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Senate committee advances GOP fetal remains legislation
Proposed as the Final Disposition of Fetal Remains Act, the bill would require health care facilities, including abortion providers, to arrange for either a burial or cremation after a miscarriage or abortion. Parents also could make arrangements and assume potential costs.
Senate committee advances proposed constitutional change to reform Pa.’s amendment process
Before being presented to voters, proposed constitutional amendments must pass the Legislature in two consecutive sessions. The costly process can take months, if not years.
Despite no plans for one, Pa. Senate approves bill prohibiting COVID-19 vaccine mandate for K-12 students
The Wolf administration has no plans to implement a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for K-12 schools, Elizabeth Rementer, a spokesperson for Wolf, told the Capital-Star in an email.
Pa.’s top health official to resign from position by end of year, Wolf administration announces
The announcement comes three days after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled against the universal mask mandate, enacted earlier this fall by Beam, for K-12 schools and childcare centers.
Pa. court to hear arguments over releasing voter information as part of election investigation
Most of the information requested as part of a legislative subpoena is already publicly available. State law, however, prohibits the public release of someone’s driver’s license number and Social Security number.
Efforts to change Pa. fireworks law haven’t fizzled out. House, Senate committees to hear feedback
The House and Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs committees will hold a joint hearing to discuss fireworks regulations, which have prompted safety concerns across the commonwealth since the state legalized their sale and use in 2017.
Pa. food banks to receive $11.4M allocation to expand storage infrastructure
Feeding America, a national nonprofit devoted to supporting anti-hunger initiatives, estimates that 1.3 million people in Pennsylvania, including 380,000 children, struggle with food insecurity.
Pa. Supreme Court hears arguments over Wolf administration’s K-12 mask mandate
Gov. Tom Wolf announced last month that local school districts — but not child care facilities — would have power over masking policies, beginning Jan. 17.
Senate Democratic panel takes up improving Pa. treatment centers amid rising overdose deaths
Though the Wolf administration and Republican-controlled Legislature have supported bills to make treatment more accessible and regulate the distribution and disposal of medications, overdose deaths have continued to increase, with a three-year high in 2020.
Tree of Life allocated $6.6M in state funds for redevelopment efforts
"We will transform this site that has been marked by horror and the H-word into one full of hope, remembrance, and education," Rabbi Hazzan Jeffrey Myers said Monday.
Senate GOP releases redacted contract with Envoy Sage. Here’s what’s in it
Through a spokesperson, Sen. Cris Dush, R-Jefferson, said the names of other firms that were considered will not be released to the public “out of privacy concerns for their business.”
Pa. legislators react to Wolf vetoing expanded concealed carry bill
As promised, Wolf vetoed a bill introduced by Sen. Cris Dush, R-Jefferson, that allows for concealed carry without a permit, lowers the legal age from 21 to 18, and grants open carry in Philadelphia.