Jan. 15, 2020
HARRISBURG – Legislation that would prohibit the scheduled closures of the White Haven and Polk state centers by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services was passed overwhelmingly by the House of Representatives today in a vote of 139-55, according to Rep. Tarah Toohil (R-Luzerne), who spoke in support of the measure.
Senate Bill 906, sponsored by Sen. John Yudichak (I-14), garnered bipartisan support and now heads back to the Senate for a vote on amendments made by the House.
“Today’s vote is a huge victory for the White Haven Center and its residents, some of whom have lived there for 40 or 50 years,” said Toohil. “These individuals and their families deserve to have a state center safety net. The intellectually disabled deserve a choice in the type of care and housing they are afforded.”
To view Toohil’s video comments, visit here.
To view a video of Toohil’s floor remarks, visit here.
The bill would create the Task Force on the Closure of State Facilities to analyze and manage the shutdown of any state center and prevents its closure for a minimum of five years.
Representative Tarah Toohil
116th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Contact: Rep. Toohil’s Office
717-260-6136
RepToohil.com /
Facebook.com/RepToohil