May. 14, 2019 /
![Bipartisan Bill to End Child Marriage Moves Out of Committee]()
HARRISBURG – State Reps. Jesse Topper (R-Bedford/Fulton/Franklin) and Perry Warren (D-Bucks) announced that legislation that would prohibit child marriage in Pennsylvania before the age of 18 was approved by the House Judiciary Committee today and can now be considered by the full House.
May. 14, 2019 /
HARRISBURG – The state House Health Committee today approved legislation introduced by state Rep. Jim Cox (R-Berks/Lancaster) that would help health care professionals identify and treat patients who previously overdosed on opioids.
May. 14, 2019 /
![Boback, Toohil Push for Passage of Foster Care Legislation]()
HARRISBURG – The challenges faced by young people as they age out of foster care was the focus of an informational hearing conducted by the House Children and Youth Committee today. Rep. Karen Boback (R-Luzerne/Lackawanna/Wyoming), who chairs the committee, and Rep. Tarah Toohil (R-Luzerne), who serves as committee vice chair, also held a news conference with stakeholders to discuss legislation that would make improvements to Pennsylvania’s foster care system.
May. 14, 2019 /
![Struzzi Health Care Legislation Passed by Health Committee]()
HARRISBURG – Rep. Jim Struzzi (R-Indiana) today announced that the House of Representatives’ Health Committee has passed two pieces of legislation authored by him – House Bill 1214 and House Resolution 268.
May. 14, 2019 /
![Kaufer and Yudichak to Discuss Efforts to Rebuild Northeastern Pennsylvania’s Economy]()
WHAT: Rep. Aaron Kaufer (R-Luzerne) and Sen. John Yudichak (D-Luzerne/Carbon) will discuss Kaufer’s House Bill 1100 to attract large-scale manufacturing to northeastern Pennsylvania. This initiative would boost the regional economy and be a benefit for residents for decades to come.
May. 14, 2019 /
![Human Services Committee Approves Ortitay Bill To Clarify Minors’ Mental Health Treatment Procedures]()
HARRISBURG — The House Human Services Committee today reported out legislation authored by Rep. Jason Ortitay (R-Washington/Allegheny) to more clearly define current law on who can provide consent in order for a minor to receive mental health treatment.
May. 14, 2019 /
![Policy Committee to Host Federal Official at Energy Roundtable]()
WHAT: The House Majority Policy Committee, chaired by Rep. Donna Oberlander (R-Clarion/Armstrong/Forest), will travel to Beaver County to welcome U.S. Department of Energy’s Under Secretary Mark Wesley Menezes for a roundtable discussion about energy issues in Pennsylvania.
May. 14, 2019 /
![Committees to Examine Challenges for those with Disabilities when Traveling]()
WHAT: The House Human Services Committee, chaired by Rep. Gene DiGirolamo (R-Bucks), and the House Tourism and Recreational Development Committee, chaired by Rep. David Millard (R-Berwick), will hold a second joint informational meeting on the challenges people with disabilities face when traveling.
May. 14, 2019 /
![Kail, Turzai to Discuss Legislation to ‘Energize’ PA’s Economy]()
WHAT: Rep. Josh Kail (R-Beaver/Washington) and House Speaker Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) will discuss the economic benefits of the Shell manufacturing facility and the “EnergizePA” initiative, a pro-growth, pro-jobs legislative package designed to encourage job growth and redevelop infrastructure with no new fees or taxes.
May. 14, 2019 /
![House Approves Ecker Bill to Improve the Legislature’s Standing in Court]()
HARRISBURG – The House approved House Bill 1021, part of a two-bill package, introduced by Rep. Torren Ecker (R-Adams/Cumberland) to allow the House and Senate to take a more active role in legal proceedings when a law is challenged as being unconstitutional.
May. 14, 2019 /
![House Education Committee Passes Charter School Reform Package]()
HARRISBURG – Yesterday, the House Education Committee, chaired by Rep. Curt Sonney (R-Erie), passed four charter school reform bills which seek to deal with a range of issues relating to charter school administration and expansion.
May. 13, 2019 /
![Barrar’s Bill to Trade PA National Guard Reenlistment for College Education Passes House]()
HARRISBURG – Legislation drafted by Rep. Steve Barrar (R-Chester/Delaware) that would offer a free college education in exchange for a Pennsylvania National Guard member’s six-year reenlistment received unanimous support from the full House today. The education could be shared with the member’s spouse and/or child.
May. 13, 2019 /
![Committee to Consider Three Human Service Bills, Resolutions]()
WHAT: The House Human Services Committee, chaired by Rep. Gene DiGirolamo (R-Bucks), will hold a voting meeting to consider three proposals. They include measures that would add language in law clarifying that parents have the right to and should be allowed to secure mental health treatment for their children (House Bill 672); define a best practice for loved ones to be notified when a person decides to leave addiction treatment against medical advice (House Bill 1052); and direct the Joint State Government Commission to conduct a study on the mental health provider shortage in Pennsylvania and issue a report (House Resolution 193).
May. 13, 2019 /
![Boback, Toohil to Discuss Foster Care Legislation at Capitol News Conference]()
WHAT: House Children and Youth Committee Chairman Karen Boback (R-Luzerne/Lackawanna/Wyoming) and Vice Chairman Tarah Toohil (R-Luzerne) will host a news conference to discuss legislation that would improve Pennsylvania’s foster care system. Boback’s measure, House Bill 856, would reinstate the extension of permanent legal custodian and adoption assistance subsidies. Toohil’s proposal, House Bill 1326, would create a program to help foster care youth with obtaining driver’s education, training and costs associated with maintaining an auto insurance policy. House Bill 1276, sponsored by Rep. Dave Hickernell (R-Lancaster/Dauphin), would create a program to assist foster care youth with the challenges of accessing higher educational opportunities.
May. 13, 2019 /
![Judiciary Committee to Hold Voting Meeting]()
WHAT: Rep. Rob Kauffman (R-Franklin), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, will lead the committee on a vote of the following House bills:
May. 13, 2019 /
![Brown’s House Resolution Declaring May Lyme Disease Awareness Month in Pennsylvania Unanimously Adopted by House]()
HARRISBURG –With the Commonwealth still leading the nation in documented cases of Lyme disease, Rep. Rosemary M. Brown (R-Monroe/Pike) sponsored House Resolution 38, which designates May 2019 as Lyme Disease Awareness Month in Pennsylvania. Lyme disease is a bacterial infection transmitted primarily by ticks and is caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi.
May. 10, 2019 /
![Toohil Appointed to Leadership Position for National Organization]()
HARRISBURG – Rep. Tarah Toohil (R-Luzerne) has been selected to serve in a leadership position for the nation’s oldest non-partisan organization addressing the needs of elected women at all levels of government.
May. 10, 2019 /
![Walsh Introduces Bill to Hold Municipal Elected Officials Accountable]()
HARRISBURG –Rep. Justin Walsh (R-Westmoreland) recently introduced legislation that would amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to allow municipal elected officials to be removed from office for lack of attendance at public meetings.
May. 10, 2019 /
![Mackenzie Named Member of CSG National Future of Work Task Force]()
HARRISBURG – Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-Lehigh/Berks) has been selected to serve on The Council of State Governments’ (CSG) national Future of Work Task Force.
May. 10, 2019 / Press Release
![Topper Bill to Close Alcohol Sales Loophole Approved by House]()
HARRISBURG – To give voters more say in their community and to close a loophole in the updated liquor laws, the House approved on Wednesday Rep. Jesse Topper’s (R-Bedford/Franklin/Fulton) House Bill 423 to allow for ballot referendums to authorize “dry” municipalities to issue special liquor licenses to manufacturers.