Weekly Recap
The House of Representatives was in session for three days this week.
Monday, the House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee held an Informational meeting on the Older Adult Protective Services Act. The House Tourism, Recreation, and Economic Development Committee held an informational meeting on the America250PA Commission and the United States Semiquincentennial Celebration. Also, the House Gaming Oversight Committee held an informational meeting on online sweepstakes and social casinos.
The House Consumer Protection Committee reported out:
- HB 322 (Ciresi, D-Montgomery), which would require the Public Utility Commission (PUC) to accept mailed or emailed public comments on proposed rate changes or system; and
- HB 543 (Young, D-Philadelphia), which would prohibit the PUC from disapproving an energy efficiency and conservation plan due to the inclusion of mechanical insulation.
The House Environmental and Natural Resource Protection Committee reported out HB 109 (Vitali, D-Delaware), which would give the Department of Environmental Protection the authority to designate environmental justice areas in communities with increased pollution burdens and vulnerable populations.
Two bills of note were reported from the House Transportation Committee: HB 541 (Fritz, R-Susquehanna), which would allow a legislator’s district staff and online messengers to replace illegible license plates; and HB 1085 (Neilson, D-Philadelphia), which would give the State Police $125 million from the Motor License Fund (MLF) in FY 2025-26 and in subsequent years fiscal years they would no longer be funded from the MLF.
The full House sent two noteworthy bills to the Senate for their consideration:
- HB 183 (Dawkins, D-Philadelphia), which would expand the range of injuries and the amount of compensation that can be paid for serious and permanent disfigurement injuries under the Workers’ Compensation Act; and
- HB 409 (Kosierowski, D-Lackawanna), which would require providers of diagnostic imaging services to release most test results to patients once the results are ready.
On Tuesday, the House Professional Licensure Committee held an informational meeting with the Department of State on licensing and enforcement.
SB 202 (Gebhard, R-Lebanon) was reported from the House Commerce Committee. The bill would require business entities who transmit virtual currency for a fee to be licensed as a money transmitter.
The House Human Services Committee reported out HB 561 (Madden, D-Monroe), which would allow county jails to utilize all FDA-approved medications for treatment of substance use disorder.
The House Insurance Committee reported out HB 433 (Curry, D-Delaware), which would eliminate out-of-pocket costs for diagnostic imaging related to breast cancer.
The following bills were reported from the House Housing and Community Development Committee:
- HB 818 (Bizzarro, D-Erie), which would establish First-Time Homebuyers Savings Accounts in the Commonwealth;
- HB 986 (Cephas, D-Philadelphia), which would provide homeowners with consumer protections against unfair service agreements;
- HB 1020 (Twardizk, R-Schuylkill), which would enable municipalities to adopt ordinances to establish vacant property registration fees and compile lists of blighted property owner’s information;
- HB 1037 (Irvin, R-Huntingdon), which would allow municipalities the option to permit residential housing that is substantially the same in structure and use as the home that has been demolished to be built on the same site, to the previous structure’s setback requirements; and
- HB 1062 (Markosek, D-Allegheny), which would create a statewide blight data collection system using property code violations.
Wrapping up the week, on Wednesday, the House Labor and Industry Committee reported out HB 721 (Donahue, D-Lackawanna), which would amend the Construction Workplace Misclassification Act by increasing penalties, expanding the scope of investigations and prosecution, and permitting misclassified workers to pursue a private right of action.
The House Health Committee reported out: HB 69 (Cutler, R-Lancaster), which would allow health care facilities and individuals to donate prescription drugs to the Cancer Drug Repository Program; and HB 79 (Venkat, D-Allegheny), which would require hospitals to provide financial assistance forms to patients upon intake and discharge.
Three bills of note passed finally and will go to the Senate for consideration:
- HB 308 (Harkins, D-Erie), which would extend federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) protections to workers for the state, a political subdivision, a school entity, and a nonprofit receiving grants or appropriations from the federal, state, or local government;
- HB 472 (Bizzarro, D-Erie), which would provide for driver’s licenses for youth experiencing homelessness; and
- HB 640 (Williams, D-Chester), which would require the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs to specify money distributed and expended for services, programs, and other efforts in their annual report.
The Week Ahead
With no session next week, the policy committees in both chambers will meet to discuss important issues.
Monday, the House Democratic Policy Committee will hold a public hearing on the impact of life sciences. The House Republican Policy Committee will hold a public hearing to discuss to the proposed prison closures.
On Tuesday, the Senate Republican Policy Committee will hold a public hearing on the Do No Harm Act. The Senate Democratic Policy Committee will hold a public hearing on the future of mass transit. The House Democratic Policy Committee will hold a public hearing on midwifery modernization and maternal health deserts.
Wednesday, the House and Senate Republican Policy Committees will meet to discuss the future of AI innovation.
A full list of committee meetings can be found here:
In Other News
- Representative Dan Goughnour (D-Allegheny) took the oath of office on Monday to begin serving HD-35.
- Governor Shapiro joined a multistate lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s decision to revoke $185 million in funding owed to Pennsylvania.
- The Department of Environmental Protection announced its permit backlog has been reduced from 2,400 permits to 30.

























