Rapp: Two Bills, Three Resolutions Pass House Health Committee
HARRISBURG — Rep. Kathy L. Rapp (R-Warren/Crawford/Forest), Republican chair of the House Health Committee, announced the committee overwhelmingly approved five pieces of legislation at a voting meeting this week.
House Bill 27, of which Rep. Tim Bonner (R-Mercer/Butler) is a co-prime sponsor, would ensure operating rooms use surgical smoke evacuation systems to combat the adverse health effects of surgical smoke.
House Bill 33 would help ensure the integrity of medical marijuana by establishing oversight through audit testing, quality assurance testing, data transparency and inspections. This bill was amended in committee to include legislation by Reps. Tim Twardzik (R-Schuylkill) and Joanne Stehr (R-Northumberland/Schuylkill) that would provide the Department of Health with more oversight when determining whether a physician should be included in the registry of physicians that are authorized to certify individuals for medical marijuana use in this Commonwealth.
“The first two bills passed by the Health Committee this session continue the tradition of this committee working to improve our Commonwealth,” Rapp said. “These two bills are perfect examples of both sides working together to address important issues: the well-being of our healthcare workers and the integrity of our medical marijuana program.”
In addition, the committee also approved three resolutions:
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House Resolution 8 recognizes the month of Sept. 2025 as "Alopecia Areata Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania.
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House Resolution 11 recognizes the month of June 2025 as "Lipedema Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania.
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House Resolution 16 designates Feb. 2, 2025, as "Rheumatoid Awareness Day" in Pennsylvania.
All five pieces of legislation now head to the full House for consideration.
Representative Kathy Rapp
65th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives