero and about a dozen volunteers from his office and the public cleaned litter and cut away at invasive plant species in Tyler State Park on Monday afternoon.

About a dozen people, including one state lawmaker from Lower Makefield, helped clear litter and invasive plants from Neshaminy Creek through Tyler State Park for Earth Day on Monday.

Three Pennsylvania bills seek local speed radar use

Multiple efforts underway at the Pennsylvania statehouse would authorize speed radar use by local police.

In 2017, Senators voted in favor of nearly identical legislation. The bill failed to win support in the House.

Pennsylvania is the only state in the country that prohibits municipal police from enforcing speed limits with radar. Since 1961, only state troopers are allowed to use radar.

Comitta, McCarter Seek to Modernize Pennsylvania’s Renewable Energy Standards

HARRISBURG, PA — State Reps. Carolyn T. Comitta, D-Chester, and Steve McCarter, D-Montgomery, recently joined state Sens. Art Haywood, Thomas H. Killion and Steven J. Santarsiero to call attention to climate change, its grave impacts and the urgent need to modernize the commonwealth’s renewable energy standards.

$40K Grant Awarded To Newtown For Financial Planning

NEWTOWN, PA — Newtown is getting a decent grant thanks to State Sen. Steven Santarsiero and State Rep. Perry Warren.

The two representatives announced the state Department of Community and Economic Development is awarding a $40,000 grant to Newtown.

Sen. Haywood joins call to support of renewable energy legislation

HARRISBURG − Art Haywood (D-4) along with State Senators Steven J. Santarsiero (D-10), Thomas H. Killion (R-9), and state Representatives Steve McCarter (D-154) and Carolyn Comitta (D-156), were joined by renewable energy advocates in the Main Capitol Rotunda recently to express their support for expanding the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act (AEPS).

Comitta, McCarter seek to modernize state’s renewable energy standards

WEST CHESTER—At a Capitol news conference, state Reps. Carolyn T. Comitta, D-Chester, and Steve McCarter, D-Montgomery, joined state Sens. Art Haywood, Thomas H. Killion and Steven J. Santarsiero to call attention to climate change, its grave impacts and the urgent need to modernize the commonwealth’s renewable energy standards.

Senator Kearney, Four Fellow Freshmen Senators, Introduce Bill To Eliminate Statute Of Limitations For Sexual Offenses

HARRISBURG, PA — Senator Tim Kearney and his four freshman Senate colleagues – Senators Lindsey Williams, Katie Muth, Steve Santarsiero, and Maria Collett – were joined by almost all members of the Senate Democrats in introducing legislation to abolish the statute of limitations for sexual abuse, assault, and misconduct.

“I wanted to get to Harrisburg to amplify the voices of those who’ve gone unheard for far too long,” said Senator Kearney. “Trauma does not have an expiration date. We will not limit survivors’ opportunities to seek justice.”

Bucks groups honored for environmental excellence

State Sen. Steve Santarsiero, announced New Britain Borough Wilma Quinlan Nature Preserve Committee and Newtown Creek Coalition as the Bucks County winners of the 2019 Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence.

The New Britain Borough Wilma Quinlan Nature Preserve Committee project focused on habitat restoration at the nature preserve. Project volunteers carried out a three-year project to clear out invasive species, install nesting boxes, redesign trails to prevent erosion, conduct a soil study, install benches, and plant 386 native trees, 119 native shrubs, and wildflowers.

Lawmakers push for more solar energy use by 2030

Bipartisan bills introduced in the General Assembly on Wednesday would require 30 percent of Pennsylvania’s energy to come from renewal sources, including 10 percent from solar power.

Pennsylvania used to be a leader in bringing renewable energy to the state’s power grid, but lawmakers said Wednesday the commonwealth is “lagging behind” its neighbors now.

Fight over sexual abuse victims’ lawsuits returns to Senate

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s battle over giving now-adult victims of child sexual abuse another chance to sue their perpetrators or institutions that may have covered it up returned to the Senate on Wednesday, as competing bills landed in the chamber.

The movement comes six months after wider legislation to lift criminal and civil limitations on child sexual abuse cases collapsed in the Senate in the wake of a fresh Roman Catholic church scandal that spurred victims to lobby in the Capitol’s corridors.

PA Seeks To Eliminate Statute Of Limitations For Sexual Crimes

A series of bills currently proposed in the Pennsylvania state legislature would eliminate or modify the statute of limitations for the prosecution of sexual crimes.

There are a pair of bills in the House, HB 962 and HB 963, which are together called the Pennsylvania Hidden Predator Act. There’s also a new piece of related legislation in the Senate that will be formally introduced Wednesday.

House, Senate bills aim to reform PA’s Equal Pay Law

A rally is set for Monday in Harrisburg in support of proposed legislation to update Pennsylvania’s Equal Pay Law, which remains unchanged since 1959. The changes will help fix a “broken” wage system that backers say has allowed a gender pay gap to affect the earning rights of female workers.

Calls to reform Pennsylvania’s equal pay law are coming from lawmakers in the state House and Senate, and will be heard during a rally in Harrisburg on Monday.

Grant Will Help PA Department Buy ‘Top-Notch’ Apparatus

Volunteers with the Morrisville Fire Co. might soon get a new 500-gallon engine purchased with $200,000 awarded in a state grant last week, three General Assembly members announced.

The company will buy a 2020 Pierce Arrow XT heavy duty rescue pumper with a 500-gallon tank and a 2,000 gallons-per-minute pump, the joint news release from Sen. Steve Santarsiero, D-10, Rep. Perry Warren, D-31, and Rep. John Galloway, D-140, states.

Morrisville Fire Co. gets $200K grant for new engine

Volunteers with the Morrisville Fire Co. might soon get a new 500-gallon engine purchased with $200,000 awarded in a state grant last week, three General Assembly members announced.

The company will buy a 2020 Pierce Arrow XT heavy duty rescue pumper with a 500-gallon tank and a 2,000 gallons-per-minute pump, the joint news release from Sen. Steve Santarsiero, D-10, Rep. Perry Warren, D-31, and Rep. John Galloway, D-140, states.

It’s Equal Pay Day. Here’s how Pa. lawmakers want to close the gender wage gap

April 2 marks Equal Pay Day in the United States, an occasion that calls attention to the fact that women in America earn less on average than men.

According to the National Committee on Pay Equity, the symbolic holiday indicates how long a woman has to work into 2019 to earn what an average man earned in 2018.

Yardley-Makefield Fire Company celebrates its volunteers; presents Firefighter of the Year Award at annual banquet

FALLS TOWNSHIP >> A Bucks County native who has been a volunteer firefighter for most of his life has been recognized as 2018’s Firefighter of the Year by the Yardley-Makefield Fire Company.

At its annual banquet and installation dinner held at Westaby Hall in Fairless Hills, the company honored its top responders for 2018, recognized its outstanding volunteers and remembered two of its fallen firefighters and its longtime chief engineer.

Senate Dems Propose Legislation on Addressing Sexual Harassment Claims

Senate Democrats on March 25 proposed legislation to reform the process and procedures of addressing sexual harassment claims, and foster a safe work environment in the General Assembly.

The #MeToo PA General Assembly Act would establish procedures for keeping investigatory, prosecutorial and adjudicatory functions separate, as required under state law; establish procedures for communicating temporary regulations that are necessary to promptly implement the new procedures; and combine current settlement provisions with new provisions relating to the source of payment, personal liability of elected officials and payment of awards.

Senate bill would allow towns to ban firearms on public property

The bill introduced by Sen. Maria Collett, D-12, of Ambler, would allow towns to prohibit firearms on municipal properties.

A proposed bill from a Montgomery County lawmaker would let towns ban firearms on public property without fear of a lawsuit from organizations like the National Rifle Association.

Killion introduces bill to boost affordable housing

WEST CHESTER—Sen. Tom Killon (R-9) Thursday introduced new legislation, SB 30, to create a Pennsylvania state housing tax credit.

“This new tax credit will incentivize private investment in new and existing affordable housing in the Commonwealth,” said Sen. Tom Killion. “Affordable housing is an economic driver. It builds state and local tax bases, creates jobs, provides homes in proximity to workplaces, and revitalizes communities.”

Two Bucks groups win state environmental stewardship awards

The Wilma Quinlan Nature Preserve Committee and Newtown Creek Coalition are winners of the 2019 Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence.

One group restored a hidden gem of a nature preserve in New Britain Borough. The other stabilized the banks of the Newtown Creek, along with a piece of Bucks County’s colonial history.

Legislation would expand alternative energy standards

State Sens. Art Haywood (D-Philadelphia), Thomas H. Killion (R- Chester and Delaware counties) and Steven J. Santarsiero (D-Bucks) plan to introduce legislation that would expand the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act (AEPS).

State senator introduces radar bill

The latest bill to allow municipal police in Pennsylvania to use radar was introduced Wednesday in Harrisburg, a day after Lancaster City Council passed a resolution calling for such legislation.

Sponsored by state Sen. Steven Santarsiero, a Democrat from Bucks County, its co-sponsors include state Sen. Ryan Aument of Lancaster County.