April 11, 2019
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.”
April 11, 2019
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.
April 10, 2019
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.
April 10, 2019
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.
April 10, 2019
A group of Pennsylvania lawmakers declared Wednesday that the “Green Dogs” intend to be players in the big energy policy poker game taking place at the state Capitol this spring.
April 9, 2019
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.
April 5, 2019
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.
April 3, 2019
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.
April 2, 2019
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.
April 2, 2019
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.
April 1, 2019
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.
March 29, 2019
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.
March 25, 2019
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.
March 22, 2019
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.”
March 19, 2019
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.
March 18, 2019
BUCKS COUNTY >> The New Britain Borough Wilma Quinlan Nature Preserve Committee and the Newtown Creek Coalition have been named the Bucks County winners of the 2019 Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence.
March 18, 2019
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).
March 14, 2019
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.
March 14, 2019
Pennsylvania is the only state in the country which doesn’t allow its municipal police officers to use radar guns.
A newly proposed state senate bill wants to end the era of Keystone State exceptionalism on the matter.
March 12, 2019
State Sen. Steve Santarsiero and Rockhill Quarry attorney Robert Gundlach Jr. exchanged contentious letters with the DEP over the controversial Rockhill Quarry. Gundlach accused Santarsiero of disregarding facts while making demands to the DEP, while Santarsiero said the DEP is conducting its own investigation.
March 9, 2019
An assortment of local and state officials made several stops in Bucks and Northampton counties Friday afternoon, including in the Washington Crossing Historic and Delaware Canal state parks, where they said flooding, wear and tear had strained infrastructure. Some said Gov. Tom Wolf’s “Restore Pennsylvania” initiative, which calls for investments in “green infrastructure,” is key to the fixes.
March 7, 2019
We asked. You voted.
These are the top 10 freshmen to watch in the Pennsylvania House and Senate.
We’ll stress up front that this list is ordered alphabetically by last name and doesn’t reflect a preference, implicit or explicit, for any particular lawmaker. We’ll also stress that we received plenty of quality nominations and wish we had space for everyone you recommended to us. But then it would have been much longer than a top 10 list — throwing our carefully conceived journalistic trope into complete disarray.
March 6, 2019
In light of the one year anniversary of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that occurred February 14 in Parkland, Florida, Democratic State Sen. Steve Santarsiero, Democratic State Rep. Perry Warren, and former State Rep. Helen Tai joined students and gun safety advocates in front of Council Rock North High School in Newtown Township to call for the passage of legislation advocating for the safe storage of firearms.
March 1, 2019
The grant for the regional chapter of Operation Homefront, administered through the state’s Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, will provide financial aid for area veterans in need.
A $10,000 grant administered by the state’s Department of Military and Veterans Affairs will go to a regional chapter Operation Homefront, according to a news release from two state lawmakers.
February 28, 2019
State Sen. Steve Santarsiero, minority chair of the Senate Communications and Technology Committee, announced the award of computer science grant funding for Council Rock, Central Bucks, and Pennridge school districts.
