Latest news with #AmandaMustard
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
State House advances bill to increase minimum wage in Pennsylvania
The exterior of the Pennsylvania state Capitol. (Photo by Amanda Mustard for the Pennsylvania Capital-Star). The state House is inching closer to passing a bill to raise the minimum wage in Pennsylvania, an outcome long sought by Democrats and opposed by Republicans. House Bill 1549 would increase it to $15 per hour for most Pennsylvanians, though in some smaller counties, it would only raise it to $12. The proposal would also raise the minimum wage for tipped workers. 'We are falling far, far, far behind,' Rep. Jason Dawkins (D-Philadelphia), the bill's sponsor said when it was debated in committee last week. 'Given our economic uncertainty, I think it's our duty as elected members to give [to] families across this commonwealth who have struggled to afford basic necessities.' The commonwealth's current minimum wage matches the federal rate at $7.25. It has not increased since 2008, and remains lower than those in surrounding states – New York, Ohio, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. The timeline laid out in the bill for the proposed minimum wage, as well as the ultimate figure, would vary county by county. For employers in Philadelphia County, the minimum wage would be $15 on January 1, 2026. Elsewhere, the minimum wage would increase gradually, reaching $15 or $12 on January 1, 2028. The difference is based on population. Counties with under 210,000 people, with the exception of Centre, Pike and Monroe Counties, will only see their minimum wage rise to $12. Beginning in 2029, the minimum wage would increase annually, based on federal cost of living statistics. On the floor Tuesday, Rep. Seth Grove (R-York), criticized the bill, calling its county-based tier system a 'dumb idea.' 'I look at York right next to Adams County. We're gonna have two different rates for those two now,' Grove said. 'How do businesses operate under such draconian policies? How is anyone supposed to figure this out?' Democrats, however, have long pushed for an increase to Pennsylvania's minimum wage, with most Republicans opposing it. Gov. Josh Shapiro, however, has long endorsed a minimum wage hike. On Monday, he posted on social media that the current minimum wage is 'too damn low.' 'It's time to put more money back in Pennsylvanian's pockets and raise the minimum wage,' he wrote. The bill would also raise the minimum wage for tipped workers from the current $2.83 per hour to 60% of the minimum wage. That would be $9 where the minimum wage is $15 and $7.20 where it's $12. House Bill 1549 must still be voted on one more time on the state House floor before it can pass. It will also have to earn support in the Republican-controlled Senate. Across the country, some Republicans are calling for a hike in minimum wage. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced a bipartisan bill in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday that would raise the minimum wage everywhere in the U.S. to $15. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bill requiring AEDs at schools and school sporting events passes Pa. House committee
The exterior of the Pennsylvania state Capitol. (Photo by Amanda Mustard for the Pennsylvania Capital-Star). A bill that would require automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to be present at school and school sporting events passed the House Education Committee with bipartisan support Wednesday. State Rep. Tim Brennan (D-Bucks), who sponsored House Bill 191, said the legislature owes it to our kids 'to be prepared to save their lives when something happens on their playing fields.' 'This serves a purpose,' Brennan said. 'This is a valuable life saving tool that we should have in our schools.' Brennan said that over 20 states already have similar laws in place and said statistics prove the effectiveness of AEDs in the event of a cardiac arrest. He said 90% of cardiac arrests are fatal when they occur outside of a hospital, but if an AED is used within a minute, survival rate can jump up to 90%. This proposal amending the school code also requires one individual certified in CPR present, as well. Brennan also referenced the cardiac arrest of then-24 year old Damar Hamlin, an Allegheny County native and player for the Buffalo Bills, in 2023 who was saved by CPR and the use of an AED on the field during an NFL game on Monday Night Football. State Rep. Tarah Probst (D-Monroe), cited the death of Greg Moyer, a high school student who died in 2000 from sudden cardiac arrest at the age of 15, during a basketball game at East Stroudsburg North High School. She said it can take a long time for an ambulance to arrive in rural areas. Moyer's family has been advocating for AEDs in schools and school sporting events. AEDs were also at the center of another bill earlier this week. House Bill 193, which will require AEDs in every state building, passed the full House on Monday. Cursive mandate passes unanimously The committee also unanimously voted to advance a proposal to require cursive handwriting to be taught in schools, at the appropriate grade level. 'In our digital world, cursive has fallen by the wayside, but there are many reasons for students to, at least, get the basic grasp of cursive writing,' State Rep. Dane Watro (R-Schuylkill), sponsor of House Bill 17 said Wednesday. 'In addition, students need cursive to read historical documents. A growing cursive illiteracy poses a threat to accessing and comprehending key historical sources, such as the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.' A co-sponsorship memo mentions that at least 24 states have laws on the books requiring cursive to be taught. Both chairs of the committee also offered words of support before the vote was held. 'Obviously there are both cognitive and developmental skills I think that are learned through cursive but more importantly, I think it's important that we understand the foundations of our historical and our founding documents, which this bill would obviously do,' House Education Minority Chairperson Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster) said. State Rep. Peter Schweyer (D-Lehigh), who is the chairperson of the committee, referenced knowing cursive from his 12 years of Catholic school education and said he looked at it from a slightly different perspective, while detailing a personal experience before voting to approve the bill. 'I have an 18-year-old who, a couple years ago, got her first bank account, and watching her try to endorse her first paycheck was quite the interesting experience on a human level,' Schweyer said. 'I just think that a part of education is actually teaching human skills, not knowledge for the sake of knowledge, but actually preparing people for real life. And this is perfectly reasonable and a smart way to go about it.'
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Self-deleting message apps confound Pa.'s public access law, Senate panel hears
The exterior of the Pennsylvania state Capitol. (Photo by Amanda Mustard for the Pennsylvania Capital-Star). When government officials do the public's business using apps that automatically erase their messages, transparency and accountability take a hit, open records advocates told Pennsylvania lawmakers Monday. They called on members of the Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee to consider legislation to address the use of platforms like Signal and SnapChat, to ensure they can't be used as an end run around the state's public access laws. Pennsylvania's Sunshine Law requires the deliberation of public business to take place in public with ample notice. Even a simple majority of a school board or borough council discussing business triggers the law's requirements. Since its debut in 2008, state courts have interpreted the Right-to-Know Law, which provides access to public records, to accommodate evolution in the way public officials use technology. Emails and other messages, even on officials' personal accounts and devices, can be public records under the law. 'The courts have said it doesn't matter where you're conducting agency business,' Liz Wagenseller, executive director of the Office of Open Records. 'It could be a Facebook message. It could be a LinkedIn message. It could be a YouTube video. If you're conducting agency business, it may be subject to the Right-to-Know Law.' But the first consideration when the Office of Open Records hears an appeal by a member of the public is whether the record they're seeking exists. 'The Right-to-Know Law is silent on whether or not a record should exist. There are no penalties or admonishments if there's a record that was inappropriately deleted before the right to know request was made,' Wagenseller said, noting that officials could face penalties if they act in bad faith to conceal a record. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE And while the state Historical Commission publishes guidelines on how long municipalities, counties and other government agencies should preserve records, they're not always closely followed, Frank Mazza, director of government relations for the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, said. The manuals are hundreds of pages long, he said. 'If you're a public official, as you probably all well know, you have a million other things rolling through your mind and understanding what your responsibilities are on page 92 of the record retention policy related to county airports isn't always at the front of mind,' Mazza said. He added that his group provides training and encourages officials to seek advice when in doubt. Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, said journalists have increasingly encountered situations where officials used apps such as Signal – known as ephemeral messaging in legal circles – to make decisions. 'That's obviously a violation of the law, but just as importantly, it erodes the public trust,' Melewsky said. In written testimony to the court, Melewsky cited cases in Bucks County and Pittsburgh where public officials used Signal. Claims that they violated the Sunshine Act and Right-to-Know Law followed. 'Oftentimes the best evidence of whether the law was violated or complied with is going to be the actual record, and if it's gone, there's no way to prove what happened,' she said. Committee Chairman Jarett Coleman (R-Lehigh) noted the Broad + Liberty reported earlier this month that an attorney for the Shapiro administration said in court that emails from a cabinet secretary who resigned amid scandal had been deleted before retention policies said they could be. Pennsylvania isn't alone in grappling with the conflict between ephemeral messaging and public access. In Missouri, a court found in 2022 former Gov. Eric Greitens and his staff had not violated the law by using a 'self-destructing messaging' app prior to his administration adopting a policy to ban the use of such apps. Joshua Bonn, a Harrisburg lawyer specializing in government transparency, said Pennsylvania laws afford public officials some discretion on whether messages can be deleted or need to be preserved. He used the example of a township manager texting about an issue on a road as a 'transitory message' that an employee may determine doesn't need to be preserved. 'The history is that there have, time and time again, been reports of public officials who have deleted messages that are later determined to be public records,' Bonn said. 'If you want to preserve public records, there needs to be some sort of direction from the legislature regarding how much time electronic messages need to be retained.' Sen. Vincent Hughes (R-Philadelphia) said the issue seems to be present across all levels of government. 'How do we, how do we manage all this?' he asked 'This is a lot.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Melewsky suggested the panel could look to other states for guidance on how to tackle the issue. Coleman said the committee would consider whether the Sunshine and Right-to-Know laws need to be clarified or broadened to ensure they apply consistently across all levels of government, whether more training is needed for public officials and whether the existing investigative and enforcement provisions of the law are sufficient.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Plan to require carbon monoxide alarms in child care facilities in Pa. clears House panel
The exterior of the Pennsylvania state Capitol. (Photo by Amanda Mustard for the Pennsylvania Capital-Star). With child care being the theme of Wednesday's meeting, a state House committee unanimously advanced a measure to require the installation of carbon monoxide alarms in child care centers and family child care homes across the commonwealth. House Bill 156, sponsored by state Rep. Jeanne McNeill (D-Lehigh) would amend the Human Services Code by adding language to mandate them. 'I want to emphasize that this bill is very near and dear to my heart,' McNeill, chair of the House Children & Youth Committee, said on Wednesday. McNeill has been trying to find traction on the legislation since 2021. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE While calling for support, McNeill referred to a 2022 carbon monoxide leak at an Allentown day care that resulted in more than two dozen children and several adults taken to hospitals. 'I was heartbroken knowing that we could have prevented this with the bill, if it had been passed when I first introduced it,' McNeill said on Wednesday. A co-sponsorship memo cites statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and writes that 'detecting the effects of carbon monoxide poisoning is more challenging' when it comes to children. The panel also unanimously backed an amendment adding clarifying language related to the location and installation of the carbon monoxide alarms in the facilities. State Rep. Kate Klunk, Minority Chair of the House Children & Youth Committee, applauded the moves for giving the providers the specific information needed to follow the protocol. The proposal is also backed by Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, the Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children, Trying Together and First Up, while the Pennsylvania Council of Children, Youth and Family Services were neutral on the legislation. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Grant program for rural hospitals advances in Pa. House
The exterior of the Pennsylvania state Capitol. (Photo by Amanda Mustard for the Pennsylvania Capital-Star). One day after Gov. Josh Shapiro delivered his budget address, a pair of state House committees advanced legislation that aims to boost health care in rural Pennsylvania and prop up emergency medical services. House Bill 157, sponsored by state Rep. Kathy Rapp (R-Warren), would create a rural health care grant program to help pay off educational debt of nurses, doctors, dentists and other professionals. 'We are in the midst of a nationwide health care workforce emergency,' Rapp said Wednesday during a House Health Committee meeting. 'The commonwealth currently does not have enough medical providers to meet Pennsylvania's growing health care needs, leaving rural communities' access to care in a perilous state.' The program, which would be administered by the Department of Health, would distribute grants for up to $250,000 in one calendar year to eligible hospitals, rural health clinics, federally qualified health centers and birth centers in rural counties or in designated medically underserved areas. The grants would pay the education debt of a physician, licensed practical nurse, registered nurse, midwives, nurse midwives, dentists and dental hygienists. For those workers to be eligible, they must work a minimum of three years full time for the specific entity. Rapp said the bill arose from a rural hospital roundtable a year ago that highlighted a bevy of challenges facing rural communities across Pennsylvania. During the meeting Wednesday, Rapp rattled off statistics from the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania that showed vacancy rates for nursing support staff and registered nurses in rural hospitals were 28% and 26% respectively, compared to 19% and 14% statewide. She also mentioned that 47% of women in rural counties live more than 30 minutes from a birthing hospital. 'Even if you do not represent a rural county or a medically underserved area, or if you do not have an eligible facility, like a hospital in your district, you have constituents that rely on health care providers and facilities in surrounding counties,' Rapp said. 'The more we can do to help bring providers to those areas, the better off this commonwealth and our constituents will be.' The Pennsylvania General Assembly will determine the funding for this program and the Department of Health has reporting requirements on the progress of the proposed program. The bill advanced unanimously, as amended, out of committee on Wednesday, although it was not the first time similar legislation had been introduced in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. During the previous session, House Bill 2382 unanimously passed the House committee in June 2024, but did not advance further. Taxes for EMS House Bill 162, sponsored by state Rep. Abby Major (R-Armstrong), would allow cities of the third class to levy an annual property tax to support ambulance, rescue, and other emergency services. 'As you know, there are thousands of municipalities and EMS entities across the commonwealth facing a funding crisis to provide critical emergency services to millions of commonwealth residents,' Major said. 'While these entities have their own subscription programs and fundraisers, the revenue still falls short of the rising costs of adequate pay and expensive but necessary equipment.' She added that this legislation can help adequately pay and appropriately supply these areas with state of the art life saving equipment. Major said that the city of Lower Burrell, which has a population of just under 12,000 residents, requested the legislation so they could help support their struggling emergency services. 'To be clear, this bill does not enact this tax,' Major said. 'This legislation simply extends the same authorization to our third class cities as our boroughs and townships already have, and gives each municipality the ability to take this step if it is needed to keep their emergency services afloat.' The bill advanced out of the Pennsylvania House Local Government Committee by a 25-1 vote.
