Weekly Wrap
As the June 30 budget deadline approaches, both chambers were in Harrisburg again this week for three session days.
The week started on Monday with a Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee public hearing on the rising costs of fire apparatus.
HB 1611 (Madden, D-Monroe), which would provide updates to the Older Adults Protective Services Act, was reported from the House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee.
The House Commerce Committee reported out HB 2388 (Davidson, D-Dauphin), which would provide that cash transactions be rounded to the nearest nickel.
The House Judiciary Committee reported out HB 2462 (Brennan, D-Bucks), which would prohibit recreational facilities from using waivers of liability.
Two bills of note were reported from the House Environmental and Natural Resource Protection Committee: HB 84 (Vitali, D-Delaware), which would prohibit land spreading of oil and gas wastewater; and HB 1567 (Mullins, D-Lackawanna), which would establish host fees and environmental safeguards for power plants and their surrounding communities.
The House Transportation Committee also reported out two bills of note: HB 2214 (Bellmon, D-Philadelphia) which would provide supplemental bridge funding for Philadelphia County; and HB 2437 (Davidson, D-Dauphin), which would permit counties to use the funding established under Act 13 to improve county or municipal bridges.
On the House Floor, several bills passed finally and will head to the Senate for consideration:
- HB 916 (Giral, D-Philadelphia), which would require lead testing of all children by the age of two and require health insurance policies to cover one blood lead test per pregnancy;
- HB 2145 (Scott, D-Philadelphia), which would prohibit PFAS chemicals in cosmetic, juvenile, menstrual, and dental products;
- HB 2300 (Cepeda-Freytiz, D-Berks), which would give the Department of Revenue authority to require certain noncompliant businesses to use an approved third-party service provider to report and remit sales taxes;
- HB 2446 (Haddock, D-Lackawanna), which would establish the Fire Company Transformational Grant Program and provide up to $30 million in funding annually; and
- HB 2469 (Powell, D-Allegheny), which would allow counties, and the cities of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh to use public-private partnership (P3) for transportation projects.
On Tuesday, the House Human Services Committee held an informational meeting on complex care assistant programs.
The House Labor and Industry Committee reported out HB 2455 (Mazzocco, D-Allegheny), which would give school administrators in Pittsburgh the right to collectively bargain.
The House Consumer Protection, Technology, and Utilities reported out:
- HB 1780 (Guzman, D-Berks), which would require clear disclosure of credit card surcharges;
- HB 2224 (Fiedler, D-Philadelphia), which would provide for return on equity for utilities;
- HB 2512 (Carroll, D-Philadelphia), which would prohibit ride share companies from using surveillance pricing; and
- HB 2551 (Issacson, D-Philadelphia), which would prohibit a state agency from using a text-based communication to collect, or notify an individual about, an unpaid fine, fee, toll.
Two bills of note were reported from the Senate Aging and Youth Committee: SB 482 (Laughlin, R-Erie), which would expand the education of the Living Independently for the Elderly (LIFE) Program; and SB 1376 (Coleman, R-Bucks), which would establish safeguards for the Department of Aging and the Area Agencies on Aging.
The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee reported out SR 332 (Gebhard, R-Lebanon), which would direct the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to conduct a study and issue a report on the cost associated with the defrayal of health insurance benefit mandates under the Affordable Care Act.
The Senate Education Committee report out: SB 366 (Williams, D-Allegheny), which would waive the requirement that career and technical education programs must conclude in 12th grade; and SB 720 (Gebhard, R-Lebanon), which would require a child entering school for the first time to have a comprehensive eye examination within one year prior to the start of school or within 120 days after the start of school.
A host of bills were reported from the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, including:
- SB 730 (Yaw, R-Lycoming), which would codify Pennsylvania Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST);
- SB 1352 (Brooks, R-Mercer), which would allow qualified addiction treatment providers to obtain a multi-year license;
- SB 1372 (Brooks, R-Mercer), which would establish greater transparency, oversight, and reporting of taxpayer-funded childcare programs; and
- SB 1373 (Brooks, R-Mercer), which would require certain individuals who provide reimbursable Medical Assistance services in the home or community to obtain and use a National Provider Identifier.
The Senate Institutional Sustainability and Innovation Committee reported out SB 792 (Farry, R-Bucks), which would increase the Research and Development Tax Credit from $60 million to $120 million; and SB 1206 (Pennycuick, R-Montgomery), which would allow manufacturers to apply for state licensure concurrently with their FDA approval process.
The following passed finally in the House and will go to the Senate for consideration:
- HB 836 (D-Delaware), which would prohibit state agencies from creating policies interfering with access to medically appropriate methods of assisted reproductive technology designed to promote pregnancy;
- HB 1678 (Fiedler, D-Philadelphia), which would establish a gross receipts tax on digital advertising; and
- HB 2305 (Waxman, D-Philadelphia), which would grant temporary sales and use tax exemptions to certain organizations, associations, or institutions.
The Senate finally passed SB 1105 (Brown, R-Monroe), which would provide for updates and clarifications related to the imposition of hotel room rental tax in third through eighth class counties. SB 866 (Brooks, R-Mercer) also passed finally and will go to the Senate for consideration. The bill would classify medetomidine as a Schedule III controlled substance and require veterinary practitioners to safely store the drug. The companion bill, HB 2529 (Scott, R-Montgomery), was reported from the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee.
Wednesday, the House Health Committee held a public hearing on HB 2270 (Matzie, D-Beaver), which would move Pennsylvania to a single Pharmacy Benefit Administrator model.
The House Education Committee reported out HB 2602 (Schweyer, D-Allegheny), which would strengthen wellness and safety protections for students enrolled in cyber charter schools.
HB 2394 (Ciresi, D-Montgomery), which would establish the Firefighter Cancer Screening Program, was reported from the House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee.
The Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee reported out:
- SB 1133 (Farry, R-Berks), which would add a pharmacy technician and a second acute care institutional pharmacist to the State Board of Pharmacy;
- SB 1182 (Yaw, R-Lycoming), which would update the Board of Vehicles Act; and
- SB 1334 (Culver, R-Northumberland), which would provide for regulations and licensure for medical imaging professionals.
SB 1377 (Ward, R-Blair) was reported from the Senate Transportation Committee. The bill would allow the Turnpike Commission to use design build best value as an alternative procurement process for highway and construction projects.
The Senate Labor and Industry Committee reported out: SB 906 (Robinson, R-Allegheny), which would create a paid family and medical leave program; and SB 1215 (Robinson, R-Allegheny), which would address reimbursement rates for prescription topical drugs in the state workers compensation system.
On the House floor, several bills passed finally and will head to the Senate:
- HB 2427 (Warren, D-Bucks), which would provide for the utilization management of stage four, advanced metastatic cancer drugs;
- HB 2429 (Cerrato, D-Montgomery), which would require electric distribution companies to develop distribution-system hosting capacity maps; and
- HB 2550 (Mazzocco, D-Allegheny), which would establish the Small Business Health Care Premiums Contribution Tax Credit.
The Senate passed the following bills of note, which will now head to House for consideration:
- SB 806 (Pisciottano, D-Allegheny), which would establish the Artificial Intelligence Deceptive Advertising Act;
- SB 908 (Farry, R-Bucks), which would provide prevailing wage for off-site custom fabrication and prohibit split rates;
- SB 1260 (Robinson, R-Allegheny), which would provide for the licensure of electrical contractors and electricians; and
- SB 1261 (Mastriano, R-Adams), which would make changes to the Fire
- and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Loan program and to the Fire Company Grant program and the EMS Grant program.
On Thursday, the Senate Labor and Industry Committee held public hearing on nursing workforce shortages and the role of private universities in developing a talent pipeline.
Friday, the Senate Democratic Policy Committee held a public hearing on addressing rising costs for seniors.
The Week Ahead
The House is the only chamber in Harrisburg next week for three days of session,
On Monday, the House Transportation Committee will hold a public hearing on HB 1633 (Kinkead, D-Allegheny), which would allow municipalities to voluntarily authorize shared e-scooter programs.
Tuesday, the House Finance Committee will consider HB 2610 (Fleming, D-Dauphin), which would create an electronic lien filing system and centralized repository where taxpayers can view and print their satisfaction documents.
The House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee will consider HB 2625 (Dougherty, D-Philadelphia), which would clarify fingerprinting and criminal background check requirements for applicants seeking licensure in the horse racing industry.
On Wednesday, the House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee and House Human Services Committee will hold a joint informational meeting on In Lieu of Services.
HB 2496 (Friel, D-Chester) will be considered by the House Local Government Committee. The bill would allow a municipality to impose a pause on the submission to the municipality of applications for data center developments under a zoning ordinance.
The House Health Committee will consider:
- HB 2378 (Madden, D-Monroe), which would expand the age for current influenza vaccine offering requirement from 65 and older to 50 and older;
- HB 2621 (Shusterman, D-Montgomery), which would provide permanent funding for the Pregnancy Risk Assessment System (PRAMS); and
- HR 528 (Cooper, R-Westmoreland), which would direct the Joint State Government Commission to conduct a study on Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS) and Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS).
The House Energy Committee will consider:
- HB 2359 (Ciresi, D-Montgomery), which would prohibit state and local government agencies from entering into non-disclosure agreements for data center development.
- HB 2380 (Rivera, D-Lancaster), which would require electric utilities to set targets and procure grid-stabilizing battery storage as part of their resource planning; and
- HB 2595 (Inglis, D-Allegheny), which would require interconnection studies to be completed by an electric utility company within 15 days after both parties sign an interconnection feasibility study agreement.
A full list of committee meetings can be found here:
In Other News
- George Margetas (R-York) was sworn-in to begin serving as the Representative of the 196th District, replacing former Rep. Seth Grove.
- The PUC released the 2026 Summer Readiness Overviews submitted by electric distribution companies and PJM.
- The Legislative Budget and Finance Committee released a performance audit of the Access to Justice Account.



























